Fandom Knights of Ren

[a z u l a]

​

"Let me go you son of a nerf-herder!" The young warrior princess roared, kicking and thrashing about as she was dragged through the halls of the First Order ship. How Kataly'a had ended up being manhandled by two strange guards adorned in all crimson armor was beyond her. They carried her into a lavishly decorated room, boasting nothing other than the color red accentuated by a few bits of black here and there. Upon entering the room, they threw her rather unceremoniously onto the marble floor, pointing their weapons at her to keep her from running.

Upon further inspection, she was far from alone in the room. Atop a rather extravagant throne in the center of the room sat an ancient looking creature, the waves of power radiating off of him alerting her that he was a Sith. Besides the hideous creature upon the throne, two other Force-users were kneeled beside her, weapons trained on them by identical red guards. There was one last Force-user in the room, a tall male with unruly black locks stood slightly further ahead than the other three, no weapons turned on him.

What had that lucky bastard done to gain his freedom?

"Greetings, my young Acolyte. You must be wondering why I have summoned you here." Summoned, dragged, what's the difference? "The First Order has risen from the ashes of the once great Empire, and just as they relied on the Sith to guide them, a new generation of Sith is in need."

The Sith were a bitter topic for the raven-haired Force-user. Her father, Darth Caedus, had once been a great Sith Lord under the Empire. He had trained his only offspring to be as mighty a warrior as he, but her mother had realized the danger her young daughter was in and had hid her to protect her from the brutality of Sith training. It had been saving her daughter's life that had ended her own, at the hands of her child's father.

Her father had turned her sour towards the Sith, but the older she got the stronger she became. Untrained, she was a danger to those around her, a simple bout of rage could send glass shattering if she didn't get a hold of herself. The warrior princess was skilled in all forms of combat and deadly with any weapon, but the one thing she had scarcely learned was the Force.
​

​

"Let me go you son of a nerf-herder!"

The indignant cry signaled to Ben, no, Kylo, that the last of his new comrades had arrived. One by one, the Force-users had been dragged into the throne room and Kylo couldn't help but feel guilty that he knew their fate before they did. Though he had not known Snoke long, he had at least known of his plan to recruit a task force of especially strong Force-users to serve him and the First Order.

"Just as the First Order has risen, so have the opposers. You four are proof that the Jedi have not ended, for there are plenty more Force-users in the galaxy. I have chosen you four because of your potential, because I believe you will be the strongest Sith to ever walk this galaxy."

Each time the Supreme Leader speaks, it reminds Kylo of his former life as Ben Solo. It had been that same voice that had whispered to him in the night, pulling him in. Even without his voice guiding him, the young Sith believes he would have found his way to the Dark side of the Force. Young Ben Solo had always been full of hurt and rage, from his parent's broken marriage, being shipped off to his uncle's academy, and the ultimate betrayal by his uncle.

But Ben Solo was dead. Kylo Ren had murdered him that night at the Jedi Temple and risen from his ashes, better, stronger, and unbroken.

"You, my chosen four, will become the Knights of Ren. I will train you all as my apprentices, and you will unleash power within yourself you have never known. So, my young apprentices, do you accept?"

"I do, Master." Though he had already pledged his alliegence to the Supreme Leader, he was here to encourage the other three potentials. He was to be their leader, the Commander of the Knights of Ren. It was refreshing, to be given power because of his abilities, not his family name. These three Knights of Ren would never know Ben Solo, only Kylo Ren.

 

[KyloGlenn]

They’d all been dragged in somehow.

Draven didn’t remember how he’d gotten from his home planet to this…ship. This ship stationed somewhere unknown to him. And he didn’t like it.

All he remembered was, well, trying to leave his home planet. In the middle of the night. Trying to steal a ship. He thought he’d been caught by these guards. And he was, but they didn’t want him because he was committing a crime. He remembered fighting them, then being knocked out. And then he woke up on this ship. He had no clue who it belonged to.

He’d tried to fight for his freedom. Perhaps they underestimated his strength, as he managed to get out of the red guards’ grips. Briefly. Of course, he tried to fight them. But they’d pushed him, cornered him into the room he was in now, where he’d been forced to his knees by an unknown source. Well, he knew it was the Force. He just wasn’t sure who in the room had done it.

When he’d arrived, there was the creature already there. Another black haired man. And then the blonde girl, who seemed too calm for someone on the ground with weapons pointed at her.

Alora was the first to be dragged in. She’d been stolen from her bed in the middle of the night, thrown on a ship. She knew she’d been disrupting the ship flight with the Force, and for that reason she’d been knocked unconscious. But she couldn’t help it. She’d been scared, and the Force reacted to that. Reacted to protect her.

The woman was strong in the Force, and was very good at utilizing it to help her with her daily activities. But, in reality, she had little control over it. It often got out of hand when she did simple things or when she was feeling very strongly about something.

Like fear when she was being kidnapped.

She knew she’d been brought onto a Star Destroyer, having woken up before docking inside the ship. She kicked and shouted the entire way, until she’d been brought into the red room. Then she’d realized that she’d seen it all before. The room, the creature on the throne. She hadn’t seen any of her three raven-haired companions. But this place was familiar.

Even so, she had no idea what she was doing there. Her heart raced, she was cold. She wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion, she had been sleeping. And then tossed onto a cold marble floor.

Once they’d all been filed in, tossed on the ground— apart from the man who had been there before them— the creature spoke. Draven realized he’d recognized the voice. He’d heard it in his sleep. Heard it in the back of his mind for a while now. And he’d been given no answers. Until then. Even so, he hardly listened. “What is this?” He hissed through his teeth, his lips quirked into a nearly permanent snarl. He completely ignored the other man, who got to stand ahead.

“You haven’t been listening.” The Supreme Leader grumbled, disappointed. He’d learn to listen. “This…is the New Order. A new, better Sith. And you’ve been chosen to be a part of it.”

“I didn’t ask for this.” He spat.

“No one who’s chosen asks for it. The Force, it’s decided. Decided on you four. I will ask again, do you accept?”

Draven hesitated, but Alora did not.

“I do.” She decided. Really, what choice did she have? She had a feeling that if she said no, she wouldn’t be going home. And all she’d be going back to was her slave life, being forced to work and do things she didn’t want to do.

Hazel eyes snapped to the blonde girl, dark brows furrowing. “You’re agreeing to this that easily?” He didn’t know her, but surely she had to be capable of thinking more than that?

Draven and Snoke’s eyes moved to the latest addition to the group, the girl that had just been dragged in. “And you? You agreeing to this?” Draven asked, unconvinced. This girl seemed to have the right reaction to the situation.

 

[a z u l a]

"I...I do." Kataly'a was surprised by the conviction in her tone as she accepted the offer from the strange but familiar creature. After her father had killed her mother, she'd begun to hear the whispers of the promise of a place to belong, a Master who would protect her from her own father. They'd gone away when she'd grown older, but now that she knew this man was Snoke, the Supreme Leader whose army she fought for, she understood his sudden interest in her.

The ruler of Dromund Kaas had led her army into several battles on the First Order's behalf. The Kaas system was a great ally of the First Order and as their leader, she'd become acquainted with many of their generals and commanders, but the Supreme Leader had remained a mystery til now.

The warrior princess had already supported Snoke so far, giving up supplies, credits, and warriors to support the rising empire. Being the daughter of a once great Sith Lord and the ruler of a Sith World, she was practically required to agree. The Force intrigued her, she'd spent her whole life among Sith Temples and ancient texts, but no one had ever been able to teach her. Now, she finally had a willing Master to teach her all she had missed out on.

Looking over with desperate eyes, she silently pleaded with the stranger beside her to agree to their new arrangement. For if not, she knew his fate would not be so kind.

The Supreme Leader was not a patient man, and Kylo could sense his growing impatience with the other young man in the room as he waited for his response. The females had complied quite easily, clearly they had good sense. They were being offered the chance to be a driving force in the change that was coming to the galaxy, a change for good. If he wasn't with him, he was against them, and the First Order didn't take too lightly to those opposed to them.

Kylo had been hesitant once too, afraid of the voice that whispered to him in the night. Snoke had promised to teach him properly, unlike his uncle who was too afraid of what he might become. He promised power and a sense of belonging, something Ben Solo had never had. Now, it was much too late to turn back, not that he would. He had murdered his fellow padawans and burned the Jedi Academy to the ground, all in the name of his true Master.

​

 

[KyloGlenn]

The woman agreed, causing Draven to roll his eyes, his shoulders slumping. He was alone in this, wasn’t he? He was the only one who wasn’t completely sold on this idea.

Draven never paid much attention to politics. He didn’t have much thought for the First Order, nor did he care about their counterpart, the Resistance. The New Republic. He played a game of self-preservation. He adapted and became what he needed to survive. But this, this seemed much more serious. This wasn’t a changing planet. This was four other Force users, one who he knew could kill him with just a look.

The raven-haired woman’s eyes pleaded for him to agree. Draven’s jaw clenched. She knew exactly what would happen if he rejected Snoke, just as well as he did. His eyes mindlessly wandered her face as he thought. ‘Fuck.’

He hissed out a sigh. Survival was the game. And he was going to play it. He slowly began to nod, tearing his gaze away from the woman next to him. He was sure he’d learn everyone’s name soon enough. “Fine. I do.” ‘I’ll be one of his bitches.’ He had nothing else, did he? He got exactly what he wanted, in the end, he supposed. To be free from his family. To be something better, something more than they wanted to Force him to be.

Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance for this to be something…not horrible.

Draven didn’t have much faith. Snoke could sense that, along with his true indecision. “You’re unconvinced. You agree, but only in words.” Snoke’s words were drawn out, slow. Could be perceived as threatening. “You don’t understand yet. Once you learn the power you hold, how I will help you bring it out, master it. Then you will really commit yourself to me. To the Knights of Ren.”

Draven only lowered his eyes to the ground in front of him, restraining from saying something else that could set off this creature in front of him. Draven would never admit it, but there was a sense of fear around the situation. The big mystery of it all. Of these people and the Force and what was to come.

Snoke lifted his head high. “This is good. Training will begin tomorrow, first thing.” There wasn’t really mornings in space. But they would begin their group training, Force and combat, very early. “Kylo Ren,” Snoke addressed him by his new title. “Why don’t you show your Knights where they will rest.” It wasn’t a suggestion, but a demand. It was with a small flick of his wrist that his guards backed from the three new Knights.

“Kylo Ren,” Alora tested the name, ever so quietly under her breath. Ren. That seemed to be a last name now, or something. Alora’s eyes moved to the others, wondering what their names were. Wondering where they all came from, just as she wondered where Kylo Ran came from. He wasn’t dragged in. He wasn’t restrained by guards. What made him different.

Alora, realizing the lack of armed guards around her, rose to her feet. Her bare feet. She hoped she'd get proper clothes at some point. She was prepared for sleep but nothing else. She should probably bring that up...

Seeing the blonde woman stand, Draven looked behind him to find the guards still as statues, no weapons pointed at him. He rose to his full height. He could tell that he was probably as tall as all the guards. Taller even. Even threatening to edge out this Kylo Ren. But not Snoke. Snoke was freakishly tall. 'Alien.'

But with this sudden freedom, a thought to run popped into his mind. But it was quickly shot down. He'd never make it. Survive, he'd remind himself.

 

[a z u l a]

Kataly'a couldn't help breathing a small sigh of relief when the man beside her complied, even though she didn't know this man she felt concern for what the creature before them would inevitably do to him if he rejected the offer. Snoke was a mystery to her, but she was certain he wasn't fond of powerful beings not serving under his command. While none of them seemed well-trained yet, they were powerful with the Force hidden inside them and that posed a threat if they were not controlled by the Supreme Leader.

The thought of training almost made the warrior princess forget she was practically being held captive. Training had been her only escape as a child after her parent's death, she had immersed herself into all forms of combat to occupy her mind. Even now, when the weight of ruling a planetary system overwhelmed her she threw herself into training with vigor. The young brunette loved a good fight, and it seemed she'd get plenty of action with the First Order.

Seeing the others stand, the shortest of the group rose to her feet and looked towards the knight who seemed to be in charge, Kylo Ren. While he was rather tall, Kataly'a figured she could take him in a fight, that is if he was unable to use the Force.

As they followed Kylo down the winding halls, she inspected her companions more closely. The only other female didn't seem too intimidating, even if she was taller than Kataly'a by a few inches. The blonde was rather pretty, nothing exactly screamed Sith to her. However, looks could be deceiving and she was clearly powerful enough to have caught the Supreme Leader's attention. Both men had rather similar features, but personally she found the one beside her more attractive.

"So, you seem real excited to be here." She noted, glancing over at the most hesitant of the group.

​

Kylo's attention was fully trained on his master, but a bell-like whisper of his name caught him off-guard. The petite blonde on his left seemed intrigued, even without using the Force he could sense her curiosity. Her interest was befuddling to him, no one had ever found Ben Solo worth acknowledging. However, Kylo Ren was a new person and he was someone to take notice of.

"Come, we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." The oldest Knight ordered, leading his new acquaintances out of the throne room and down the hall. The Knights had their own private sector aboard the Finalizer, a corridor just for their sleeping quarters, a rather advanced training room, and even a decently sized common room. Kylo wasn't sure how he felt about the new Knights just yet, but it seemed he had no choice but to get to know them.

"You should all get some rest, there are some basic necessities and clothes in your quarters already. Tomorrow after training we can venture to the market to get anything else you need."

With that said, he offered a small nod and turned to disappear into his own quarters. Tonight had reminded Kylo of his days as a Padawan, as Ben Solo. His attachment to others had been is weakness, he wouldn't let these new Knights become his weakness.

 

[KyloGlenn]

It all went by quickly. One second Draven and the two women were forced to their knees, weapons pointed at him and the others. The next they’re all following some man to their new rooms. Draven was still confused. As to what was going on, what his purpose here was. Well, he knew. Knights of Ren, Sith. Whatever. But why him?

Why did the Force supposedly pick him? What had he done to put himself in this position?

What had any of them done?

And he didn’t get how these women so easily accepted this as their fate. This Kylo Ren man, clearly he’d been in on it before they even showed up. But neither of them looked like they’d been expecting this. The blonde dressed in little cloth, pajamas. And the dark haired woman, she had come in fiery. Screaming to be let go. But they’d accepted Snoke’s offer easily.

Perhaps they were doing the same as him, agreeing for the sake of their survival.

Draven was spoken to, his eyes lowering to find the source of the voice. Draven eyed her, briefly musing to himself. When he was on his knees and she was being dragged in there seemed to be so much…more of her. But she was a tiny thing, really. “Thrilled.” Draven deadpanned, his tone obviously expressing the opposite of his words. “And you seem rather eager to be here, for someone brought in screaming.”

Not much else was allowed to be said, as Kylo Ren spoke, informing them of their long day ahead. And the basic things within their rooms. And then he disappeared into his own chambers.

The blonde stared briefly at Kylo Ren’s retreating form. He was brief and it offered her little chance to quell her curiosity. ‘Tomorrow.’ For now, she turned to the other two. “Don’t fight this. The Force, it’s put us all here for a reason.” She told the others, stepping backwards. The door behind her slid open, allowing her to retreat inside. And so she did. “You’ll realize soon enough,” were her parting words.

Draven blinked, momentarily shaken by the woman’s melodic voice. His dark brows knitted together as his eyes were drawn to the dark-haired woman, almost as if searching for answers from her. He shook his head. “If either of you were smart you’d be questioning this too…,” He went to say her name, but again, he didn’t know it. And instead of asking for it, he said, “girl.”

With that, he turned to a door, only then realizing that they had their names on it, roaming across a screen to the side. He slipped into the room, turning briefly to catch the names of the two women. The blonde, the name Alora was displayed. And he looked to the other room, not yet occupied. Kataly’a. Interesting name, and he wondered where it came from. Where she came from.

The door shut and Draven was left on his own. But he’d be doing no sleeping. He couldn’t find it in himself to trust this place. He didn’t know where he was, or who these people were. What their true intentions were. And if anyone dared come through his door, he’d be ready to fight if need be.

Alora, on the other hand, found it easy to relax. This place, though she’d never physically been, was familiar. And she knew she’d seen things beyond this point, so she couldn’t be dying yet. Could she?

She easily found herself wandering the room. She hadn’t ever had such a nice room. It was clean, she even had her own bathroom! And the bed seemed so much more comfortable than the cot she slept on. And she melted into it the second she laid down, the blankets soft and comfortable. And then she realized how tired she really was, her eyelids heavy. And she slept.

Her sleep wasn’t dreamless, however. She saw her old room, hearing her master’s voice. It was angry, questioning where she was. She knew it to be her father finding her missing in the morning. And then it switched, and she saw a dark room, sleek. Lined with technology and weapon-like items. The ground padded. The words she heard consisted only of ‘training’. She assumed that’s what she and the others would face when they awoke the next morning.

 

[a z u l a]

Sleep evaded Kylo, as it usually did. The Sith apprentice couldn't remember the last time he'd had a fitful sleep, whether it was due to lack of time or more often than not his haunting dreams. His regrets made him weak, each time he pictured the faces of those he'd massacred he doubted himself more and more. While Kylo was thankful his master had trusted him enough to lead a task force of three other Force-users, he was afraid that they would expose his weakness to his master and perhaps even take his place.

Morning came all too quickly and the raven-haired knight found himself knocking on the doors of his newest companions. "Meet me in the training room in thirty minutes." He called, stalking down the hallway towards his favorite place aboard the Finalizer. It occurred to him that the others might not know where the training room was located, but he figured it would be their first task to find his Force signature and let it lead them.

While he waited for his knights, he began his own morning routine, not even the stress of new arrivals could let him slip from his routine. Being the Supreme Leader's apprentice meant being in top shape at all times and able to fight for your life at a moments notice. Fire courses through his aching muscles, but the pain distracts him from reality and he finds that these are his only moments of peace throughout the day.

It had been the start of a new day on Dromund Kaas when the princess had left, meaning she was wide awake throughout the standard timezone's night. Surveying her new quarters had taken up a mere ten minutes, though the room was decently sized it was rather empty. Though she wasn't necessarily afraid of Kylo Ren, she figured it best to stay on his good side for now and decided leaving her quarters to explore the ship was not the best way to start off. With nothing else to do, the petite woman paced her chambers like a caged lioness.

Eventually her limbs grew weary, knowing she would need her strength to train she settled into a meditation pose and eased her mind and body. Meditation was Kataly'a's least favorite form of training, she preferred to be moving and inflicting damage, not dormant within her own head. However, if she was going to keep herself from killing her new team, perhaps meditation wasn't a bad idea.

"Meet me in the training room in thirty minutes" The mechanical sound of Kylo's voice broke her concentration, though it wasn't entirely unpleasant to be disrupted. Eager to begin training, she neatly pulled her obsidian locks into a plaited braid and rewrapped her armor. Without hesitation, she exited her quarters, rolling her eyes as she realized she would need to find the training room herself. It was easy to find Kylo's force signature, it radiated like a beacon of rage, and she silently slipped into the padded room, green eyes following her new commander's every move.

 

[KyloGlenn]

Alora was the only one of the group to have something of a restful sleep. Despite her Force driven dreams. Or visions. Whatever they were called. Usually, they didn’t bother her sleeping too much. Unless they were particularly disturbing, which was an experience Alora dealt with very rarely.

Either way, Alora was awoken by a knocking on her door, Kylo Ren’s voice instructing them to meet him in the training room. A training room, Alora had dreamt of that. Or what she figured to be a training room, anyway. She had no idea exactly what to prepare for. Physical activity, at the very least.

She really didn’t want to leave the bed. Her new bed. It was warm and soft, nothing like she’d had before. And she didn’t want it to be taken away. But she knew she had to get up, so she threw her legs over to stand up. She surveyed her surroundings, spotting the neatly folded stack of clothing that had been mentioned the night before. All black. About what she expected.

She slipped into the dark ensemble and entwined her mess of blonde hair into braids resting on her shoulders.

Exiting her room, she ran right into the other man. The hesitant one.

Draven hadn’t slept that night. It had been well into the night on his home planet when he was taken, he certainly was tired. But he didn’t allow himself to slumber. There were bits of the night that he didn’t remember, chunks of time lost. But he wouldn’t call that sleeping. Just resting his eyes. He’d thought of possibly trying to find his way out. But this was a Star Destroyer. A big one that he was unfamiliar with. Likely littered with Stormtroopers and officers. He’d die or be captured before he ever found a hangar to escape.

Not to mention, where would he even go if he did escape?

When Kylo came knocking, Draven contemplated whether or not to find his way to the training room. To ignore Kylo Ren’s request. Or was it an order? But really, Draven didn’t want to find out what would happen if he continued to challenge this situation. And so he ventured out of his room, into the blonde woman. He spared her nothing more than a glance, not even looking at her as he spoke. “How does he expect us to meet him if we don’t know where the training room is?” Did the man think?

“All you have to do is look,” Alora answered. Draven thought she meant literally look, glancing around their hall. “I mean through the Force. He’s obvious.” Everyone had their own unique Force signature. And Kylo Ren’s was blaring. It emitted power. And rage. And so she followed it.

And Draven followed her, searching for a feeling. Draven had used the Force, but it was more reactive. He hadn’t gone searching for it. But now he had to.

It was the room Alora had seen. She recognized it as she and her dark-haired companion entered. First, she acknowledged the other woman with a nod. Alora knew she should befriend her, shouldn’t she? All of them really. And then her eyes landed on Kylo Ren’s moving figure, immediately enthralled.

Draven looked at his female companions, noticing both of them watching Kylo Ren. His own eyes landed on the other raven-haired man. “Did you call us here just to watch you twirl about?” He questioned, voice unamused.

 

[a z u l a]

While their signatures were nowhere near as prominent as Kylo Ren's, Kataly'a could sense her fellow Knights approaching through the Force, turning to greet them with a half-smile as they entered the expansive training room. The princess was still unsure how to feel about her new companions, she wasn't sure how to feel about her situation at all. She wondered who was ruling Drumond Kaas in her absence, if her guards were searching for her or if Snoke had spun an elaborate lie about her whereabouts to dissuade their concern.

If given the chance, she wasn't entirely sure she would escape. While being taken against her will wasn't exactly fit for someone of her status, being a Knight of Ren didn't seem all too bad. Ruling over a planetary system was draining, and while her life was luxurious and most would die to be in her position, she longed to feel like she truly belonged somewhere. The citizens of Drumond Kaas adored their leader for the most part, she was battle-hardened and knew how to ensure the success of her planet, yet she had a soft spot and often made large donations to the orphanages. Despite the love of her people, Kataly'a had no family and though her soldiers had sworn to die for her, she trusted no one.

There was shared power among the knights, though Kylo was their commander, he shared just as much responsibility as them and was disciplined just as harshly by their Supreme Leader. While she didn't trust them yet, Kataly'a knew of the brotherhood that was forged in task forces such as these. When your life depended on someone on a daily basis, it was hard not to trust them. While the two men seemed rather annoying, they at least weren't boring to look at, perhaps she could even befriend the blonde woman. Besides the hope of true comrades, she was truly looking forward to serving the First Order. Drumond Kaas had aided in the fight against the rebels, Kataly'a had even risked her own life on missions to destroy the Resistance. Battle was the warrior princess' natural instinct, it was what she had been bred for and being given the honor of being one of the Supreme Leader's knights was perhaps even more distinguishing than being a queen.

"Clearly, no one's taught you to mind your tongue yet." The dark-haired knight grumbled, sweat beading on his forehead as he finished his last form. Just because he was going to be babysitting these three from now on didn't mean he was going to let his own training slip. He had been training practically since he was born, but he needed to continue to push himself to be better than any Sith to ever grace the galaxy. His master trusted him to be a strong leader for his knights, it was his duty to turn these three into the First Order's greatest weapons.

The warrior princess was going to be the easiest to train, her training was practically already done, but her attitude needed to be adjusted, she might have been a queen on Drumond Kaas, but he was in charge here. The other male was going to be his biggest hassle, he wasn't experienced in the Force at all, and he was already proving to be annoying. The blonde was perhaps the most complaint, but she seemed entirely untrained. Kylo wouldn't have recruited either of them if it were up to him, but he trusted his master's judgment. The Force was at least strong with Alora, though untrained.

"I want to see how proficient you all are in combat before we begin training in the Force." Kylo knew none of them were any match for him, but he needed to know just how much time they'd need to spend on combat alone. They were to become the most specialized soldiers in the galaxy, they would need to master hand-to-hand combat, lightsaber form, and their Force abilities. From the looks of it, he had plenty of work to do with them.

"Since you think all I do is "twirl", you can go first, Draven."

 

[KyloGlenn]

‘Mind my tongue?’ Draven’s brows furrowed, his jaw set and a glare settling itself on this Kylo Ren. He certainly had some superiority complex, didn’t he? Or at least that’s what Draven thought. There was no occurrence in Draven’s mind that this was a brotherhood. For now, the only way he saw it was him and them, not an ‘us’ or ‘we’. And the raven-haired man didn’t believe that would be changing.

But it didn’t matter much what he believed.

He’d learn eventually that changes would have to be made.

But for now. Draven ignored his body begging him not to make any sudden movements, begging him to sit down and sleep finally after who knows how many hours of being awake. Instead, his nose twitched, in annoyance or determination, he wasn’t quite sure. Maybe both. “Fine,” he agreed, disguising the hiss in his agreement. “What do you want me to do? Run at you with my fists at the ready? Or pick up a special stick?” Draven had a good idea where to put that stick.

Draven wouldn’t mind either, but he was infinitely better with his fists. Perks of working in a bad area. In a bad business.

Whereas Alora heard the word combat and knew it was not her strong suit. She glanced to the woman next to her and just looking at the dark-haired woman, Alora could tell that Kataly’a was formidable in combat, she just radiated fighter. And Alora knew that she would be alone in her inexperience. Something she’d have to learn, and that she wouldn’t mind learning.

And when it came to the Force, she knew she would be proficient in that, at least. She’d been able to teach herself that, subtly enough. She hadn’t been allowed to learn how to fight or anything of the like, it was insisted that customers liked submissive girls. But the Force, it couldn’t be seen. so no one knew she was learning ways to utilize it. And it had come in handy many times.

Alora pulled herself back into the conversation at hand. She noted the tension between the two giants. They’d known each other such a short period of time, but in both of the short interactions they had, weren’t exactly friendly. Even now, it seemed to be as if they were challenging each other. Or at least, that’s what she understood from Draven’s body language. She could get into his head to see, but she didn’t want to risk him noticing.

If they were all going to work together, they needed to get along. Or at least, they needed to trust each other. And Alora didn’t intend to gain anyone’s distrust.

“Are you actually going to hit each other? Is that even productive?” Alora mused. She remembered people throwing fists at each other back home—she didn’t want to say home but it was better than referring to it as back during her enslavement—and it didn’t usually result in much. Someone usually ended up rather hurt, rather than learning how to fight. Maybe that’s because they were all drunk.

“I find it to be,” Draven answered the whimsical blonde woman. At least, where he was from, a good hit or two got something done.

 

[a z u l a]

"Of course it's productive, how else would you learn how to fight?" Kylo knew that these three didn't have the life-long training that he did, but he was realizing just how much work he had to prepare his Knights for combat. He refused to disappoint Snoke, it was simply not an option, but Force help him he was nowhere near prepared to turn these misfits into formidable warriors. He could sense the power rippling from the petite blonde, but she was so malnourished it would take a while for her to keep up in combat training. The other two had no idea how to use the Force, and they had both already proven to be stubborn and impulsive. He'd have a much harder time training them, Alora seemed like she would be the least of his worries as long as he got her into fighting shape.

"We'll use training sabers, there's no way you'd be able to use a real one." The tallest knight snickered, walking over to a rack near the wall to pull out to metal make-shift lightsabers. He tossed one towards the mouthy male and took his fighting stance. He waited until Draven seemed comfortable in his stance before starting to circle him, faking a lunge towards his right before diving to his left and circling back to face his exposed back.

Kataly'a rolled her eyes at the men's masculinity contest, if this was how they were going to operate they'd never accomplish anything. They'd tear each other apart on the battlefield before their enemy even got to them. She was interested to see the infamous Kylo Ren in action, she'd only heard stories of all the men he'd wiped out across the galaxy.

"You know, I'm glad I'm not the only woman here." She remarked, turning towards Alora to give her a grin. The smaller woman seemed to be the only one without an ego the size of the Finalizer, something that already made Kat favor her. It would be nice to have someone sane around while the boys argued over who had the most testosterone.

 

[KyloGlenn]

Draven held the fake saber in hand, a little unsure of how to wield it, but he didn’t let that show. He wouldn’t give Kylo Ren the satisfaction of seeing that. He shifted it in his grip, assuming a comfortable stance. He was more accustomed to fisticuffs but he’d make this work.

Draven moved to dodge Kylo’s fake lunge, but was quick to react when he realized it was a juke, spinning to face the man. He couldn’t care less about how skilled Kylo Ren was at this. All he really cared about was whacking the ego right out of him with the little metal weapon. He stared the other man down as he regained his composure, different strategies on where and how to strike racing through his head. Melee wasn’t something he had much experience in, but he was all about adapting.

Draven lunged forward, raising the training saber high, as if he was going to aim to strike in the general area of Kylo’s upper body, but when it came to swinging, Draven went low, aiming to knock his opponent’s legs out from under him. It would be so satisfying to knock Kylo on his ass so soon. Or at least make him lose his balance. Draven could only hope for such luck.

Alora could feel that their match was fueled not by the desire to learn and improve, but rather to prove to the other that they were stronger or more intelligent. That’s why she questioned the productiveness of the ‘training’. But maybe the men just needed to get this out of their system.

Kataly’a spoke to her, grabbing her attention. Immediately Alora felt warmth from the girl, and she matched her friendly grin. “I am as well. I couldn’t imagine dealing with them,” she gestured to the boys, “on my own.”

Alora was comforted by Kataly’a’s presence, despite the woman clearly giving off the aura that she shouldn’t be messed with. Alora had more favorable relationships with women more so than men, as the men in her life had never meant for anything good. She hoped that would change with Kylo and Draven. “Alora,” she introduced herself formally, holding out her hand, as she hadn’t yet had the chance to.

 

[a z u l a]

Kylo was almost impressed when Draven didn't fall for his first fake attack, perhaps he wasn't as helpless as he'd first thought. Good reflexes were a necessity in battle, and while Draven's rough past put him at a disadvantage for most things it had at least prepared him for this at least.

His practice saber came up to block Draven's, only to be met with empty air as the other man instead swept for his legs. Unfortunately, he'd grossly underestimated the more unexperienced man and it was almost too late by the time he reacted, managing to rollout of the way at the last minute. Now he was angry, mostly at himself for making such a stupid mistake. It would be an embarrassment to lose to an untrained rogue in his first day, so with renewed force he jumped back up to his feet and unleashed a flurry of attacks on his opponent before finally ending the fight by placing the tip of his saber against his exposed throat.

"Not bad, for your first fight." He admitted, though it pained him to do so. Kylo had years of experience, his trainees would need to work much harder to be ready for true battle.

Kataly'a watched intently as the two men fought, analyzing every move and thinking about what she would've done different. Done better. It seemed the one thing she and the brooding knight had in common were their tempers. Kylo was much too cocky, though she knew it was one of her own down falls sometimes. Her rage helped in battle, but it also consumed her and gave her tunnel vision. It was a weapon and a weakness to be exploited. Kylo was clearly too consumed with his need to prove to Draven that he was better to anticipate his strikes, almost letting him get the better of him before swiftly ending the fight.

"Hopefully they'll wear each other out." She joked, watching as the two men wasted their energy on their contest of egos. The dark-haired woman took her hand and shook it firmly, though her features remained soft and inviting. Her teachers had always told her that a firm hand-shake was the first step to asserting dominance and making a good impression. It was curious to her that such a petite little thing had ended up here, the blonde stood in stark contrast to the two men battling only a few feet away. Clearly there was a reason she'd been chosen to join such an elite force, and Kataly'a was excited to work with her.

Before Kataly'a could begin to make conversation, Kylo was calling their attention. "Kataly'a, since you are somewhat trained you will work with Draven on hand-to-hand combat. Alora come with me, I have much to teach you." He ordered, leading the smaller woman over to the other side of the gym where they had more room away from the others, the former slave was the least trained, though she was the strongest in the Force, and he knew he was going to have to spend some extra time on her.

"Try to center yourself and breath while you move your saber, eventually the Force should flow through you in into it." He explained, handing her a practice saber and moving to stand beside her to show her the proper form. hesitantly, he placed his hands over hers to show her exactly where to grasp the weapon, quickly removing his hands from hers as to not startle her and returning to his own weapon to demonstrate the movements.

Kataly'a turned to face Draven as the other two wandered off to the other side of the gym. Last night had been so hectic that she hadn't gotten to talk to any of her new acquaintances, but the dark-haired man had seemed to be in a bad mood then and now, though she couldn't blame him. Kylo Ren put everyone in a bad mood.

"So, where'd you learn to fight?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood as she stepped into fighting stance. They would go easy, it was their first day and while Draven was much bigger than her, she was also trained to be a lethal weapon. She was interested to know where everyone came from, how they'd ended up here, who they were. It seemed they would be spending a lot of time together.

 

[KyloGlenn]

Draven wouldn’t say he was pleased that he’d effectively lost the not-so-fake fight with Kylo, but at the same time he he wasn’t too upset by his loss, just by Kylo’s attitude. And pleasantly surprised at how he fared against the supposedly fearsome Kylo Ren. Either Kylo wasn’t as great as he was said to be, or Draven was better at fighting than he thought he was.

Either one was fine with him.

Alora was a bit disappointed she didn’t get to more time to talk with Kataly’a. The woman certainly gave off an aura that she wasn’t someone to mess with, yet there was still a warmth to her that invited Alora in.

Nevertheless she followed Kylo to one side of the room. There was something about Kylo Ren that piqued Alora’s interest, her curiosity. Perhaps it was his strong presence in the Force. Or his strong presence in general.

She found amusement in his clear attempts to not intimidate her while trying to teach her. And of course she appreciated it. She studied him, his face. As if she stared at him long enough she could read him like a book.

She complied with his instructions, following his movements. Alora didn’t have any experience in combat, but she did know the Force and was a quick learner. She had to be good at adapting. “May I ask you a few questions?” She asked one question already, with no intention to draw away from their training, and not sure if he’d even allow any inquiries. She was used to not being allowed to ask things.

She took to what Kylo had told her. She adjusted to the feeling of the practice saber as the feeling of it grew, the Force flowing through her into it. It was strange, but not unnatural. It felt like an extension of her own hand, her own being. But of course, it felt like it was new. Because it was. She’d never even held something that was made to be intended as a weapon before, and now it was like it was connected to her.

It was true that Draven was in a bad mood, that Kylo put him in one. But that wasn’t unusual. He was almost always in a bad mood. It was just how he had to go through life. At least, he’d resigned himself to that.

The girl asked him a question, and his initial reaction was to dismiss her, tell her to mind her own business. “Does it matter?” He snapped before he could really process the situation. Almost immediately after saying that, he wanted to take it back. There was little point to being rude, especially if he had to work with these people. And the girl, Kataly’a’s goal was clearly just to lighten the air.

As much as his brain told him to not share, to not expose anything about himself, he conceded. He didn’t say sorry, though. Too prideful for that. “My home planet. Balosar. Don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but it’s not the nicest,” he offered. “And you? Poster boy over there said you had some experience.” He eyed her, his hesitation to engage with her apparent.

The girl had some guts, had some fight in her. He’d seen it the night before when they’d all been dragged into the room with that alien, Snoke. That still left a bad taste in his mouth. But, the point being, that despite what he’d seen the night before it didn’t change the fact that she was much smaller than him. He couldn’t help but think the pairing of them was unfair. Of course, he had no clue who Kataly’a was yet. Had no idea where’d she’d come from, or the other two. There was part of him that still thought about escaping that told him not to bother with these people. That he couldn’t trust them, it would be easier if he didn’t know them and they didn’t know him.

Despite his doubts of her capabilities, he took his decided stance. He advanced on her, keeping his movements slower than he’d actually move, unlike when he had fought Kylo and had wanted to win. He thought he was giving her a fair chance, though he didn’t need to. As he’d learn soon enough.

 

[a z u l a]

Despite her small stature and limited experience, Kylo was the most intimidated by the little blonde. Years and years of training had made him confident in his fighting abilities, he was damn near unbeatable with a saber, but his ability to wield the Force was something that hadn't ever come naturally to him. He was either too light or too dark, never able to control it or himself for that matter. Alora was by far the strongest of them all when it came to natural Force ability, even if she didn't know it yet.

Snoke had put this responsibility of all three on him, and Kylo was never one to disappoint his master. But how could he train Alora when he couldn't even figure it out himself? He was afraid that eventually she would figure her abilities out and realize that she was stronger than him and expose just how incompetent he was to his master.

He felt her green gaze on him and it made him flustered, without his mask on her felt exposed, trying to focus on teaching her the proper form instead of how stupidly nervous she was making him. He was Kylo Ren, the grandson of Darth Vader and the apprentice of Snoke, yet this tiny little thing was getting under his skin with a simple look. It was pathetic how easily he'd let himself get distracted, this was exactly why he was afraid of failing.

Now, it was his turn to stare at her as she attempted the movements he had demonstrated. She seemed to be a quick learner, and much more eager to learn than Draven or Kataly'a with their egos. He found that he didn't mind teaching her, it was almost enjoyable.

"Of course, you can't learn without asking questions." He teased, his brown eyes flicking up to meet hers as a small grin found its way onto his lips.



It was easy to see that Draven was still distracted from his fight with Kylo. The two had really gotten under each other's skin, clearly their male ego's were both a little bruised, and Kataly'a had no problem using that to her advantage. Her temper was her biggest weakness, but she also knew how to exploit it in others and use it to gain the upperhand. Even the smallest distraction in a fight could mean the difference between winning and losing, which was why she spent so much time training and refusing to let anything else get in the way.

Kataly'a didn't care about anything but winning, because the second she started caring about someone or something else made her vulnerable.

It wasn't exactly surprising when the dark-haired man was short with her, they weren't here to make friends, they were merely trying to survive, yet for some reason she was a little disappointed. For some strange reason she wanted to get to know him the same way she wanted to get to know Alora. Though it had been drilled into her brain not to let anyone close, she still found herself yearning for some form of human connection and the four of them would be spending a lot of time together. It couldn't hurt to be friendly with them.

It was a relief when Draven finally opened up, even if only a little. "I've never had the pleasure of visiting Balosar, but I've heard stories." She was even more curious now as to how someone from a backwater planet had ended up being trained here as one of Snoke's closest assassins. He seemed just like every soldier she'd met before, but she could sense a fire behind his eyes that made him stand apart. Perhaps Kylo was underestimating him, she had hopes that he would surprise them all.

"You could say that." She smirked, deciding to withhold the fact that she was a trained warrior from birth. It was always more fun when they underestimated her.

He was clearly going much easier on her than he had with Kylo. There had been a real fight between them, he'd exerted his full power trying to best the other man and now he was treating her like she was something fragile. Kataly'a was not fragile like a flower, she was fragile like a bomb, always ready to explode.

It irked her, that so often men assumed she couldn't keep up with them. She hadn't spent years training just to be treated like a child. Kataly'a didn't give him the courtesy of taking it easy on him, lunging forward she landed a few quick blows to knock him off balance before sweeping her leg behind his and sending him swiftly to the floor. She landed on top of him, straddling his waist as she pinned his wrists over his head to keep him from moving.

"Don't take it easy on me." The brunette glared down at him, leaving him to squirm for a moment before getting up as if nothing had happened and walking back to their starting marks.