The next day, Snoke summoned Ben to his audience chamber. The Knights of Ren led him through the complex to the deep center, where a large cavity of stone appeared.

Snoke sat on a gigantic throne of basalt rock, ten meters above him. Tyreel Ren escorted Ben to the center of the chamber and shoved him down. Tyreel returned to his place in the circle of the Knights of Ren surrounding Ben.

Ben bowed his head in obeisance to his master. "What is thy bidding, my master?"

"It is time for you to take your vows, Kylo Ren, and to become the Master of the Knights of Ren."

The other knights jostled each other, their breathing growing labored.

Tyreel asked with a sneer, "Supreme Leader, what makes this boy worthy of such an honor? His loyalty has yet to be proved, not to mention his power."

Pulling himself up to his full height on his throne, Snoke said, "You forget yourself, Tyreel, but I will humor you. Kylo has already shown his loyalty, killing a Jedi in the name of the First Order. And he will not hesitate to do it again. Without him, we will never eradicate the Jedi. I have foreseen it."

Ben thought as his knees wavered, She wasn't even born yet, let alone a Jedi.

His master picked up the thought. But they don't know that. Never contradict what I reveal to them.

"We will all kill the Jedi if we have the chance, master," Tyreel said. "The opportunity has yet to present itself."

"You may wish you could kill them, but thus far Kylo is the only one to succeed."

"I refuse to take orders from this piece of bantha fodder," Tyreel said. "What makes you so sure he will not return to—" Tyreel gagged.

Ben had risen and turned, initiating a Force-choke on Tyreel. Ben levitated the knight to him and held him above his head with the Force. "You will obey me, or you will die. It's your choice, but I warn you not to underestimate my power."

Ben maintained his choke-hold on Tyreel until the knight passed out due to asphyxiation. Only when his eyes glazed over, did he drop him to the deck with a thud.

"Good. Good. I can feel the hatred flowing in you now. Let it empower you, Kylo Ren," Snoke said as he rubbed his claws together.

Kylo Ren glowed in the accolades as he returned to his kneeling position and recited his vows. "I, Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren, do solemnly swear my allegiance to Supreme Leader Snoke and to the First Order, to bring order once again to the galaxy, and to eliminate the Jedi once and for all, no matter the cost."

At the end, the remaining Knights of Ren dressed Kylo Ren in his robes, placing the mask on him last of all.

"Rise, Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren." Snoke lifted a claw, and a black melted object rose from behind the throne. At first, it appeared to be a distorted crown, but the Supreme Leader ushered it to Ben, levitating the twisted mask in front of the newly anointed Sith. "Take your grandfather's helmet, your birthright. Let it remind you of your destiny—to complete what he began and to destroy the Jedi Order for once and for all."

Kylo Ren grabbed the helmet in due reverence. He stroked the melted plastic, placing his fingers into the eye sockets, tracing the distorted mouth vent. Something deep inside Kylo Ren warned him that Snoke's having this skull indicated something, but the darkness obscured this warning.

The Knights of Ren spoke in unison, "All hail Supreme Leader Snoke. All hail Master Kylo Ren."

A modicum of doubt festered inside Ben. What have I done?

A few days later, Snoke summoned Ben to his audience chamber alone. "Kylo Ren, welcome."

Ben knelt before the throne. "What is thy bidding, my master?"

"Information. Do you have the coordinates of the Jedi Academy?"

"Not yet. Master Skywalker has not yet trusted me with them. Coordinates were streamed directly to my astromech droid on this mission." Kylo hung his head as heat rose to his cheeks.

"Your droid was destroyed in the crash. No data was retrievable. I suggest you find another way to procure the coordinates. Obviously, the Jedi Knights know them, as well as your father and that filthy Wookiee. I don't care what you must do, but get those coordinates."

"Yes, my master."

"It would be best to take out the Jedi Order in one fell swoop. When will they be together"

Stuttering, he extended his hand. "T-t-the graduation, master, in four months. They will all be gathered together for the graduation." Kylo breathed more easily.

"Good. Four months, and the Jedi will no longer exist. They will pass from the annals of history to mere mythology," Snoke said with an evil smile, intertwining his fingers in front of his face.

"Master."

"Yes?"

"We must not take on both Master Skywalker and Master Fau at the same time. We do not have enough power yet, even combined. We must divide them to conquer them," Kylo said.

"They are only two masters," Snoke said. "We are seven Knights of Ren."

"I have witnessed this time and again. Individually, they are powerful. Combined together, the Force strengthens them beyond all comprehension. They become unstoppable."

Snoke mulled over that information for a few moments. "Perhaps you are right. I will continue to use my influence in the Senate to keep Master Skywalker otherwise occupied. Don't waste your opportunities, Kylo Ren."

During the next two weeks, Snoke summoned Kylo Ren for additional dark-side Force-training. His instruction delved into the darker arts of Form VII Vaapad lightsaber training.

Kylo had heard of this form, and he knew this was the form that would overpower Master Skywalker, who had barely indicated the form's existence to Kylo. It was obvious that if the Jedi Master had no training in the form, he would have no counter for it either.

The most challenging portion was in Force-lightning. Master Skywalker had never even mentioned this power existed. Kylo Ren enjoyed using it, feeling the electricity buzz through his body onto his subject—usually a stormtrooper but occasionally a Knight of Ren.

He realized his master was driving a wedge between him and his knights. Ben did not care. He did not care for them. He did not care for Snoke. He only cared that one day he would rule the galaxy—and then people would love him for removing this evil.

The Jedi would be gone, forever. Everyone who had hurt him would be gone, forever. He would no longer be in pain. Kylo practiced Force-lightning once again, enjoying the knight writhing in pain under his ministrations, watching the man's skeleton shine through his skin.

"Enough. Release him." Snoke's voice reverberated throughout the chamber.

Kylo relaxed, dropping the man to the floor.

"Your uncle is organizing the locals to rescue you."

"I know, master. I have seen it."

"Good. You are progressing," Snoke said. He pulled his claws in front of his face and intertwined them. "Unfortunately, your surface wounds have healed. You can't return to the Jedi looking like this."

Snoke raised his hand and paralyzed Kylo Ren. "Attack him," Snoke commanded the other Knights of Ren.

They buffeted Kylo, breaking his flesh, breaking his arm, hitting his head, and slamming into his already injured back. Every single one smiled in glee as their master received a taste of what Kylo Ren had given them in the last few weeks. They did not stop until Kylo Ren passed out.

A few weeks passed before Luke had succeed in communicating with his captors, gaining their assistance to rescue Ben. In the darkness, he led a small squad of natives across the plains to the outskirts of the First Order base. Armed with stolen E-11 blasters, the natives moved with stealth over the base, evading the guards.

Luke slid his back against the hangar wall before inching inside. He scuttled from place to place within the compound, hiding behind crates, equipment, and craft.

Once inside the hangar, he sensed Ben. The Padawan was not too far—and his nephew was scared. Something more was wrong as well, but Luke could not pin-point it.

Blaster fire spurted outside. His squad had begun their diversion.

Luke sprinted toward Ben's Force-signature. He opened the hatch with the Force, to find the Padawan collapsed on the hard bunk, shivering in shock. His face bloodied and bruised. His left arm fractured, sticking out an obtuse angle.

"Uncle Luke," Ben moaned, unable to move.

"Come on, we're getting out of here." Luke lifted the gangly teen by the right arm. "Can you walk?"

"No, I can't feel my legs."

Luke looked at his face. Something had happened to Ben, but he didn't have time to figure it out. "I'll carry you. We don't have much time."

He dragged Ben to the hangar, looking for any vehicle. On the left side of the hangar, beyond the command shuttle, Luke found a speeder bike. Wait right here. Once I'm on, I'll levitate you. You just hold on tight.

Once Luke was on the bike, he levitated Ben up behind himself. He opened up the throttle and sped out over the steppes. As Luke and Ben exited the compound, evading blaster fire from all directions, the natives stopped their attack.

A stormtrooper commander accosted the natives as they shouldered their weapons. "Good job. Just as the Supreme Leader ordered. We'll pursue in a few minutes, just to let them think we didn't let them get away."

Luke and Ben reached the X-wing in less than an hour. The Jedi Master kept looking back for pursuit, but he saw none.

R2-D2, registering Luke's presence, came to life with a few chirps.

"Artoo, crank up the long-range communicator. Emergency frequency for Khalkha. And hurry. They were probably tracking us."

Luke lowered Ben to the ground, hiding him behind a rock. He climbed into the cockpit and put on his helmet to contact Naluma.

Did you know that . . . 

● R2's still saving Skywalkers. It's what he does.

● I actually have a style sheet for this story. It's pages long. Eeeek!

Tell me what you think . . .

● What do you think is Ben's next step?