CHAPTER SIX
Mustafar
The air smelt of sulfur as Kylo Ren stepped out of his TIE Silencer. Even with his mask, he could still smell the smoke and ash in the air and feel the heat radiating through the fabric of his robes. If there ever was a planet in the galaxy that could be described as a living hell, then Mustafar was a sufficient candidate. For all its reputation as a volcanic world however, the spot that Kylo had landed in was distinguished by the presence of tree saplings sprouting from the ground. How this was possible on a world as desolate as Mustafar, he could not even begin to guess. At the moment however, it was the least of his concerns.
As he began to tread his way through the nascent forest, a tingle at the back of his head prompted him to notice several sets of yellow eyes glowing at him from beyond the surrounding fog. He rested a hand on his lightsaber hilt but the strange beings made no move to approach or attack him. Regardless, he remained wary of them as he continued his journey.
After walking for some time, Kylo Ren eventually reached a clearing on the outskirts of the forest, which opened out into a small lake. The brackish water reflected Mustafar’s dark red skies, which caused it to look like a pool of blood. As he gazed upon the lake, Kylo felt the tingling in his head increase as a humid breeze passed over him, carrying words through the air.
“You seek answers,” the voice said.
“Who’s there?” Kylo Ren asked, looking around as he unclipped his lightsaber from his belt.
“There is no need to raise your weapon. I mean you no harm.”
“And just who are you, exactly?” Kylo growled. While he did not activate his lightsaber, he also did not put it back on his belt.
“I am known as the Eye of Webbish Bog, the Oracle of Mustafar, the Keeper of a Thousand Secrets. I have many names but only one purpose: to share my knowledge with those who seek it.”
“My master sent me here for my final trial. Are you part of the trial?”
“Did the Force not lead you to me?”
“No,” Kylo muttered. “I am here for the ruins of a fortress that once belonged to my grandfather.”
“Ah! You speak of the Dark Lord Vader. A powerful Sith Lord was he. Yes, his fortress once stood proud and tall here on Mustafar until his untimely demise. Since then, it has stood here abandoned; fallen victim to time of disuse. Have you come to claim it for yourself?”
The thought had not crossed Kylo Ren’s mind until now. Snoke had not told him the purpose of his visit to Mustafar; was it what the Oracle was suggesting, perhaps?
Deciding to humor the prospect, he said to the voice, “Yes. I have come to claim the fortress for myself.”
“Then I am afraid you will be met with some resistance.”
Hearing movement behind him, Kylo turned around to see the beings he had seen earlier emerge from the forest. Yellow eyes glowed from beneath dome-shaped hats as they raised their blaster rifles at the Knight of Ren.
“The Alazmec of Winsit worship Darth Vader as the true Dark Lord of the Sith,” the Oracle spoke in Kylo’s ear. “They do not take kindly to those who threaten to challenge that notion.”
“I am no Sith,” Kylo said quietly.
“And you are no Vader. And that, frankly, is all they care about.”
The voice fell silent as Kylo Ren ignited his lightsaber blade. The gathered Alazmec let out a warbled cry as they opened fire. Leaping into the air, Kylo lunged at the cultists and brought his blade down onto the group’s leader. As the Alazmec’s body fell to the ground, Kylo did not pause for even a moment as he proceeded to cut his way through the horde.
The Supremacy
It was nice to have legs again, Ochi thought as he walked down the corridors of the Supremacy. The technology that the Supreme Leader had at his disposal aboard his Super Star Destroyer was so advanced that he could not even tell that they were prosthetics; his new legs felt as real as his old ones had been. Then again, he was no stranger to having new body parts or even new bodies entirely. After all these years, he had become numb to such processes. So long as he could move around freely, he could be using a droid body for all he cared.
Well, that might be pushing it a little too far, Ochi reflected as he spotted a black-plated BB unit roll past him. The spherical droid rotated its flat dome head to look at him with its singular red photoreceptor and let out a warbled tone before continuing its way down the corridor. Behind his mask, Ochi rolled his eyes. Who could fathom droid behavior?
After turning down a few more hallways, Ochi finally reached the detention block that was his destination. Standing guard at the control station was an officer and two stormtroopers. After providing them with his security clearance, Ochi proceeded to make his way down to the only occupied cell on the entire level. He keyed the entry code into the control panel and the door swished open, revealing its solitary occupant.
Kane Skywalker, clone of Anakin, was held suspended in the air by mechanical appendages extending from all corners of the small box that served as his cell. He had been stripped of his prosthetic limbs and mask, leaving his scarred face bare. Unlike his template, the clone Skywalker did not appear to suffer the same respiratory issues that Darth Vader had; clearly the labored mechanical breathing Ochi had heard from him back on Lothal had merely been for show. For what purpose, though, Ochi had yet to figure out.
Stepping into the cell, Ochi waited for the door to close behind him before speaking to his prisoner. “You intrigue me, Skywalker,” the assassin said. “Its rare enough to find clones of Force-sensitives, let alone ones that are mentally stable. But a clone of the Chosen One himself? I wouldn’t have believed it if someone told me.”
Kane Skywalker said nothing, glaring at Ochi with his blue eyes.
“But what interests me is why you’re in the state you’re in,” Ochi went on. “I’ve met the man you were created from. And even though he bested me, I could tell that he was being held back. That mechanical suit of his prevented him from being the powerful Sith that he could have been. Without it, do you think he would have remained the Emperor’s lackey? I don’t think so. I’m sure Palpatine would have been a footnote in Imperial history and we would all still be under the tyranny of an Emperor Vader.
“And look at you. Somehow, you have ended up with the same hindrances as Vader in the exact same manner, all the way down to the suit. Surely this couldn’t have been happenstance. You did this to yourself, didn’t you?”
“Do you think I am not aware of what I am capable of?” Kane retorted.
“Given what I’ve seen from you, I strongly doubt it,” Ochi replied.
Kane’s eyes narrowed, a shadow falling over his face. “When I realized just what I was capable of without anyone, Jedi or Sith, to keep me in check, I brought this fate onto myself so that the galaxy would never have to fear from another Darth Vader—a more powerful Darth Vader.”
“And just what was it that made you realize your potential?”
Kane hesitated for the briefest of seconds, though Ochi noticed it all the same. “I received a vision—”
“A vision?” Ochi scoffed. “Please, don’t make me laugh. That has to be oldest excuse in the Jedi book.”
Kane scowled. “It is none the less true—”
“You and I both know that it isn’t.” Ochi stepped closer to the clone Skywalker, his hand drifting towards a dagger holstered on his belt. “Tell me the truth or I will cut it out of you myself.”
“Your empty threats mean nothing to me,” Kane said coolly.
“Yeah?” The assassin unsheathed his dagger and held it to Kane’s throat. “Try me. You can’t do anything in here; you don’t have any limbs and this cage deafens you to the Force. What could you possibly do to stop me from gutting you right here and now?”
Kane stared straight into the eye holes of his mask, his expression calm and even.
“You’ve said it yourself,” he said quietly. “I am more powerful than any Jedi or Sith has ever been. What makes you think that any of those things can hinder me?”
Before Ochi could process this, he found himself being pushed back by an invisible hand. It hadn’t been a strong push, not enough to knock him off his feet. But it had been enough to tell him that, indeed, Kane Skywalker was far from completely hindered here than a typical Force-user would be. Realizing that he was breathing hard, Ochi quickly regathered his composure and sheathed his dagger, straightening himself in the vain hope that Kane would not notice his unease.
“How impressive,” he said, mentally wincing at how shaky his voice still sounded. “I’ll be sure to inform the Supreme Leader of this… oversight.”
“You do that,” Kane replied. “Now, are we done? Did you come down all this way just to taunt me?”
“Not exactly,” Ochi said. “The Supreme Leader sent me to deliver you a message.”
“He couldn’t tell me himself?”
“Who am I to question him? Anyway, he just wants you to know that the Dowager is dead.”
Kane stared back at him with a nonplussed expression. “I don’t know who that is.”
“I think you do.”
“No. I genuinely do not.”
Ochi shrugged. “If you say so. Just thought I would pass the information along.”
With that, the assassin opened the cell door and made his departure, leaving Kane Skywalker alone to dwell over the news he had delivered.
Mustafar
Kylo Ren panted heavily as he stood over the dead bodies of the Alazmec, his lightsaber still crackling in his hand. The slaughter had happened so fast that he did not have the time to process each life he took. He had been so lost in his rage, so lost in the dark side, that he could barely remember how the fight had even started.
It all came back to him when he heard the Oracle’s voice speak into his ear again. “I suppose that leaves no question. You may now proceed to the fortress.”
“Just what exactly are you?” Kylo snapped, spinning around to face the lake again. “You’ve told me your name, but you haven’t shown….”
He trailed off as he saw that something had since arisen from the lake. Partially submerged within the blood-colored pool was some sort of giant that had the appearance of a humanoid infant, its eyes squeezed shut. Sitting atop its head was a spider-like creature that had its limbs firmly gripped around the giant’s cranium, securing its perch as it stared down at the Knight of Ren.
“It is rare when I receive visitors,” said the Eye of Webbish Bog. “Rarer still when I receive visitors that I see worth in sparing. You would be wise to not waste my mercy.”
“So that’s it then? You’re just going to let me go?” Kylo gestured to the dead Alazmec around him. “How is killing these cultist freaks part of my trial?”
“I am not the one who gave you this trial,” the Oracle replied. “Such queries are for someone else. All I can do is guide you, however much I can, on the path that your master has set you on.”
Kylo grunted to himself as he shut off his lightsaber. Looking past the Eye of Webbish Bog and through the surrounding fog, he could see the abandoned ruins of a pronged tower that was no doubt his intended destination.
“Do you know what I will find there?” he asked.
“Only what you bring with you.”
With those cryptic words, the strange arachnid and its giant partner sunk back into the lake and disappeared from view. Kylo stared at the space where the Oracle had been for a moment before setting his sights on the fortress of Darth Vader and carrying on with his journey.
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