AN: Hahaha, I had a lot of fun with this chapter. I find the intensity of the dark side really amusing, and after establishing some plot premise and character motives in the last chapter, I was ready to have a bit of fun.

A few of you have asked about romance. I can guarantee you there will be romance, I don't think I'm capable of writing without it. That's all I'm going to tell at this point, hahaha.

Thank you so much for your reviews! I never intended to continue this, but it's so fun hearing all your feedback, I keep getting inspired. So, thank you! Hope you have fun reading this installment.

Kylo Ren paced up and down the cargo bay, helmet in place, looking imperious as any Sith if it weren't for the way his hands dangled restlessly at his sides. The stormtroopers gave him a wide berth. "This is taking too long," he said in a low, gravely voice. "I could have eaten something else by now."

General Hux exchanged a glance with one of his commanders. "Perhaps this is an opportunity for you to explore maturity," he said cooly. "To develop your patience. Your control."

Nobody saw it coming. In an instant Kylo Ren's red lightsaber was drawn and slashed through the nearest stormtrooper. The faceless innocent crumbled to the ground. Ren straightened slowly, and turned his head towards Hux. The impulsive Sith was all stillness and calm, now, as though the violent act drained the restlessness from him. "Don't forget your place, General. At the end of the day you are a pawn, and there are others who could take your place."

"I'm not the only one, these days." A cruel smirk.

Ren lunged. General Hux flinched back in alarm, swallowing in relief when the lightsaber stopped just short of his throat. Ren tilted his head slowly. "Don't forget," he said. "I am not known for considering the consequences of my actions."

The already pale General turned another shade of white. "Yes sir," he replied.

"Excuse me," a droid interrupted. Even the robot seemed nervous. "The Kezmadians are ready. Shall I direct them to the eating hall?"

Ren nodded. The droid turned wordlessly and headed towards a large, clunky foreign ship which had come on board. Dozens of stormtroopers surrounded it, weapons ready. Through his helmet Ren leveled the General with a stare. "Alert the padawans," he commanded. "It's time to eat." The young Sith stormed away, cape trailing imperiously behind him.

The commander came alongside General Hux, watching Ren disappear through the automated doors. "He's just hangry," the commander remarked.

Meanwhile Kylo Ren stormed through the eating hall, making his way to the head table where he would be sitting. He glanced at the array of Sith padawans already seated, those stormtroopers who had recently been found to be sensitive to the force. Their armour was a hastily assembled grey version of that worn by the stormtroopers. Awakened or not, they were weak. Too weak. Unstable. Many tempted by the light side. Black was too good for them.

The decision to train the awakened was Ren's. Snoke had taken some convincing.

He told himself it was the most ruthlessly sensible course of action, to train them rather than kill them. The awakening would provide too many padawans for the light side, now that Skywalker had left his life of cowardice and apparently recovered from his failure at the previous Jedi academy. (A memory of days in the sun, learning from his uncle, surrounded by peers. Laughter. Connection. He squashed it.) Apparently killing the Jedi wasn't enough. The force was like water in a dam. It sought an outlet, and now it had burst. If they could not destroy all the force sensitives, they would simply have to train more Sith to help them in their quest to eradicate the Jedi.

A new war. Ren felt a thrill of excitement course down his spine. Yes. That was what he wanted. War.

On the way to his seat he passed a young man with tan skin and dark, tilted eyes, his helmet removed in preparation for the lavish meal that had been promised and was yet to be delivered. Impulsively, Ren removed his own helmet. The young man nodded. "Ren," he said. "We thank you for the invitation." A knowing in the awakened's demeanor unnerved Ren, and yet he found himself continually drawn to talk to speak to this particular padawan.

Weakness, his conscience whispered.

"Let the Kezmadians grovel," Ren replied cooly. He continued to assess the man. "You are TN-135."

"Yes sir."

"Show me what you can do."

A grin touched TN-135's eyes, but did not bend his lips. He stood slowly to his feet, and extended a hand. Immediately Ren was shoved back, as though punched hard in the shoulder. Ren narrowed his eyes. TN seemed amused. Almost playful. Ren raised an index finger in warning. "There are no brothers amongst Sith," he said calmly. "You must find your hatred. Your jealousy. The force is strong with you, but even here we are not safe from danger. You must delve into the dark side, or be eliminated."

Heeding the warning, the light left TN's eyes and he nodded, sitting down wordlessly. Ren spun on his heel and continued to his seat. Agitated. Angry. How was it that the light side found its way onto his ship? How was it able to push against the darkness all around?

He sat down, drumming his fingers against a steel armrest. The room consisted of twenty long tables, each seating twenty. Most were already full, except for the two tables closest to Ren's - which consisted of forty Sith padawans, who were still trickling in from their training which was even more brutal, even more ruthless than the stormtroopers' regular conditioning. It had to be. This was how they could put an end to the Jedi. This was how he could restore order in his grandfather's honour.

And yet in his own mind his mission was becoming less clear as time passed. It was the awakening which caused his confusion. The force was stirring. And he was deeply connected to the force. It pulled at him from the inside, gnawed at him. Tore him to pieces. He used the conflict to strengthen himself, used the frustration. Used the pain.

A pulse went through the air. Ren looked around to see if anyone else had felt it. TN-135 sat up straight and looked around, along with one other in the back, a dark skinned girl with short hair. Both looked to Ren, who was already on his feet.

"This is stupid."

"It'll work."

"Are you sure your man is reliable?" Rey asked dubiously. Side by side, she and her new co-pilot were gliding through space, headed straight towards the enemy camp.

"Sure," Poe said.

"And you're sure he won't be caught?" She gave an annoyed shake of her head. The plan they were currently executing had not been her vote. "Kylo Ren will smell this coming a mile away."

"He won't," Poe replied. "Sith Lord or not, a young man still likes a good meal. They've been on freeze packs for weeks. The Kezmadians only recently surrendered to First Order control, and are legitimately looking to garner favour. What better way than food? It's perfect."

"It's not," she muttered. "I'd see this coming."

"He won't."

"He'll sense something is off when he sees him."

"He won't see him. Do you have any idea how many stormtroopers there are at this place? That amount of food isn't going to be delivered by one guy. He'll just be another star in the sky." Poe glanced over, and took note of the tension in the young Jedi's shoulders. "Trust me, Rey," he said gently. "He'll get us in."

"We should have gone with my plan."

"Get captured and then break out," Poe deadpanned. "He really would see that one coming. And escaping wouldn't be so easy this time."

Rey narrowed her eyes. "I suppose boys do have huge appetites," she said.

"Boys?" Poe teased, sending her a cheeky grin. "Harsh."

She didn't even glance at him, only lifted her chin as she engaged the cloaking device and prepared to enter the enemy's territory. "I guess we'll see if they are men," she replied, and increased their speed. "A man would choose the light side."

The look Poe gave her was thoughtful. "Ah, huh," he replied.

Steaming trays of food were carried into the room, and apparently even stormtroopers couldn't resist the urge to murmur their collective appreciation. Real food. Food that had been alive only days earlier, and was now dead and cooked and being served to them on an aluminum platter.

Kylo Ren swore loudly as a tempting tray of food was placed before him. It smelled so good, but something was wrong. He'd felt it, when he felt that pulse in the air. He raised a hand in front of him and closed his eyes, feeling the force in the room, letting his senses become aware of it between every item, every human, and then deeper into every human's thought. There was only so much he could do but Ren was particularly skilled in mind tricks and telepathy. All he needed was a clue, some mind that was not focused the same way as the others.

Fear. Fear. Fear. Anger. Hatred. He scanned the caterers quickly and found what was to be expected. The Kezmadians were a conquered people, and their negativity thrilled the dark side within him. It wasn't what he was looking for.

And then he found it.

Hope.

It was offensive, vile, it tasted like vomit to his conscious mind. And it belonged to a man – no, more of a creature, the Kezmadians had thick leathery skin and bulging eyes – over by table 17. Incensed, Ren snapped his helmet back on and strode towards him, arm outstretched. The Kezmadian's breath caught in its throat as he was slammed back against the wall, the tray of food he'd been carrying falling to the ground with a loud bang.

Aside from TN-135 and the brown skinned girl, who watched as if transfixed, the room's occupants ignored what was happening. Violence was like breathing for Ren, and they were used to ignoring what they did not want done to them. Apparently the Kezmadians needed no warning, for their only response was to stare fixedly at what they were doing.

"What have you done, creature?" Ren asked darkly. His voice was even more intimidating through the helmet.

I have done nothing, Sith scum! The creature hissed in its native dialect. Behind his mask, Ren rolled his eyes.

"I don't have time for liars," he said blandly, and applied more pressure with the force. Blood began to come out of the Kezmadian's nose and eyes. It made a horrible keening sound in its throat.

I...will...tell...nothing! it said.

"Slight progress," Ren whispered. "What exactly won't you tell me?" And he changed the focus of the force to the being's mind. He pushed. He pressed. He enjoyed the fear and pain he was creating.

In the end, the creature showed no outstanding strength.

I have let them in. The girl Jedi and the fearless pilot. They will be your undoing.

A moment later the creature was dead, slumped against the ground. Kylo Ren ran a hand over his helmet, instinctively looking to brush his fingers through his hair in a nervous habit left from childhood. He turned headed towards the main doors, reaching up to activate his earpiece as he did so. "Tell General Hux we have intruders," he snapped. "I want my knights searching every nook and cranny of this station."

"...Now, sir?"

"Unless you want to allow the Resistance to execute whatever plan they are hatching," he said through gritted teeth, "then yes, now."

"During dinner, sir?"

"I will kill you, Commander."

"Yes sir. Right away sir. Should we alert the Sith padawans? Do we need them?"

Something stirred inside him, like a memory. Then he knew. "No. All stormtroopers on duty are to be placed on guard around the perimeter of the eating hall. The Resistance is after my padawans."

He would kill her this time, he thought to himself. Damn that girl. And especially damn Poe, that cocky piece of mealworm. So righteous. So brave. So beloved of Han Solo and General Leia Organa. Poe should be tortured rather than killed outright.

Ren switched off his earpiece and stormed through the eating hall, then paused and grabbed a plate of food from in front of a random stormtrooper. He could work and eat at the same time if he had to, damn the stars.

The stormtrooper watched the terrifying Sith leave, and stared at the empty table in front of him, head hanging sadly.