Fandom The Apprentice

[a z u l a]

Relief filled her as she watched Kylo stand from his seat at his desk and come to join her by the table. It was a small victory, but the fact that he had willing chosen to be in her presence was a small step forward.

He had a way of invading her space that should have felt imposing, but she takes the proximity to study him in turn. The black helmet was discouraging, she wished he would take it off so that she could read his facial expressions. She wondered wht he would look like under that mask, would he be as human as the hands that rested at his side?

Suddenly, an unfamiliar presence was wrapping itself around her, soothing her as it delved into her mind and seeking every thought racing through her head. It had to be Kylo poking around in her brain, but his curiosity was much more gentle than the mind-probing Snoke had used on her. The Supreme Leader had wanted to see her deepest fears, her true alliance to him, her dreams, just so he could use them against her if the need ever arose. This was much different, a simple interest in her rather than an invasion of her most intimate thoughts.

Despite knowing how enraged he might feel at her invasion, she couldn't help the same curiosity bubble up within her. Nowhere near as experienced as him, she gently began seeking him out with her own Force energy, trying to figure out what was going on in his mind.

He pulled back sharply, leaving her with a feeling similar to whiplash. Though they had both retreated from the other's mind, she could still feel him, almost as if he had taken up residence in the back corner of her mind.

"Um, it's okay." She nods, her voice much quieter than she'd intended. Awkward tension fills the room, and so she takes the opportunity to sit down at the table and delve into her meal.

"How do you do it?" She inquires, curious as to how he'd managed to break down her mental walls and bare her every thought to him.

 

[timber]

Frowning thoughtfully, Ren remained standing, considering the girl. It hadn't seem to hurt her, his invasion of her mind. Nor did she appear to be distraught by it. Her own energy was still pooling in his mind, though weaker, but it was there. It would get stronger, and she would be able to break his walls down too. The thought was truly terrifying to him.

Eyeing the food, a sigh escaped his lips as he realized that taking off his helmet would be necessary to indulging in it. No food for him right now, then. Kataly'a wouldn't win the satisfaction of seeing his bare face.

He did, however, take a seat a few feet from her. She had asked him a question, but he wasn't ready to answer. Instead, he simply observed her.
He envied the way she presented herself freely. His Apprentice appeared to not have any reserves about her appearance, or confidence. It was admirable.

"It's not as difficult as you might think. Rather, it depends on the willingness of the recipient," he replied with a wave of a hand. He couldn't physically tell her how to, she knew how to, she just didn't know that she knew it yet. Right? Yeah.
"Your mind is soft, supple. Someone with very little experience with the Force could break you down. You'll learn to fix that,"

He grew a bit exhausted by her company. Not that it was bad, per say, it was just new . And new things took a toll on him. His eyes fluttered back up to her, and he opened his mouth to make some snide remark that she needed to leave. But he didn't.

He just sat, an immobile dark presence, pondering just what exactly Snoke got him into to.

 

[a z u l a]

A small smirk found its way to her lips, his own stubborn will not to remove his helmet left him sitting across from her rather awkwardly while she was able to enjoy the sustenance. One day, she'd get him to pry that stupid mask off his face.

"But what if I want to break someone as strong as you down?" She inquired, because surely there was no point in learning how to use the Force if she couldn't use it against other Force-users. As much as he irritated her, she would admit that he was a strong Force-user, perhaps one of the most powerful since Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker's time.

"Are there other Force-users being trained? I mean surely it can't just be the two of us the First Order has taken interest in. Can it?" Her homeworld had once been the home of many Sith, and though many great warriors inhabited it now, it was nowhere near the glory it had been when the Sith Empire reigned.

 

[timber]

Kylo Ren nodded at her question. "Yes, there are more. Other Knights, under my command," he had been training alongside Knights in his earlier days, though he had risen to the rank of Commander rather quickly. The Supreme Leader saw something within him that he didn't see in the others.

"You will be able to," addressing her earlier remark on breaking down those as powerful as himself. "Perhaps not me, but others. In time. We will strengthen your abilities."

Suddenly, a bright red color peered out from underneath his bedroom door. Frowning, Ren moved to open the door and reach for the holopad he left sitting on his bed. The red beeping was a bit concerning.

Almost as if on cue, he felt the entire ship away violently toward the left. He tumbled slightly, tripping over his own weight as he crashed un gracefully into his beside table.
An alarm began to sound, and his comm-link sprang to life.

"Master Ren," a voice that could only be described as weasel-y cracked through the speaker attached to his robes.
"It appears we have come in close proximity with a Resistance fleet. They jumped right next to the Finalizer, and we are waiting to engage." General Hux informed Ren.

Waiting? The slight calm that he had been experiencing was now gone. He stomped out of the bedroom, bringing his gloves from his bed to his hand with the flick of a wrist.

"Lets go."

 

[a z u l a]

Kataly'a imagined that Kylo's arrogance came from not only being the Supreme Leader's favorite apprentice but also having a small army of Force-users under his command. A simple utter of his name struck fear throughout the galaxy, and that was sure to boost anyone's ego. Even she was slightly afraid of him, but she'd never let him know that.

The promise of improving her mental abilities excited her, and she about to ask another bout of questions as he suddenly stood. Her green eyes trailed after him as he entered his room, curiousity flaring as she heard a muffled voice. Suddenly, a sudden shift of the ship left her practically falling out of her chair as she clutched the table's edge.

"What the hell was that?!?" She asked, quickly following after him as he marched out of the quarters and down the halls. The entire ship was in a frenzy, which signaled nothing good. Luckily, years of battle had prepared Kataly'a for situations like these and she remained calm and level-heaed as she planned her battle strategy.

 

[timber]

The Commander was greatful that his Apprentice felt no need to ramble on and on with more questions as they had exited the room. "That," he began, to answer the question she did pose, "is what happens when an idiot of a General gets a bit too scared of his opponent." Ren grumbled.

Waiting was definitely not the strategy that he would've used in this situation, or any situation for that matter. It wouldn't be hard to crush the Resistance fleet they had bumped into. Nevertheless, Ren wasn't in the command room. Hux was.

Quickly the pair made their way to the command room. Barging through the door, Ren began immediately. "Turn the damn ship around. You think they're gonna play nice and leave if we let them be? God, you're a moron." He stared down the General, rushing over toward the officer who was piloting the ship. "What're you doing? I said turn the ship around. NOW!"

Hux, as always, attempted to intervene, explaining their tactic but Ren was having none of it. His blood was boiling, preparing for a fight. He turned to Kataly'a,
"Don't do anything stupid, I'm going out there. Stay in the hanger in case they board."

A quick glance out the front of the ship now showcased a flurry of X-Wings zipping in and around the ship, lettting green cannon shots fly at their shields. None of their own ships had been deployed.

Without waiting for an answer from the girl, he once again left the room and crashed toward the hanger.

 

[a z u l a]

It seemed that Kylo was not particularly a people person, but he seemed to hold a special contempt for the ginger-haired general. The general practically jumped out of his chair at Ren's sudden explosion, making it very apparent who was in higher command here. Kataly'a watched him fumble with the controls, struggling to accomplish the simple task Ren had asked of him, perhaps she couldn't blame her master for having a short-temper with the red-head.

"Is he always this cheerful?" She asked aloud, not waiting for a reply before stalking off after her master. It was infuriating to be told to wait behind, she had lead many attacks in her time as Commander of Drumond Kaas's army, bringing many victories to the First Order. Her fingers itched to pilot one of the many state of the art aircrafts in the hanger, but she reluctantly obeyed her master's orders. For now. If things got out of control out there, she was getting into a TIE-fighter and aiding in the fight, orders be damned.

As she waited to see how the battle would turn out, she paced frantically across the hanger bay, her lightsaber aflame and ready to slash the first person who got in her way. She'd lost track of Kylo's ship in the chaos, but her anxiety got the best of her and she found herself oddly worried about the pain in her neck that was Kylo Ren. Reaching out with the Force, she felt for his presence and was relieved to find he was perfectly fine, radiating positive fury as always.

 

[timber]

Kylo seated himself in the pilot's chair of his ship. It was a bit larger than the others, all black, and oddly shaped. Many considered it very fitting.
He splayed his hands across the control panel, fingers itching to get up into the air. As a notorious pilot's son, flying was something that he had always enjoyed and excelled at. Despite the urgency of the situation, he was excited.

In a few seconds, the vehicle was hovering in the air, perfectly straight and facing the exit of the hanger. He would just have to trust that Kataly'a stayed behind and headed his commands. One could only hope.
In another few seconds, Ren was out in the fight. The notoriety of his ship distracted fire away from some of the other First Order pilots. Having multiple X-Wings locked on your backside may be intimidating for some. Not so much him.

He smirked and dipped the left wing of the vehicle, allowing an incoming missile to go off target. It was almost too easy sometimes. He maneuvered in and out of fire, hovering above enemy ships before dropping suddenly so that a Resistance pilot's fire would take down his own ally.
Just when he was beginning to enjoy himself, he felt something creeping along his spine and into the base of his skull. It's warmth and... Kataly'a. He felt her concern as she searched for her Master, and he felt complied to push back gently, letting her know he's doing just fine. Thriving really.

Pushing the button on his comm-link, he spoke to her. "How good are you with a TIE-fighter?"

 

[a z u l a]

"I thought you'd never ask." Kataly'a replies with a little too much enthusiasm, sheathing her saber and rushing towards the nearest craft. It's only been a few weeks that she's been away from the pilot's seat, and her hands know exactly what to do as she eases out of the hanger.

Quickly assessing the current state of the battle and deciphering the best plan of attack, she zeros in on the nearest Rebel ship and shoots them down before they even realize she's there. Another X-wing appears behind her and she dodges easily out of the way, used to her Command ship being the center target. She trails the side of the Finalizer, narrowly missing an extended wall and letting her pursuer crash into it.

It seems Kylo's ship has become their main target, hoping to shoot down their enemies biggest asset, and for a minute her worry distracts her enough to let an incoming X-wing land a hit on her port side. She quickly recovered, spinning her TIE-Fighter out of the way of the blaster fire, avoiding other enemy ships as she goes.

 

[timber]

Ren saw a ship emerge from the hanger and could only assume it was hers. He watched his Apprentice out of the corner of his eye. Just in case. He saw that shot fly into her own ship, but she recovered quickly. He let in s breath.

The assault on his ship became heavier as he neared the enemy's main ship. It was large, and shaped like bullet. Their designer was much different than that of the First Order, Ren thought smugly as he rushed toward it.

He did his best to dodge the fire as he circled their larger ship.
"General," Ren called into their communication system. "What is the status on their shields?" He could tell they were still deployed and running as stray blasts bounced off of the invisible shield.

"Low. We've sent someone inside to-... they're down, Commander."

Ren grinned and jerked his vehicle up sharply. "Kayaly'a, we're going in."

 

[a z u l a]

The fire upon their ships only increased as they approached the Resistance's ship, but their TIE-Fighters outnumbered the X-Wings easily and they were doing quite fine. Where the First Order was well-practiced and precise, the rebels were sloppy and in too much of a hurry. That's what happened when you had a well-trained army fighting against a band of misfits.

"Right behind you, Master." Kataly'a replied, trying to shake off the enemy ships as she cruised towards the cruiser. The Resistance became more frantic as they realized their shields were down, practically a sitting target. She was familiar with ships like these, they weren't too hard to figure out. She followed Ren's ship towards the combustion engine, preparing a well-timed missile to send the ship to pieces.

 

[timber]

The site would be a beautiful. A galactic specifically, really, as the missiles would obliterate the Resistance ship into millions of glowing orange and yellow and black fragments. The sheer joy of such an accomplishment would...

Ren, in a fit of panic, remembered something entirely vital about these Resistance fleets. They had an ever important commander who happened to be his mother. In a moment of weakness, Ren slowed down, staring at the vessel. "General, any sign of Organa on this ship? If so, it would be wise to take her hostage don't you think?" It was a disguise really. He was too weak...

"No, we have word she is elsewhere on a remote planet."

Kylo nodded. "Kataly'a, engage." He pulled up and away, allowing her room to fire.

 

[a z u l a]

Sensing the increased panic her master felt, Kataly'a almost veered off course in sheer panic herself. What could have possibly caused the most feared Force-user in the galaxy to feel so much fear? Nothing had really changed to cause it, there was even less ships trailing them now because they'd shot most of them down.

Her thought process was interrupted by Ren's voice, ordering her to engage the target. Quickly pulling herself together, she focused on the task at hand and dropped the first bomb as close to the engine as she could, pulling her ship up as fast as possible to evade the shrapnel.

As the cruiser began separating into piles of metal, she retreated back to the Finalizer, her mission complete. She was riding an adrenaline high as she landed her TIE-Fighter, proud of her assistance to the First Order.

 

[timber]

Ren had evaded the inevitable wreckage prior to his Apprentice destroying the vessel. He watched a moment, hoping to space the General was right about his intel. That Organa was on a planet and not on that cruiser. He sighed, no use in worrying about it now.

He circled his ship back around, landing down in the hanger nearly 10 minutes after Kataly'a. He took a moment to collect his thoughts before exiting his ship. He senses the joy and pride radiating off of her. He should've congratulated her but he didn't, he simply walked by.

His comm link went off one more time. "Commander," Hux's shrill voice cut through "We have reason to believe they are sending more."

 

[a z u l a]

Disappointment flooded Kataly'a as her master simply walked by, ignoring her existence and the great shot she'd managed. She quickly shook off the feeling, an accomplishment was still an accomplishment, she wasn't a child who constantly needed praise and reassurance.

Following after him, she heard the last bit of his transmission. "More? We destroyed their cruiser, how can they send more?" Nevertheless, she was prepared to get back in her TIE-Fighter and destroy another Resistance fleet.