"Documents" pt. 1

So. My 9-year-old daughter asked me to write a "document" with her. You have to understand that she writes "documents" about characters and stories she likes. She's referring to Google Docs; her school uses Google Docs quite extensively. And my daughter's "documents" are really just fan fiction.

Well, hey, I used to write fanfic, so why not?

My daughter wanted a Kylo-and-Rey story. We started on it today. This is what we've written thus far:

________

The throne room was . . . untidy, to say the least. Immediately, Hux went to the body of the Supreme Leader himself, for all the good it would do him; he knew from the moment he saw the wreckage that it was all over. Somehow, they’d failed.

Snoke’s remains tipped off the throne in a most un-leaderlike fashion and fell with a thud at Hux’s feet.

Hux stepped back, scanned the room. The Praetorian Guard lay in remnants. The only sign of life was a pale form dressed in black that blended into the glossy floor—Kylo Ren. Intact but unconscious.

Hux saw an opportunity.

He reached under his coat for his blaster, but with a gasp Ren awoke.

Hux allowed his coat to drop closed. “What happened?” he demanded.

“The girl killed Snoke.”

This seemed impossible. Killed Snoke? And the entire Guard? Yet left Ren alive?

“But we know where she’s going,” Ren continued. “Get your men down to the surface.”

Bile crawled up Hux’s throat, choking him. “You presume to give orders to my army? We have no leader!”

Ren turned on him then, and Hux found himself choking on more than bile as his colleague—and nemesis—put his Force skills to use. “The Supreme Leader is dead.”

“Long live the Supreme Leader,” Hux croaked.

Ren released him. Hux hungrily sucked air as his throat reopened. He narrowed his eyes at Ren’s retreating back. An unstable, angry boy was the last thing they needed as a leader, but Ren’s Force abilities could not be contested. He would have to find another way.

Patience. That, at least, was something Hux had that Ren did not.

***

5 MONTHS LATER

“Sir, we have confirmation of the whereabouts of the Resistance headquarters.”

Kylo looked up from the black slab that was his throne. Not Snoke’s old one, of course; that one had gone down with Snoke’s ship, and Kylo wouldn’t have wanted it anyway. His new ship was sleek and had been manufactured at no little cost, the throne room designed to be spare, severe, and—like its occupant—dark.

It never hurt to remind Hux and his armies of the power of the Dark Side. Keep them from getting any ideas.

“You’re sure this time?” Kylo asked. “Unlike the last three times?”

“Sir—”

Kylo waved aside Hux’s protest. He turned slightly to one side and focused. Where are you?

No answer. There hadn’t been since Crait. But he could feel her at the edges of his consciousness, as though she actively lurked in the shadows. She didn’t want to be seen.

Fine then. He’d find her in person.

“Set a course,” Kylo ordered. “Kill all of them but the girl. Bring her to me.”

Hux cleared his throat, and Kylo turned back to him. “You’re still here. Was I unclear?”

“No. Sir. I only thought you might want to do the job yourself.”

“Myself,” Kylo echoed. It didn’t take Force powers to detect the derision in Hux’s tone, the implication that Kylo had lost his edge. You have nothing to prove, Kylo told himself, but at the same time another inner voice said, Don’t let them think you’re weak.

He rose. “Prepare my ship.”

Hux dipped his head. “Yes, Supreme Leader.”

***

Edowan offered plenty by way of coverage; the landscape was rocky, and made it difficult to land. Caves dotted the planet’s surface, jagged rocks like teeth acting as a natural defense to whomever braved living—and hiding—there.

“They had to have landed somewhere, somehow,” Kylo told his pilot as they circled. “Figure it out.”

“There are life signs to the east,” his control officer reported.

“Zero in on them,” said Kylo. “Get us as close as possible.”

“We won’t get AT-ATs down here,” said Hux. “Even AT-STs would struggle with this terrain.”

“Then what is your recommendation, General?” Kylo asked.

“We may have to simply lower down ground troops,” Hux suggested.

“Should we just swing them from ropes? Or do you propose to build a ladder?” Kylo’s attention returned to the front viewscreen. “Find a place to land!”

The pilot started where he sat and brought the command shuttle to a shuddering halt over an unlikely outcropping of rock that didn’t appear big enough to fit the ship. With a fearful glance over his shoulder, he set down anyway. Kylo let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. There was a reason, he supposed, that he had the best pilot in their fleet.

“Open the doors,” Kylo ordered, and a second later the hiss of the gangplank was followed by the ring of it hitting rock. Kylo turned to go.

“Sir?” Hux asked. “The troops?”

“Get them down here,” Kylo instructed. “However you have to. If the Resistance can do it, we can.”

“You’re going alone?” Hux called after him.

Kylo turned, a silhouette in the gray light of the open doorway. “You’re suggesting I’m not capable?”

“Of course not! But there are more of them than there are of—”

Kylo began walking again. “They’re no match for me.”

“The girl killed Snoke!”

“She won’t kill me.”

“How—?”

But Ren did not stay to debate any longer. Hux watched the swish of black cape disappear.

Impatient, Hux thought. But hadn’t the girl left Ren alive before? Why?

What if Ren turned? Could the girl do that? What power did she have?

Still, without Ren . . .
_______

Apologies for anything we got wrong in the first part; we were working from imperfect memory of that scene in The Last Jedi. Also, we don't know if they have months in Star Wars. Considering the way we measure months, it seems unlikely. And yes, I do realize we shift POV without a break or indicator at the end of the last part. I think it's fine. Anyway, we're having a lot of fun writing this. I may post more if anyone is interested.

ETA: Part 2 is now posted here.