A/N: Enough with the enmity between Ben and the resistance, now let's get a closer look to the real villains!

~*~

   The heavy iron doors flung open. Yet general Pryde did not turn his head in the direction of the sound, but continued to gaze at the fleet down in the hangar.

   His face was void of emotion, his hands clenched at his back, when he finally turned to greet the young acolyte.

   The boy ran toward him, his hair messed from the iron helmet he had been wearing and that was now tucked under his arm.
   And there was mud caked on his boots, and he brought with him a smell that was strange on the Supremacy.

   A twig that seemed to have been locked in the armor at the crook of his elbow fell on the ground, and General Pryde shot him a disgusted look.

   Droping to one knee and heaving a breath, the young man waited a few moments before he rose his head up, and looked his master in the eye.
   General Pryde could see the gleam in them, hidden beneath tiredness and resignation. Judging by that, the boy was bringing great news.

   "We've found them, General." the boy said, earnestly. "We have the location of the Resistance."

   But the pride on his face died with the elder's smirk. General Pryde's smile was a bitter one, it cast a sinister expression on his face and the boy finally dropped his eyes to the ground in confusion.

   The General nodded, and turned around to step back, putting distance between himself and his subject.
   The young spy looked in his wake with bewildered eyes. He seemed to have forgotten to be guarded around the sour general. And he regretted it now.

   "Good." General Pryde said after moments of painful suspense. "But it's not the Resistance our main target for now." his voice was plain, even stern, his back at the man. "Did you forget what I told you to find? Did you forget that easily what happened the last time we grabbed a hold on them?"

   "She was there, Ren's girl. And she had an apprentice." the spy said eagerly, his voice full of satisfaction.

   "Do not say his name in my presence!" General Pryde turned on his heels and lashed at the spy, his hand outstretched to him.
  
   The boy squeezed his eyes tight and flinched, as if the words were a slap that was going to land across his face.       
   He seemed to be cringing in fear in front of his general, the way one does in front of death.

   And he was, after all, but a child. General Pryde remembered the day his soldiers had caught him and brought him to their Supreme Leader, Snoke. “He is no better than a member of the cleaning patrol.” The leader had said back then. But the boy had proved to be quite useful after Kylo Ren had made him his personal spy.

   Just the thought of it made Pryde want to send the boy away. He had been loyal to Ren, to his rival. But it would be as foolish to do so. He already knew way too many secrets that the Final Order held, thanks to Ren. And he was a good spy after all, one you could hardly find. And for his knowledge of Ren, he was good to keep close.

   Pryde's cold, icy-blue eyes flashed back to the armored lad that was trembling before him.

   “I wish to be left alone.” his voice was low, steady, yet it bore an unflinching command on its edges.

   “Yes, General.” The young man gathered clumsily his helmet from the dark marble floor that shimmered in the faint red light, and scrambled to his feet. He was pretending, still pretending not to be afraid. But the general could feel it even in his voice, let alone the way he reacted.

   “Faster.” And this time his voice was void of any patience, of any track of emotion.

   Pryde wanted to see them dead. He wanted to put his hands on the traitor that had once been the Supreme Leader. He had never seen Ren as a stable ruler for the order, with his conflicted nature, with his short temper. Even now, after all that time, he still though he could hear things crack under that fearsome red lightsaber as he passed Ren’s empty room on the corridor.
   But in spite of that, he had always admired the young man’s ambition. And he knew he would have made a fine ally for Tor Valum, had the girl not interfered between them. And he wanted her dead because of that, because of stealing someone with such power just to help her pitiful Resistance.

   He knew that the spy was gone only when he heard the heavy doors close with a thud behind him. Even so, he threw a glance over his shoulder, to make sure he was all alone, to make sure that not even his guards have remained inside.

   Only then did he finally approach the large window that separated the throne room from the rest of the Supremacy.

   The faint red light that brightened a bit the room began to waver, and it sent a shiver of alarm down the General's spine.

   He kept a steady posture, yet his bones were rattling with fear, as the hologram of the dreaded creature appeared before him.

   Even he, the future Supreme Leader, though no one had gotten used to call him that, was afraid to meet Tor Valum. But what made those people obey Kylo Ren with such fervor? Was it the fear he instilled in them? Or rather those strange abilities to bewich their minds?

   Because the fear was already what helped Pryde rein the Final Order. And he knew just too well what the problem was. Those people needed to see the traitor executed right before their eyes, to see that the former Supreme Leader Kylo Ren no longer existed, for Pryde to have free way to the throne. For as long as Ren lived, his name remained the one to be feared.

   He cleared his throat, as he realized that his master was waiting for him to begin the conversation, to tell him that he brought good news. Yet the former General was afraid for the moment he would ruin it all. Could he lie, though? No, for Tor Valum held the greatest force of all.

   "My men had caught them on Lothal, my lord." Pryde informed the hologram of Tor Valum. "And they had the little child as well. The one you wanted to train yourself." he began sure on his words, as if he wasn't ready to unfold the truth beneath the creature's eyes yet.

   But Tor Valum pushed farther. "And?" his deep, dark and cracked voice shook the walls.

   A trickle of sweat poured down the  man's face, from beneath his dark grey hat of the uniform, along his jaw.

   "They have escaped, my lord." and this time, his voice shivered as he said the truth. He gulped down the guilt as he tried not to look at his feet.

   He could feel the burning glare coming from the creature's many eyes like a lightning bolt. He felt as if he were trapped in a cage, beneath the keen eyes of a hungry beast. It felt as if there was no escape.

   "How?"

   "This I cannot know, my lord." and then, he rose his head up, as if inspiration had hit him. "But they are on Ajan Kloss. The jedi. And the child."

   He had been right. Those last words got him out of the mud he was stuck in, as he looked his master in the eye.

   "Well..." Tor Valum croaked in that deep voice that seemed to echo off the walls. "Then you know what you need to do next."

   General Pryde gave a curt yet promising nod. He tried not to show it, yet deep inside he felt relieved, he felt like he had been given a second chance.
   And he would not waste it this time. This time, he would choose the best of his men to lead the mission. And should they fail...he'll take care about that, too.

   He would put his hands on Ren and make him pay for his betrayal, make him pay for his cowardice. And that girl of his as well...
   As for the child, that was Tor Valum's prize. His were the former Supreme Leader and the jedi to torment. He imagined it, and his heart swarmed him with satisfaction, and a motivation he hardly felt.

   "And be quick about it, General." The monster's hollow voice brought Pryde back to reality.

   "Yes, master." his eyes had a wild gleam in them, one that deflected the red banners hung on the ceiling.

   And the hologram began to flicker, the faint grey colors leaving space to black.

~Thanks for reading!~

  
A/N: Here I put something that gives us a trait of Ben since he was supreme leader. He had helped that boy, by giving him the rank of spy. With that, I wanted to show that he had always had a good side.

   This was a different approach on the story, what do you think of the way I pictured those characters?
   I usually like to portray villains, especially in non fanfiction stories, that's why I had a bit of difficulty in writing Pryde here. It does not compare with writing Ben as a hero, since that was the main reason that pushed me to write this story 😉

   Had to drag you through this chapter, but I needed to do it to advance the plot. I'll pay for it in the next ones, you'll see ^^