WHO:ben + finn kylo ren + eight-seven WHERE: a similar looking Galaxy far far away WHEN: backdated / AU!TFA WHAT: WHAT IF/ A New Apprentice STATUS: completed WARNINGS: PG13
Smoke curled up out of the doomed trade post on the desert planet. The BB unit ripped apart in pieces amongst the sand as man in black Deathtrooper armor knelt down plucking the map device from its remnants. Six other men appeared from the plooms of smoke, all dressed in unique armor and helmets. Sith energy sparking the energy around them.
"I have it. Go, wait for further instructions." Eight-seven gestured to the other Knights to dismiss them as he headed back to his ship. The outpost would have easily given up the droid without fuss, but Eight-Seven never much liked their tactics and distracting the other Knights of Ren has become somewhat of a game for him since the Supreme Leader assigned Eight-Seven to assist Kylo with them.
Lines of Stormtroopers walked the ship docking area in their typical masses of after battle cacophony. The glint of silver armor could be seen in the distance as Phasma watched him pass by. The Captain had wanted the Force-sensitive trooper for her own, the General ready to give him over a decade before had Snoke not caught wind of the child at the same time. But it had been more useful to have Eight-Seven as a way to push Kylo further toward Snoke while also starving Eight-Seven for the chance to train the raw nature of his own force abilities.
Sending out a telepathic thought, "I obtained the map, sir. I will meet you in your chambers."
- - -
They would find his uncle.
Even if they had to tear through every planet to do it.
He’d been on the bridge, listening to the report from the other officers as they relayed the success of Eight-Seven’s latest mission. The map had not only been found but it had been obtained and brought back. It would have been easy for him to go down to the planet and retrieve himself but this had been a test.
One that Eight-Seven had passed.
Ren wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Snoke had been adamant about giving over the Force-sensitive soldier to him for some time, even after talks of Phasma having him. Ren preferred to work alone. He didn’t need assistance. Especially not from someone else who could also wield the Force.
At the same time, it had been a long while since his days as a student. He missed the companionship.
When Eight-Seven’s voice entered his mind, Ren left the bridge immediately. He didn’t ask how he’d gotten the map. That wasn’t important. As long as there was no one coming back for it. In his personal room, which was big but quite empty save for a few pieces of furniture and a closed-off space for his bed that he rarely used, he waited with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
He didn’t need to hear the sound of the door to know when Eight-Seven was coming. Ren could feel him through the Force as easily as he could feel the leather of his gloves. He flicked his wrist and the door opened for him but he still didn’t turn around. Like he had anything to fear from a stormtrooper.
“You have it then?” Ren asked as he moved from the window that stretched from one end of the room to the other. The view of the planet was nice, at least.
- - -
Kylo had an intensity to his Force that Eight-Seven could have picked up his exact location well before the ship landed in the dock. That was what Eight-Seven was naturally talented at; finding people and things. His power in that portion of the Force was unmatched in the raw talents of the other- older- Knights of Ren. That was what made him useful to the Sith-leaning order.
Head bowed, the jet-black helmet held at his side, Eight-Seven had went to knock only for the door to open. He took a deep breath before he stepped inside. “I do. The droid had been found in the desert by a Teedo who had intended to sell it for parts. The Knights and I dispatched the man and the entire outpost for harbouring it. I took care of the droid so there would be nothing to trace for the Resistance.”
Even amongst the dark side, Eight-Seven had a habit of keeping his kill count down to a minimum, unless absolutely necessary. He had targets and he took them out without question, but every death around him shuttered through his being. Without true control, he tried his hardest to harness that feeling into his force-abilities but not create more of it by his own hands.
Dark brown eyes flicked to the wine glasses. “Are you expecting someone else, sir?”
- - -
Someone else?
Ren sneered at the idea. “They wish.” Probably not. He’d made it a point of not making any friends in the First Order. Even if there were a few here that had gotten under his skin. No, he shook his head. “They’re for you. A toast to your success.”
He was dressed from head to toe in his usual Knights of Ren garb; black leather over every inch of him as if he were even trying to deny he was even human. But for this conversation, he wasn’t here to intimidate. He took off the mask and set it on a nearby table. The only one sadly in the room. Leaving it there, he turned and faced the stormtrooper.
“Eight-Seven-” Ren started but then made a face. That was a mouthful, wasn’t it? “Come in.” He waved his hand and the door slid shut behind the other man. “You’ve proven yourself today. At least, you’ve proven your skill. Whether you deserve to be trusted, I’ll be the judge of that.” Ren opened the wine and poured them each a small glass. His maybe had a little more.
“Snoke has decided to give you to me. You’re meant to be my apprentice. What do you think of that?” He held up a glass for him, waiting to see if he’d accept it.
- - -
Eight-Seven rarely was given a chance to celebrate or toast to anything. His rank might have been somewhere around a Captian, but he had been given few of the opportunities to relax as Generals or others might. He had been an experiment in his own right, he knew that.
Stepping further into the expansive room, Eight-Seven assumed the other man needed the space for an extra-large bed that might fit his wookie-like height. Keeping his thoughts to himself, though, he stayed standing until Kylo might offer a seat.
Trust was not an easily gained or given item amongst any of them. Even amongst the ranks of the Knights of Ren, they were together for convenience and maximizing fear. Most of the others- those not with the First Order- followed some religion of their own, but Eight-Seven had been trained to ignore those ideals and instead use them against the Knights when necessary.
His mouth dropped agape as he stood dumbfounded by the announcement. “You’re apprentice?” He cleared his throat. “Sir… I- I’m not sure what to say.” Are you sure came to mind.
- - -
Unfortunately for Eight-Seven, his thoughts were quite open. Ren glared at him mildly from over the rim of his wine glass. Wookie? He wasn’t that tall..
Guess one of the first lessons he would have to teach his new apprentice was how to keep his mind guarded. Or at least teach him how to do it better so that even he would have to strain to read his thoughts.
“Then say nothing, Eight-Seven. Have a glass with me. I’ll do enough talking for the both of us.”
Even Siths could joke. Ren almost managed a grin but he kept his face neutral as he took a sip from his glass. “Eight-Seven. Do you go by any other name?”
- - -
There would be a lot he needed to learn. Stormtroopers were given specific lessons and the Knights of Ren had none but their instincts with the Force. Belonging somewhere in the middle, all he had was what he had watched others do. Mental tricks had not been something easily seen and replicated.
Eight-Seven took up the glass and a seat adjacent to Kylo. His own helmet set on the floor as it had no place next to Kylo’s, Eight-Seven held the glass in both hands. “2187, sir. Batch Eight were the ones who called me Eight-Seven for short. I guess it sort of stuck.” He narrowed his eyes momentarily. “Why?”
- - -
Ren raised an eyebrow at the stormtrooper helmet. He tried not to be bothered by the sight of it. Too many times, they just reminded him of all the stories he’d heard from his uncle ...from his mother. Those thoughts always led to little tugs in his chest. Tugs that he forced himself to ignore.
“A sith apprentice cannot go by a name like that. You have to distance yourself from it, now that you’ll be training with me.”
Not once had he asked for the man’s permission. There was no choice in the matter. This was what Snoke wanted. And for now, what Snoke wanted was what Ren wanted. Force help his master when that need ran out. Hopefully Eight-Seven wouldn’t share those types of feelings towards him. But wouldn’t that just be his luck?
And though what he’d said implied that it was Eight-Seven who would choose his new name for himself, Ren went on and cut him off before he could.
“I’ll call you Sev. How do you like that?”
- - -
There was a flutter of emotion. Eight-Seven could feel it, instinctively making him take in a breath. He might not have picked up on thoughts in Kylo’s mind but emotions, Eight-Seven linked to emotions so much easier than most. It was why killing had such a strong effect on him.
Eight-Seven had not had the idea of naming himself cross his mind. The very idea was not something he had been allowed to do. Their nicknames came from childish desires to have a family and individuality. The name came from before Snoke had taken notice of his sensitivity.
“Sev. I like that,” he managed a smile. He let out a breath, he did not realize he had been holding. “This is a great honor, sir. I… I thought the Supreme Leader wished for me to stay on as your guard not… Is it okay if I drink? Should I wait for you to drink?”
- - -
Ren was an unending stream of emotions. Some days, they were easier to control. Other days, they were harder to hide. Snoke always seemed to find them, manipulate them to whatever task he needed done. There had once been a time when Ren would have gladly done whatever his master asked of him, no questions or concerns.
Now? Ren made sure to use his master as much as he needed for his own selfish wants. Snoke was a puppet, a tool for him to use as he shaped his own future. A future that his new apprentice could be apart of.
In spite of feeling the need to restrain his emotions, Ren allowed himself to grin a little at Eight-Seven’s enthusiasm. “You should like it. It’s what I’m going to call you from now on,” he proclaimed with a haughty turn of his chin. The question about the wine had him looking over the now-ex-stormtrooper again. “You don’t have to wait for me to drink. You can do what you like.” What a question. But then, Ren had always been given that choice. As a stormtrooper, had Sev?
He went over to the food storage container and pulled out some fruit that had been collected from a raid the week before. Those too he brought over to the table. “Here. You can eat these as well. You don’t need to ask for permission if you want something. Just take it. The room next to mine will be yours. The previous commander left behind his belongings so those can also be yours.” Ren wisely left out the part where Snoke had beheaded the commander for allowing a Resistance fleet escape unscathed. “If you would like that.”
- - -
Drinking down the entire glass in one gulp. Sev sighed. He had never had the opportunity to drink anything not regulation. His station had been adjacent but still locked away to see how well he could be controlled. How well he could control others without the distractions of any more freedom than necessary for him to be considered part of the Knights of Ren.
Sev’s eyes widened as he took a fruit and popped it into his mouth with the enjoyment of someone who had never experienced such flavours. “I would like that very much. It might take me some time to adjust, sir. But I would be honoured to take the next room over. I am at your service and ready to train.”
He knew that most of the old religion trained heavily as children. He knew that Kylo had been trained as a Jedi before switching sides and therefore had far more knowledge about the Force than he suspected Snoke did. So to begin any kind of proper training through the man was more than he could have asked for. Sev would no longer have to learn the shreds of pieces left to him to make sure he was as reliant on others as he could possibly be while still being useful.
- - -
The rules here didn’t apply to him. He had his own laws that he followed. The First Order had their own goals. His own aligned with theirs for the time being.
Ren watched as the other indulged himself. Eight-Seven was eager, that much was obvious. He wondered if Seve understood what this would mean for him. What becoming a Sith apprentice would shape him into…
Not even Ren had known the darkness that he’d slipped into until he was already consumed by it.
“It’s not about honor. It’s about control and power. We have it. We can take it. We make sure others cannot take it from us. Not the Resistance. Not the Jedi. Not even each other. Do you understand this?” Ren tilted his head. “I will teach you what I can but keep your mind open and your eyes sharp. Don’t let your guard down around anyone. Not even me. Your usefulness to me may come to an end one day. I hope you’ll be ready to fight me by then.” His lips twitched at the end, suggesting that he was only partially being serious.
- - -
Turning toward Ren, the moment of relaxation gone back into oblivion, Seve nodded. "I understand that. I have been with the Knights for long enough to know exactly how that works." Being kept down had been his life, but observing was his mission.
Eyes narrowed. "I have been watching you and them since the First Order found out about me, that was the only way I was allowed to learn about the Force. Do not underestimate me because I was supposed to be one of the many Stormtroopers out there." Or because he did not have some pampered treatment. He could be grateful for this opportunity without being snowed by it. He would prove to all of them that they should have gave him more from the beginning. But his issues were not with Kylo as much as it was with Snoke's decisions in his own upbringing.
"If we do fight, you should hope that you have the high ground because I could find you on a planet full of people without opening my eyes," Seve partially teased back.
- - -
“Your duty to the knights is over. You are no longer with them. You are with me,” Ren claimed quickly and aggressively. He swallowed the rest of the wine in one go and dropped the glass back to the table.
A smile did finally come. Small and smug. “Watching me? Good, then you know what to expect. I don’t always fight fair.”
Sev wasn’t timid or weak. They had only been talking for a short while now and he was already handing out warnings. “If I underestimate you, I hope you give me a reminder to never do so again.” Was that permission to openly attack him? Maybe. Ren was curious how far his new apprentice would go.
- - -
The aggression flickered in the air and flooding Sev’s system. He could live off the sudden flairs of emotion his new master had. Sev did not flinch or react other than a shudder he could not control.
“No one truly fights fair.” Not since the Jedi were a ruling class amongst the star systems and that had been their downfall really.
A smirk pulled at a corner of his lips at the statement. He looked forward to learning under Kylo and to show him that he was not merely a man to fall into line and act as canon fodder for the First Order. “So what is my first duty, Master Ren?”