Ben had never initiated the Force-connection with Snoke before. Snoke had always been the one to come to him.
He sat on his cot and reached out with his senses, concentrating with as much focus as he could possibly muster.
"Kylo Ren," Snoke said, appearing in Ben's tent. But this time his tone was earnest rather than mocking.
Ben slid from his cot onto one knee before Snoke's form. His hair fell in front of his face as he bent his head, concealing the tears that shimmered on the surface of his eyes.
"Master Snoke."
"I see you have made your choice, just as I predicted you would."
Ben did not give a definitive answer one way or the other but said instead,
"I fear Luke Skywalker has begun to suspect."
"Then I will ask you once more, are you strong enough to take the necessary measures?"
"I'm strong enough," Ben replied quietly. "But I don't see it as necessary, and I won't do it. Not unless he forces my hand."
Over the last week or two Luke had noticed a definite change in Ben, a shift in the balance within the young man.
He barely spoke to anyone and barely ate anything at their meals. His spikes of anger and aggression during training had increased greatly both in frequency and intensity. More troubling than any of this was the tortured expression of internal pain and sadness that never left Ben's eyes.
Luke was devastatingly convinced that he had already lost not only his student, but his beloved nephew to the Dark Side.
One of the Jedi trainees, having also observed Ben's recent withdrawal into himself, decided to attempt to engage him in conversation over dinner.
Unfortunately for Corden, however, he was completely unaware of how things with Jaliyah had worked out and he unwisely chose to break the ice with Ben by inquiring whether or not Ben had heard from his girlfriend lately.
Ben's features instantly twisted into an expression of rage and hatred which he would not have been able to hold back even if he'd attempted to. He thrust out his hand and Force-threw Corden so violently that everyone clearly heard the thud of his head impacting the wall before he crumpled moaning to the floor.
"Dane, Lucas, get Corden to the infirmary!" Luke barked as he ran out of the Temple after Ben.
"Ben! Luke shouted. Ben, stop!"
Ben paused mid-stride and spun about to face his uncle. That same expression of rage and hatred still burned in his eyes.
"Ben, we really need to talk." Luke's voice was hard.
"No, we don't," Ben gritted through clenched teeth. He turned away from Luke and strode off toward his tent.
Luke stood indecisively staring after him for a long time before he turned around and walked back to the Temple.
Once inside his tent, Ben began haphazardly throwing all his belongings into his duffel bag. He would leave tonight, go seek out Snoke.
He snatched Snowy the Tauntaun up from his pillow and grasped it in both hands, preparing to tear its head from its body. It was time to let the past die. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't bring himself to destroy his favorite childhood toy.
Instead he curled up on his cot in a semi-fetal position and clasped Snowy to his chest, sobbing uncontrollably until he fell asleep.
Late that night Luke stood outside Ben's tent. He pulled the flap aside and peeked in, assuring himself that his nephew was sleeping soundly.
He would slip inside and take a look into Ben. There was no harm in reading him.
If Luke's suspicions proved to be unwarranted and the Light in the teen's heart was still more predominant than the Dark, then nothing would come of it. He would continue to train Ben and try to stop worrying so much about him. He desperately wanted for this to be the outcome but he was unable to sustain much hope.
Yet if his suspicions were confirmed and the boy's heart had turned, he would have no choice but to confront Ben when he woke in the morning.
Luke took a deep steadying breath, and with a heavy heart he slipped into his nephew's tent.
