Venus & Mars

Chapter 13 ~ Close Call

Uneasiness swept through Kylo Ren as he led his forces onto the frozen planet. There was something off about the silence of the night air. He could feel the fear and sadness pulsing from deep within Andromeda. How much she felt as if she were betraying her people. And for some reason she still stood beside him. Kylo wondered why, but decided not to dwell on the idea. He had a job to do. He meant what he had told Andromeda, about wanting to bring order to the galaxy, not destroy it. Unless he had to. But according to Snoke, the scavenger girl and Luke Skywalker were becoming increasingly problematic to their plans. They needed to be eliminated.

And so he trudged on, keeping Andromeda close behind. He needed their mutual strength if he were to take on Luke Skywalker. Andromeda had grown so much stronger. He felt a rush of pride as he glanced over her cloaked form, the lightsaber firm in her grasp as she walked behind him. His attention was soon pulled away by the onslaught of attacks, both air and land defeating his stormtroopers. Apparently the Resistance had suspected an attack and devised a surprise of their own. To Kylo's dismay, the odds looked about even.

Strong vibrations of power began to hit Kylo as he and Andromeda strode further into the trees. They were soon in the heart of the battle, and Kylo halted suddenly as his gaze fell on the two people the Force was surrounding. "Skywalker." He growled, anger building up in his chest. The resentment for all the years Luke had berated him for his emotions came flooding back into him, fueling his rage even more. He knew Andromeda was feeling it as well, but only because of their bond. "Hello Ben. So good to see you." Kylo's uncle called, face full of sadness. "I suppose this is Miss Kalane? She's quite a woman wouldn't you say?" He asked. Kylo nodded, glancing at his apprentice out of the corner of his eye. "Hello Uncle. I can't say the same for you, but yes, my apprentice is very strong with the Force. Can we say the same about yours?" He smirked. Whatever compassion he had felt for Rey was gone, replaced only by jealousy. She had everything he had ever wanted. She even had his father's faith and support before he died. Luke's proud shoulders fell. "It doesn't have to be this way Ben. Come home!" He pleaded. "Never." Kylo hissed in response. The four force-sensitives were slowly making their way towards each other, but not in the way Kylo had hoped. He had predicted Luke to come after him and Rey to take on Andromeda. Instead, the Jedi master turned the tables last minute, heading for Kylo's apprentice. Kylo grew unsure, knowing that even as strong as Andromeda was, there was no way she'd be able to take on Skywalker by herself. "Then so be it." Luke sighed, looking at his own apprentice. Rey broke out into a run, attacking Kylo full bore. Gritting his teeth, he blocked her slash, ramming her lightsaber with his own.

It caught between the searing red blades of Kylo's, allowing him to yank it from her grasp. It went sailing over their heads and behind Kylo, forcing Rey to fight by other means. Every time she attempted to pull the lightsaber back into her grasp, he would strike, distracting her train of thought. He was quickly backing her into the trees, knowing it'd be harder for her to fight there. He had been right. Andromeda was stronger than Rey, at least when it came to physical fights. Apparently Luke had been focusing mainly on the Force with Rey, and not so much hand to hand combat. However, Kylo was sure to incorporate every basic and intermediate fighting skill into Andromeda's training. Force bending and lightsaber. Which reminded him. He hadn't heard the sound of lightsabers clashing from her or Luke. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he saw Luke trying to talk sense into Andromeda, and he could feel conflicted emotions coming from her in waves. The slight distraction caused Kylo to lose enough focus to enable Rey to use the Force against him, shoving him up against a tree trunk and holding him in place. He could feel a heavy pressure on his chest, rendering him both breathless and unable to move. For once, he felt fearful. He might actually die at the hands of an inexperienced Jedi. What did that make him?

As he struggled to breath, Rey used the Force to summon her weapon and, once ignited again, raised it above her head. She smirked at him, getting ready to deal the final, fatal blow. "This is for all the pain you've brought to the galaxy." She told him. Kylo kept his eyes open, refusing to be called a coward even in death. But Rey never struck. Instead, she herself went soaring through the snowy sky only to land in a tall pile of white slush.