Important notes:

The story intends to tell a unique story between the Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. It relies heavily on EU content. I have to give you an AU warning, since there can be contradictions between the abolished content of the EU and the new content that now counts as canon.

I wrote this story to be readable without the knowledge of any other content, but I believe I have to mention my other story which serves as a prequel to this one. You can find it among my stories, named as The Fall of a Noble Soul.

It does not required to understand this story, although, if you do get lost, please read into to it, as it gives further depth to the upcoming events and gives more details behind the goals and reasoning of the opposing characters.

That's all I had to say about the story. I hope you will enjoy reading it :)

Update:

After the newest movie – The Last Jedi –, this story became completely AU.

The Knight of the First Order:

Chapter I: The Beginning of the End

Kylo Ren stood at the bridge of the Finalizer. He seemed like the harbinger of death himself, as his personal warship scorched through the fabric of Hyperspace, getting closer to its target minute by minute. They were going to war, and he had no doubt about the success of the assault – the bravest men of The First Order and fiercest warriors of the Knights of Ren were with him after all.

The time has come to destroy the Jedi once and for all.

"Arriving at Odessen in thirty seconds," General Hux broke the glorious silence of the coming battle.

Nobody knew where the New Jedi Order was hiding from their enemies. Almost nobody. Kylo knew exactly where to find them.

Snoke tried to convince him for a long time about the assault of Odessen. And now, a decade after Luke and his parents abandoned him, Kylo decided to take revenge for everything. He couldn't be part of the New Jedi Order, thus no one could have a place among their ranks. From now on, the only thing the Jedi could be part of is an ashen crater over the remains of the Jedi Temple.

The Finalizer exited Hyperspace, casting a giant shadow at Odessen. The navigators did their job right, and the Temple was in firing range of almost every turbolaser battery they've got. They were ready to fire long before they arrived, and now the giant cannons were waiting to obliterate everything in their way.

Despite the charged turbolasers, for now on, the plan demanded their silence. Supreme Leader Snoke ordered Kylo to kill Rey, which posed a problem. Although his master was willing to burn the entire galaxy in order to murder the child, Emperor Thrawn wanted to save her from all possible harm.

In the old days, the two masters of war worked together, but now the Empire was fractured into two. Thrawn lead the remnant of the Empire, while Snoke formed the First Order, a new Empire that aimed to replace the other. The two states were opposed by their nature, thus Thrawn and Snoke danced at the edge of open war ever since the formation of the First Order. The Republic did nothing against them – they didn't think they could pose a threat to the force that brought down the mighty Empire. Their ignorance created a time of relative peace, and now, this peace was about to die.

Kylo wanted to bring war upon the entire galaxy. He served the First Order for a long time, but now, guided by a dreadful vision, he decided to save Rey, even though this meant betraying Snoke, and leaving Thrawn as his only ally.

He strode on a dangerous path, but it was all right. He loved the danger. And thus, he took the second step on the road of the next Galactic War.

"Tell the Jedi to give me the girl. If they don't obey, we will erase the Temple from the face of Odessen," he said, turning towards Hux. The Jedi knew he would open fire as soon as they gave him Rey, but they would do it anyway. They were weak in this sense, but only in this sense, Kylo knew this very well.

"Sir, we have a Republic warship on intercept course!" Hux said. He sounded surprised, yet he had little fear in his voice.

Red laser bolts stormed the front of the Finalizer. Kylo expected a whole battlefleet, but it was only one Carrack-class light cruiser. It had no chance against the might of a star destroyer. Kylo admired their determination; in an ideal case, he would take his time destroying that ship, but now he couldn't afford the delay.

"Get around it! We have to keep the Jedi under our guns, they would flee otherwise," he answered. The cruiser made their job difficult, yet he could still make a victory out of this. "Deploy fighter squadrons one to three, they will have to keep the enemy ship occupied until we deal with the Jedi!"

"Sir, that ship has powerful anti-fighter cannons. We would send our pilots to their doom!" Hux snapped, shaking his head.

"Indeed, we will," Kylo nodded. Hux seemed shocked by his plan; maybe he thought the First Order was different from the Empire in this regard. And it was: even Emperor Thrawn handled his pilots better than Kylo Ren who simply ignored the losses.

He wanted to get Rey, and then he wanted to get rid of the Luke's Jedi Order. Nothing would stop him from his goal, especially not that sluggish cruiser gliding towards them in the darkness of space.

"Sir, the enemy ship changes its course," Hux reported. "They want to block our way to the Temple. At this rate, we either kiss goodbye to the Jedi or risk collision with the cruiser."

"Then we can spare those pilots after all." Kylo smiled under his mask. "Keep our course towards the Temple! Direct all energy in the forward shields and batteries! We will have to soften the cruiser up; otherwise we would lose half of the ship."

"Sir? You would risk collision?" The general seemed more terrified than ever.

"We are not risking it. We will go straight into them."

Kylo was surrounded with shocked glances from his officers. They didn't get the big picture, they didn't see his vision, and thus they didn't know anything about the importance of Rey. By the time they would fight it out with the cruiser, the girl would be gone – alongside with half of the Jedi Oder. That's not what he embarked for, thus it was unacceptable.

The cruiser did everything in order to halt them, but Kylo was relentless. As the giant body of the star destroyer got closer to its prey, the enemy ship turned off everything but its shields. Kylo was expecting it, and now the forward batteries of the Finalizer worked at full capacity. The magnificent cannons launched a deadly storm of laser bolts towards their prey, shaking the cruiser to its core. The enemy's shield faltered, and then it ceased to exist.

By this time, the Finalizer was only a few meters away. Hell went lose aboard the star destroyer, as the giants collided in the darkness of space. The large, but elegant body of the Carrack-cruiser cracked into two, and then it exploded, cutting through the Finalizer's shields, and ripping parts out of its magnificent body.

Sudden and strong quakes went through the bridge. Cables came loose, terminals caught on fire as the lights started to blink around Kylo. Some died, some were injured, but he stood there like nothing happened.

"We are through," Hux said. He seemed to be calm, yet deep inside he prayed for his mere life.

The molten pieces of the enemy ship glided near both sides of the Finalizer. Kylo have seen the damage, the star destroyer ended in a fiery line instead of the glorious top of a triangle. They were at no fighting condition, but they didn't have to combat anything at this point.

Odessen was now defenseless.

"Repeat the message. The Jedi will listen to us now," he said calmly. He had little reason to be angry; everything went in his way.

"The Jedi made their move already, sir," Hux shook his head. "Two light freighters are escaping from the Jedi Temple. They seem identical."

"Then we shall get them both."

"Negative sir, with the current state of the ship, there is no way that we can get both of them."

The enemy made him choose. The girl was in priority, thus the solution was obvious. Kylo reached out with the Force, searching both ships for the young girl. He felt a strong presence in the first one; it could have been Rey, or perhaps it was her mother, Mara Jade. Certainly, there was someone in there, close to Luke Skywalker. The second ship seemed to be empty. Someone made sure he would feel nothing in it. And that someone was close to him in power, or even his equal in terms of might and destruction. Kylo knew Luke wasn't here. But then who could it be? Kyle Katarn? Jarrus Kanan? Or maybe the infamous Ahsoka Tano?

Whoever did this, Kylo now knew where to find Rey.

"Shoot down the second one! Rey will be fine, but her defenders won't be so fortunate."

Mira Wess found herself in a desperate situation. The Finalizer shot her ship out of the sky, sending her, Rey and half a dozen Jedi into certain doom. Mira was strong with the Force, but even she could only protect two persons from the destruction. She choose Rey and herself.

The light freighter hit the ground, carving a long path on the ground before it would stop in the ashen ground. Mira took the six-year-old girl out of the ship, arriving into a black field, covered with nothing but rain, mud and debris.

She heard a threatening sound, and the Finalizer appeared on the horizon as the fiery mark of doom. The damaged ship halted its body towards the Jedi Temple, opening fire with its remaining cannons. Dozens of Jedi were in the elegant, brown building made of stones, but half a minute later, Mira would feel nothing but pain and destruction.

Looking at the burning ruins of the Temple, she still didn't understand how they could find them. She always suspected Thrawn would sniff them out, but that ship clearly belonged to the First Order. They could hide from the Sith, they could do that ever since the Great Jedi purge.

But then how did they find them?

Maybe Ariss did something? Mira shook her head. Her stepdaughter surely had some unique abilities, but there was no way, she would lead their enemies in here. Even if it was possible, she went off with Luke and Katarn on a mission two weeks ago.

Ships appeared on the clouded sky. Fighters glided in the air, and a large, grey shuttle descended from the hangar bay of the damaged star destroyer. Mira felt a presence she almost forgotten. It was Ben. Now it became clear what happened. He betrayed them, leading the First Order right into their doorstep.

Mira gritted her teeth. Most Jedi would restrain from anger, but she was Jedi only in name. The Light Side abandoned her soul a long time ago, and at one point, even the Dark Side turned its back on her. But now she gathered her anger, she intended use it well in the upcoming battle.

"Aunt Mira... What's happening?" Rey asked frightened.

"Hide," she said, pointing towards the wreckage lying on the wet ground. The hot metal could easily burn her, but Ben's lightsaber was more of concern in the present situation. The girl could still try to run of course, but then Mira wouldn't be able to hide her presence any longer.

Rey nodded, and went towards a large piece of metal, hiding behind it as much as possible.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I intend to kill them all."

Kylo could send anyone to kill her, but he went himself. Surrounded by the Knights of Ren, he had little to fear from the Jedi meditating near the wreckage. Truth is Mira felt the same. She didn't fear death, she only cared about Ariss, and she was in safety.

Right now, fighting to her death seemed a better idea than ever.

Sitting on the ground, Mira knew what she is going to see when she opened her eyes. Kylo Ren stood in front of her, holding his lightsaber in his muscular hand; his warriors were all around the place, making victory a distant, but desirable possibility.

"So the little Ben came back after all?" Mira said with a smile on her face. She didn't get up, there was no need to rush.

"I know you. You fought my grandfather," Kylo said, as he ignited his lightsaber.

"And I lived to tell the tale," she nodded. Snoke's apprentice left her little choice, but to take action. She got up from the ground, and activated her lightsaber that rested in her hand. Only one of them will walk out of this field alive, the brilliant light of the green saber made that clear for all.

"Don't let your hopes up. You are getting old, Mira, and I'm just as strong as my grandfather was," Kylo said, taking a step forward.

"Age is a just number," she answered. She was born a long time ago, but thanks to the Force, she only looked thirty years old. Her pale face seemed surprisingly young for her age, and her slender body was as fit as it could be. Nor her long, brown hair or her green eyes indicated anything from her real age. At least not of her knowing. The mere thought of getting old insulted Mira beyond measure.

"I can feel your anger. Good, this means a challenge," he said as the Knights of Ren stood aside. Kylo was challenged to a one on one fight, and the Knights knew better, than breaking the old tradition.

"Challenge? Maybe for your men. It will be rather difficult to get your remains out of the mud after I'm done with you."

Mira reversed her grip on the lightsaber as she assumed attack stance. Kylo raised his triple-bladed sword in front of him, his yellow eyes looked through the light of the unstable blade. Then he moved his weapon to the side, and marched into battle.

Lightsabers collided in the air, as the combatants ran to glory or certain doom. Mira was as fierce as ever, she struck his enemy with fast and barely predictable attacks, and leapt to the side as Kylo tried to make a counter attack. From here, she could cut her enemy into two, but he knew this as well. The son of Han Solo didn't give up so easily: he pushed Mira aside with the Force as soon as possible.

The woman didn't stop until she crashed into a large piece of hot metal. She protected herself with her powers, and moments after the push, Mira was ready for the next round. Kylo was already on his way, striking down at his enemy in the first possible moment. But she was faster than him, and leapt to the side from the red blade. She could end the fight here, and she had every reason to do so. Gripping her lightsaber hard in her hand, Mira cut into the flesh of the famous Kylo Ren.

The green blade caused him unimaginable pain. He barely noticed that the cross-guard of his saber halted the main force of the attack. A few more inches, and Kylo would have surely been dead, but this way, he was only injured. Fueled by pain and anger, the Knight of Ren jolted back from the saber that made a hole in his flesh and skin. He looked towards his warriors, but they did nothing.

It was a one on one fight, and Mira knew this perfectly.

"And now, Ben, you die," she said, giving way to her anger. She approached her foe ready for the final blow, he was wounded, scared and vulnerable. It wouldn't take more to kill him then a well-placed strike.

Mira saw into him through the Force. Kylo was barely conscious, but then the impossible happened: he felt it. His grandfather called out to him, giving him unprecedented strength. The pain was gone within an instant, his wounded muscles worked better than ever. The Force was clear to him, and Mira knew it as well.

She struck with a fierce blow toward her foe. Expecting him to dodge it, the counterattack was a sudden and fatal surprise to her. Kylo struck the lightsaber out of her hand with impossible strength, and then, within an instant, he cut through her stomach with his lightsaber.

Mira couldn't believe it, she was defeated. She collapsed on the ground; the saber cut deep into her flesh, using the Force, she could barely keep her guts within her broken body. As a last resort, she tried to crawl away from Kylo, but he quickly stepped on her, making it impossible to move forward.

And then another target emerged.

"Aunt Mira!" Rey cried out, seeing her defeat.

The young girl ran out of the cover of the wreckage, Kylo grabbed her with the Force a moment later, sealing her fate.

"Don't you dare to hurt her!" Mira cried out.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill her," Kylo answered, she looked shocked by his words. "I know about Ariss, your step-daughter. I know Snoke wants to replace me with that aberration. I can't stop her now, but with Rey, and the help of Thrawn, I will have all the help I need to kill her."

"Over my dead body!" she answered with anger in her voice. She tried to get up, but it was impossible to do so in her condition.

"I won't kill you either. You are her mother after all. You can provide me with invaluable information about Ariss. And you will help me willingly."

"Never!"

"Oh, yes, you will. Time to return to the Dark Side, Mira. Or should I call you Lady Void?"

Thank you for reading the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it :)

I also have to say thank you for those who took a look at this chapter before it was released! I'm still searching for beta readers, and I'm willing to work with stories of similar length in return.

If you liked the story, don't forget to leave some feedback! It might take some time to release the next chapter. I'm a turtle in terms of writing and releasing continuous content - but be assured, it will be continued.

Thank you again for your time and attention!

May the Force be with you :)