Chapter Eleven: The New Beginning

The suns of Tatooine had just begun to slowly rise over the horizon when the front gate to Jabba's palace started to rise without someone activating the control switch. At first the two Gamorrans standing guard at the main entrance had assumed it was a glitch in the palace's systems, but then they saw a small figure standing in front of the main entrance with the rising suns light casting a large shadow over the two guards.

The stranger was a boy around thirteen by the Gamorrans guess. The boy wore a black hooded cloak that was draped around his body like a dark shroud, concealing the rest of his attire under it. Even though he wore a hood and kept his head low, the two guards could see a strange red mask with a black visor that where the eye-piece covering his face.

As the young stranger stepped inside the main entrance, the Gamorrans watched as the front gate closed behind him, as if it was commanded to do so by just a gesture of his hand. The pig-men let out low grunts as a warning to the masked teenager to tell him to turn back now, raising their axes to get the point across. But the boy continued to advance towards them, unafraid of the two brutes and their weapons.

Once the boy was close enough, he threw open his cloak to reveal a suit of black body armor that covered most of his body, except for the part of his right arm that was artificial. The two Gamorrans raised their axes and tried to bring them down on the intruder's head, however, just before their weapons struck him they seemed to be stopped in mid-swing before they pulled from their clawed hands by some unseen power. The boy then took off a small object from his belt and released a blade of red energy from it. With one swift yet strong motion, the masked stranger cut down the two guards, letting their corpses fall to his feet.

The brief sound combat was enough to arouse the suspicion of Jabba's right-hand man, who entered the main entrance to see what had transpired and found the young intruder standing over the bodies of the slain guards. Before the coward could alert the other guards, the boy had somehow managed to stand before him in the blink of an eye.

"I will speak with the Hutt" the boy ordered in a dark synthesized voice as he pointed his blade at the alien's throat "Tell him"

As Ren followed the Hutt's head servant toward Jabba's throne room of shorts, he carefully scanned the rooms he passed by as he walked down the halls, taking note of every detail and person he passed by as means to remember their faces in the likely event he had to kill them. He kept his right hand close to his lightsaber in case someone stupidly decided to be a hero for the Hutt and try to attack while on his way to meet the giant slug.

It had been three weeks since Ren had made an Inquisitor by Vader, and in that time he had began to go into the next phase of his plans to create a new Sith Order by seeking out the girl he had seen in his dreams. However, he first had to make some proper adjustments to himself if he was to follow through with any of his schemes. First, he constructed a new lightsaber to do battle with, but unlike the other Inquisitors who carried a spinning saberstaff; Ren saw multiple flaws with the weapon's design and instead opted to build his own like he had down in his younger days as a Jedi. His new lightsaber was a black steel hilt with a leather grip with four clawed edges around the top of the hilt.

The lightsaber wasn't the only thing Ren had changed up. Thank to Dr. Blandin, he was given a new rebreather in the form of a mask that resembled the once great Sith Lord Darth Revan's mask and a new suit of body armor that was designed in the vain of the suit of armor of another mighty lord of the dark side known as Darth Malgus. Now that he had access to Gideon's books and records to the dark lords that waged war with the Old Republic, the former Jedi became immersed in the awe-inspiring power of the Sith Lords of long ago and longed to follow in their footsteps—hence why he wore clothing similar to their own as a show of respect to them.

Once he had had his new equipment, Ren and his commandos set out for Tatooine so that at last Ren may be united with girl from his dreams. The Inquisitor did not fear that his underlings would betray him and report his actions to Vader, for he had made it very clear to them weeks ago what would happen if they displeased him in anyway after he made an example out of the squad's former lieutenant—a rank he had since bestowed onto Tambry in that time. Once they arrived on the backwater world, he gave them strict orders to stay with The Soul Eater and wait for his return.

As the young Inquisitor stepped into the Hutt's throne room, he found himself surrounded by multiple aliens partying away to joyous music and drinking all forms of alcohol from across the stars as they did. At the front of the room was the sleeping form of the great crime lord Jabba, who snored as loudly as the music played while green saliva trickled down from his lips like a polluted river. The Hutt's head servant then quickly ran to his master's side to inform his master what had transpired while Ren stood at the center of the room. The party goers soon stopped their debauchery and turned their attention toward the boy, curious to see what he wanted from the slug-man.

"Awaken, master—there is an Inquisitor here!" he beckoned to the Hutt in his leader's tongue "He's broken in and butchered two of the guards!"

Jabba's deep orange eyes slowly slid open from the cries of his servant, whom he shoved aside so that he may speak with the boy. The Hutt's piercing gaze did not intimidate Ren in the slightest; instead it only fueled his discontent for the crime-lord.

"What do you want, boy?" Jabba questioned sharply in his native language "I am trying to sleep"

"I'm here to do business with you" Ren replied

The crime-lord's eyes narrowed his distaste at the Inquisitor's request.

"So, you break in my home, kill two of my guards and you expect me to do business with you?" the Hutt sneered

"Be thankful that I only killed two" the Inquisitor warned as he put his artificial hand on his hilt "Do not make me reconsider my generosity"

Even though the Hutt didn't show it on his face, Ren could feel a small tinge of fear running down Jabba's long spine at his threat.

"What can I do for The Empire, Inquisitor?" Jabba finally asked

"Dismiss the audience, Hutt" the young Sith ordered

With a simple raised hand, the partygoers quickly departed from the room, leaving only Ren, Jabba and his servant alone within it.

"Now then, what can I do for The Empire?" the crime-lord questioned

"Not for The Empire. For me" Ren corrected coldly ""This is a personal issue, and it will end in my satisfaction"

"Oh? And that would be?" Jabba mused with curiosity

"You have a young slave girl with red hair in your palace" Ren explained "Bring her to me. Now"

Rather then ask as to why he wanted to see his youngest slave or how he knew about her in the first place, Jabba ordered his head servant to go fetch the girl, curious to see how this would play out when the two where brought together. Were they siblings? Or long lost Lovers perhaps? Jabba didn't know or care, what he was sure though was that there was more to this Inquisitor's intentions for meeting with the girl where more then he was letting on.

Several minutes past before the Hutt's servant returned with the slave girl Ren was looking for, roughly pulling the girl by her arm as he did before tossing her at the feet of the Inquisitor. She was dressed in the typical attire any women under Jabba's rule wore: a small bra and barley there dress. From where the Inquisitor was standing, he could multiple scars, bruises and burn marks all along her bare skin, showing the Sith her painful history to him without saying a word. Ren could feel her hatred burning throughout her soul like an onslaught of flames that could not be put out, but she kept it sealed up under a wall of fear—one that the boy was going to tear down in order to help her achieve her full potential. The masked warrior kneeled down to the redhead, who instantly jerked away from him upon seeing his covered face.

"It's alright" he assured her softly "It's me"

"Who are you?" the girl demanded

"You know me" he said calmly "We've met many times before in our dreams"

Ren took his hood down and pressed a small button on the side of his mask. The mask then spilt apart down the middle and rest on side of his face to allow Jabba's slave to see who was beneath the façade. Despite his much paler skin and the scars now that littered his face, she knew exactly who this was.

"It's—it's you!" she gasped in disbelief "But how?"

"The Force brought us together" the young Inquisitor answered gently "You and I we're destined to meet"

Ren then slowly reached out with his clawed robotic hand and gently began to caress his cheek like he had done in the dream where he swore he would find her. Even though her skin was up against cold steel, the slave girl could almost feel a sort of warmness through the artificial hand from just the kind gesture alone.

"My name is Ren" he told her "What's your name?"

"Wendy" the slave girl introduced in an unsure tone, still slightly timid about meeting the boy from her dreams

"Wendy" Ren repeated "That's a pretty name for a very beautiful girl"

Most men Wendy was forced to be with by her master's command said similar things to her, but they where hollow compliments before she was raped for their leisure, however when Ren said those words, she could feel that he was telling her the truth. Soon the younger boy let go of the girl and turned to face the Hutt once more.

"I'm taking her with me" he informed the crime-lord firmly as his mask back over his face

"She in not for sale" Jabba replied in a matter-of-factly tone "She is a favorite around the palace"

"I said I'm taking her, not buying her" Ren said, with aggression laced in his voice as he walked up to him "You will give me the girl"

"Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho!" the Hutt laughed "Your silly Jedi mind tricks will not work on the great Jabba, boy!"

"I wasn't. That is not the way of the Sith" the Inquisitor informed darkly "I'd advise you to step carefully"

"You know, a thought crossed my mind" Jabba mentioned as his hand slowly reached for some sort of switch "The Empire doesn't know that you're out here by yourself. You could just disappear right now and no one would ever know"

Ren could sense danger from where he was standing and instinctively took a step back.

"Very good, it seems you know when to step carefully" the Hutt chuckled "But I wonder: are you brave or just foolish?"

"That is not the question, Hutt" Ren bounced back "The question is: Are you?"

Another haughty laugh escaped the slug's lips at that remark, unafraid of the threat. Wendy shuddered in fear of what might happen next, she had seen the Hutt kill people for much less, but she couldn't help but be in awe of the Inquisitor standing his ground on her behalf. Just then the doors to the throne room opened up once more, only to allow multiple guards, mercenaries and bounty hunters under Jabba's employment rush in with weapons ranging from axes and clubs to blasters and vibroblads, all at the ready to take down the Sith in training at their master's command. Wendy scrambled to find cover under a nearby table, as much as she wanted to stand by her protector's side, she knew she would only get in the way.

"I'm going to ask you one last time, Jabba" Ren said and took his hilt from his belt "Give me the girl"

"Oh, Jedi" Jabba laughed "Always making things so difficult"

A dark grin crept over the corner of Ren's lip, knowing what was about to happen next and anxiously waiting for it regardless. He looked over to where Wendy was hiding, he didn't blame her for cowering in fear—she wasn't a fighter yet, but he would make her one soon enough, and the best way to start was to show her the power her could teach her.

"Wendy, I believe this is a perfect time to give you a demonstration of the dark side's power" the Inquisitor informed her "Watch closely"

In one swift motion, Ren ignited his lightsaber and cut down two of the gunman with one strong swing of his blade. He then blasted several others backwards with a blast of the Force against the wall in the fall. With his blade, he deflected a hail of blaster fire that came down on him with great ease. The other warriors where starting to get back to there feet before joining the fray—they would soon wish they tried to escape. Ren immersed himself in Force and launched a volley of lighting from his left hand, striking down one guards and making the others tremble in fear in the process.

The blaster bolts flew all throughout the room, but the Inquisitor was speeding all across the room, cutting several men in the blink of an eye as he did. He then flung his weapon toward his opponents like a boomerang, using the Force to guide its mid-air movement to decapitate them before returning to his hand. Reaching deep with his anger, he lifted two of the men off the ground and slammed them head-first back into the concrete ground, breaking their skulls open like eggs. At this point, Jabba's troops where in a total panic as their numbers were growing less and less by the second, completely awestruck and frighten that a boy could wield such power.

As the massacre continued, Wendy could only look on as Ren slaughtered the Hutt's finest men; some of whom had their way with her. But she was not afraid of the boy's power—quite the opposite in fact—she was enthralled by it. She watched in amazement as he killed the men who tormented her with little to no effort in doing so, and it was all for her. Wendy had never encountered anyone like Ren before, and it was not just because of his abilities. While most men would look at her like a fresh piece of meat, he on the other hand made her feel like a human being for first time in a long time with just a simple gesture. This power—this dark side—as the Inquisitor called it was unlike anything she had seen before. With just a wave of his hand, Ren could kill a man without even touching them. It was a power the slave girl desperately desired to wield for her own.

Soon enough, Ren was standing over the dismembered corpses of his victims. Now all that remained in the Inquisitor's way was a very nervous looking Jabba.

"Now let's not be to hasty" The Hutt tried to reason

"You called me a Jedi. You know nothing" Ren said with venom dripping from his words as he held out his hand and began to clench it "Mind tricks are for the weak"

Suddenly, the great crime-lord felt a strong pressure constrict around his throat. Soon the Hutt was gasping and thrashing about for air as the boy tightened his invisible grip on the slug. Wendy looked on in a stunned wonder as she watched the most powerful figure the galaxy's underworld flailing helplessly as he struggled to breath like some premature infant. Now more then ever did she want to master the power that Ren used so that she may enact her revenge on those who made her suffer before turning her rage on the galaxy at large.

"The Sith prefer force" the young Inquisitor continued in an icy voice "Do you understand?"

"Y-yes!" Jabba rasped as he struggled for air

With that, the former Jedi released his hold on the Hutt, allowing him to gasp for much needed oxygen.

"You drive…a very hard bargain…" the slug said in-between gasps "It is hard not to respect that"

"Good answer, Hutt" the Inquisitor replied before looking over to Wendy "Let's go"

The slave girl instantly jumped to her feet and hurried to Ren's side. She silently followed him toward the room's exit before he stopped and turned to face jabba one more time.

"If you're thinking about getting revenge: don't" he advised in a harsh tone "You've seen what I can do, and furthermore, I've done something far worse then kill you today: I've humiliated you. Just imagine what the galaxy would think of 'the great Jabba' if they found out that a thirteen-year old boy made the mighty crime-lord cower before him"

The Hutt narrowed his large eyes at the Inquisitor in a fierce glower, but said nothing in response.

"What would people say?" he finished in a mocking voice, smirking under his mask as he did

"Leave" Jabba growled "Before I change my mind"

"We both know you won't" Ren rebottled as he and Wendy walked away "pleasure doing business with you"

As the young Sith and the slave girl departed, the crime-lord stewed in his own anger. He had been embarrassed by a human child—in his own home no less! The Hutt swore revenge for the sake of his now blemished status. But he could not attack the boy head-on, knowing that would not end well after what he had just witnessed. He did briefly consider tipping off Vader to the boy's secret meeting and let the dark lord deal with him, but he wanted the pleasure of seeing this child suffer at his will, not Vader's. It was then that he knew what he could do to get his vengeance—or better put—someone he could send to carry out said vengeance.

"Get me Fett" he ordered his servant

The walk back to Ren's ship was a long and silent one. Wendy had so much to ask the boy about the ways of the dark side, but she had no idea where to start nor did she want to pester him right away about something that she was sure he was going to teach her. Once they reached his ship, the Sith ordered three of his Stormtroopers to get the craft ready for take off while he commanded the fourth to fetch some proper clothing for Wendy to wear. She was soon given a black long-sleeved shirt, along with black boots, gloves and a pair of black jeans. After quickly changing into her new attire in private within Ren's quarters on the ship, her savior knocked on the door of the room before letting himself in anyway.

"I see that the cloths fit you well" he said as his mask spilt away "It was much better that those…other garments you wore"

"The words 'thank you' are hardly enough to say for what you've done for me" Wendy replied "How can I ever repay you?"

"Think nothing of it, Wendy" Ren assured "You are free to forge your own destiny now"

"But something tells me that you saved me for more then just that" the former slave surmised

Ren ignored that remark and instead changed the subject.

"How did you end up in Jabba's palace anyway?" he asked "In our shared dreams, I was never able to find out how you came to be in that awful place"

Wendy took in a painful breathe as the memoirs of her family's deaths plagued her thoughts.

"My family lived on the edge of the Dune Sea. My farther was a moisture farmer, my brothers and I grew up poor, but we were happy" she began sadly "On my fifteenth birthday, a gang of bandits came to our home and made me watch as they slaughtered my farther and my brothers!"

Hot tears of anger slowly began to slide down her face as she continued the story. Ren could feel her hatred rising within her like a great storm was building in her soul; ready to be unleashed upon the galaxy.

"For months they tortured me—raped me! And I could do nothing but take it!" she screamed in rage "Then they just passed me off to Jabba like some piece of trash when they were done with me! I was too weak to do nothing to them then, but I swear I will never be that weak again!"

As she screamed, Wendy's rage strengthened her connection to the Force, making her levitate multiple objects within Ren's room as her fury consumed her. The young Inquisitor hide a smile from forming on his face as watched the spectacle before him. There was no doubt in his mind now that he had found the one who would help him conquer the Galaxy. Wendy herself soon realized that she was doing to the room and subconsciously dropped everything she had lifted through her powers.

"I…I did that?" she breathed out in shock as she looked around the room

"Amazing, isn't it?" Ren mentioned in an almost gleeful voice "the dark side of the Force is unlike anything in the galaxy. It can grant one the power they seek if only they have the passion to peruse it"

Wendy fixed her gaze on the Inquisitor with a darkly determined look within them.

"Teach me" the older girl said "I want to know the ways of the dark side and become a Sith like you"

"And you will. In fact you will be aiding me in reforming the Sith Order into something grand, but only when you are ready" the former Jedi answered "But I should warn you now: while there will be a time when we will see one another as equals, you will want to wish you stayed in that palace until your training is complete"

"I'm not afraid!" she proclaimed defiantly

"Good…you will be" her new teacher said darkly with a wicked smile "you will be…"

Wendy then kneeled before Ren, bowing her head as she did. Even though she said she was not afraid of what was to come, she did have a small aura of fear in the back of her mind. But she stamped out that last remnant of fright as she looked upon her master, seeing the Sith she longed to become through him. Now matter what he would do to her from this point onward in terms of her training and beyond, she would serve him loyally and help him carry out his grand plan for the galaxy, for he had not only saved her from the darkness, but was also willing to show her how to make the darkness serve her.

"I will serve you well" she told him

"And I will teach you all that I know. I will aid you in your quest for revenge, and you will become the first of a new breed of Sith that will one day rule the galaxy" the Inquisitor stated "Now rise…my apprentice"

"Thank you…" she answered darkly with an evil smile of her own "My master…"

And on that day, The Knights of Ren were born.

The End

A/N: Boom! how that for an ending, huh? so yes, there will be a sequel, in fact in the vain of Star Wars this story is the start of a trilogy. be sure to be on the look out for the next story 'Knight Quest' which will be coming out a little later on. in the mean time, if your interested in more Disney/Star Wars AU's on working on, then feel free to check out my Star vs the Forces of Evil/Clone Wars story 'Out of the Darkness, Into the Light' (shameless plug is shameless lol) but regardless, I hope you all enjoyed this story and I hope you'll all enjoy Knight Quest when it comes out. Later!