A TURBOLIFT took Kylo Ren through the many levels of the Mega-Destroyer Supremacy. Clad all in black, with his mask, cape, helmet, and armor, he presented the image of strength. But it was his heart that his master would probe. It beat in his chest, hard as a stone.

The turbolift stopped and the grill of its doors parted. Kylo Ren strode out into the throne room of Supreme Leader Snoke.

A wide bridge led into a spacious chamber arched by steel supports. Dark crimson curtains shrouded the walls and windows. Mysterious purple-robed attendants, their eyes glowing under their hoods, lurked around a sophisticated oculus device that offered views of space. But what Ren took most notice of were the silent warriors who stood four abreast on each side of the room. Armed and armored in gleaming red, they seemed outfitted for ceremony, yet in actuality they were ready for combat at a moment’s notice. These eight were the First Order’s most elite fighters, the Praetorian Guards, and the various weapons they carried—pikes and polearms, vibro-voulges and electro-whips—could slice through the hardest metal or electrocute a being with a single lash. Ren respected them for their prowess, aware that as a group they could overpower him. Little respect, however, did he have for the ingrate of an officer who had arrived first. The meddlesome General Hux lingered before the throne, on which sat the Supreme Leader of the First Order himself.

Tall though he was, Snoke did not match the giant form he projected in hologram communications. Yet he did not need size to impose his will. The mere sight of him could terrify. For Snoke was a creature of skin and scar, a grotesque warping of life itself. Some great wound had split his bald head long before, and half his face and neck were melted in a twist of perpetual torment. Gold-flecked robes draped his gaunt frame while gold-threaded slippers swaddled his feet. When sitting, he leaned forward, his spine bent like a decrepit old hunchback. But age and appearance mattered little to Ren. All that mattered was the power Snoke could teach him.

General Hux walked toward the lift, smirking at Ren as he passed. It took every bit of Ren’s self-control that he not choke the wretch. Hux may have rescued him from death on Starkiller Base, but that was only because the Supreme Leader had commanded it. Hux was the reason the First Order still lacked complete control of the galaxy. His poor leadership had cost them their superweapon and he deserved to be punished for it.

“Hux’s plan seems to be working,” Snoke said, his voice wet and oily. He always seemed to know what Ren was thinking. “The Resistance will soon be in our grasp.”

At the turbolifts, Hux widened his snide grin. “Thank you, Supreme Leader.”

Ren fumed under his mask. As long as Hux had Snoke’s confidence, Ren couldn’t touch him. But the instant Hux lost it, Ren would be there to strike him down—an act he would enjoy.

Hux entered the turbolift and the doors closed. Ren stepped forward and dropped to a knee before the throne.

“You wonder why I keep a rabid cur in such a place of power?” the Supreme Leader asked. “Mark this—a cur’s weakness, properly manipulated, can be a sharp tool.”

Ren said nothing. Whenever his master lectured, it was better simply to listen.

“How’s your wound?”

This question demanded an answer, and Ren didn’t flinch. “It’s nothing,” he said, his voice distorted. The electronic vocoder in his mask needed to be fixed.

Snoke snickered. “The mighty Kylo Ren. When I found you, I saw what all masters love to see. Raw, untamed power. And beyond that, something truly special—the potential of your bloodline. A new Vader.”

The praise invigorated Ren. This was what he wanted from his master. This was the respect he deserved.

“Now I fear I was mistaken.”

Ren’s heart missed a beat. How could his master say that? Did he not know the deed he had done on Starkiller Base?

“I’ve given everything I have to you—to the dark side.” He blinked moisture from his eyes. “Everything.”

Snoke’s voice hardened. “Take that ridiculous thing off. The mask.”

The command infuriated Ren. He wore the mask to project the same soul-crushing fear that his grandfather, Darth Vader, had inspired during the glorious days of the Empire. Yet after all Ren had done to secure his master’s favor, his efforts were mocked. And he hated his master for it.

Still, he obeyed.

Ren pulled off the helmet and unclasped the mask from his face. His skin was tender and raw underneath. Thick black sutures stitched the gash on his cheek that the girl had given him in their forest duel. He hadn’t received bacta treatment in time to completely restore his skin. But the resulting scar would be a constant and painful reminder of what she had done to him. It would fuel his hate. It would motivate his vengeance.

Snoke bent down but didn’t acknowledge Ren’s wound. He touched Ren under his eye. “Yes, there it is.” His spidery finger came up wet with a tear. Disgusted, he wiped it across Ren’s face. “You have too much of your father’s heart in you, young Solo.”

Ren was about to explode. “I killed Han Solo! When the moment came, I put my blade through him. I didn’t hesitate!”

“And look at you. The deed split your spirit to the bone. You were unbalanced, bested by a girl who had never held a lightsaber. You failed.”

Ren would take no more of his master’s ridicule. His free hand dropped to the hilt of his lightsaber.

It never got close.

Bolts of electricity burst from Snoke’s hands and coursed into Ren’s body. Ren fell back, scorched and smoking.

Snoke relented and his Praetorians surrounded Ren, their various weapons pointed at him. “Skywalker lives. The seed of the Jedi Order lives. As long as it does, hope lives in the galaxy.”

Twitching from the electrocution, Ren pushed himself back up, cradling his helmet in his arm. His master continued to belittle him. “I thought you would be the one to snuff it out. Alas, you’re no Vader. You’re just a child with a mask.”

Ren refused to listen to any more. He spun on a boot and strode back across the bridge into the turbolift. He could feel his master’s stare on his back, but he did not turn around.

When the lift doors shut, Ren bashed his helmet into the wall again and again. It dented and fractured. He imagined it was his master’s head, turning to pulp. The fool would regret ridiculing him.

The lift stopped and the doors opened. A pair of First Order lieutenants chatted outside. Seeing Ren, they froze.

In their eyes, Ren saw the very fear he had wanted to project. He didn’t need a mask. These officers were afraid of him and his fury.

“Get my fighter ready,” he barked and walked past them, flinging the pieces of his helmet at their feet.

The twin suns of Ahch-To bathed the village in the soft gold of afternoon. But the warm light gave little comfort to the three people seated outside the huts, especially Rey. The story she had begun with how she befriended Finn turned into tragedy as she revealed Kylo Ren’s murder of his own father and her mentor.

“Han Solo was my friend,” she said.

It was obvious Han had been the same to Luke Skywalker, even if they hadn’t seen each other in years. The Jedi Master appeared shaken. Sitting next to him, Chewbacca moaned.

Rey returned to the purpose of her visit. “Leia showed me projections of the First Order’s military. It’s massive, and now that the Republic is destroyed, there’s nothing to stop them. They will control all the major systems within weeks. They’ll destroy the Resistance, Finn, everyone I care about. Will you help us? You have to help us,” she pleaded. “We need the Jedi Order back. We need Luke Skywalker.”

Luke’s face hid nothing. Sadness was etched across it, but also wisdom and kindness. He was not someone who could turn his back on those in danger.

“No,” Luke said.

Rey thought she had misheard him. “What?”

He rose from the ground. “You don’t need Luke Skywalker.”

Rey jumped up, wanting to howl at him. “Did you hear a word I just said? We really, really do!”

Her insistence got her nowhere with Luke. “You think, what, that I’m going to walk out with a laser sword and face down the whole First Order?” he asked. “The Jedi, if you had them back, a few dozen knights in robes, what do you think they would actually do?”

Rey recalled a phrase she had learned from the Jedi legends. “Restore the…balance of…”

Luke shook his head. “And what did you think was going to happen here? Do you think I don’t know my friends are suffering, that I came to the most unfindable place in the galaxy for no reason at all?”

“Then why did you come here?” Rey snapped back.

Luke glanced at Chewbacca, who had remained quiet, as if he understood something about Luke that Rey did not. Then the Jedi bunched up his robes and headed to his hut, lifting the door back into its frame.

“I’m not leaving without you,” Rey called after him.