Knight-Errantly Prologue

Suggested Theme:

Main Theme- Africa (Weezer cover) by Toto

Ben has to bite down on his lips to prevent Dead-Star's growl from slipping out and waking the other Initiates.

BURN THE SKYWALKER!

You've been saying that for an hour!

BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT LETTING ME BURN HIM!

Stop screaming, or I'll tell mom and Luke about you!

…..Burn the Skywalker.

I guess that's better.

It'll only get better when Skywalker dies!

I doubt killing my uncle will get you your body back.

But it would please Armitage.

….Force, you're learning.

I can't read, but I can manipulate!

Hold your gualamas, you are but the learner. I am the master.

…What's a gualama?

Just watch the master at work.

In the Initiates' Hall, Ben sits up on his bed roll and looks across his fellow Initiates. Tahiri Veila's drool forms a puddle on her yellow hair. Cilghal makes bubbles in her seapod. Tekli's bat-like snout twitches as she dreams of cyperill tree withstanding a tsunami. Saba Sebatyne clutches tightly at the dagger underneath her pillow. Elke Vetter hugs her Empress Fel doll to her chest. Tionne uses her Jedi Path book as a pillow.

Ben imparts the Force-command for them to sleep deeper, not wanting any of them to disrupt his plans. When they all collectively snore, he uses the Force to silence his steps as he leaves the room and searches for his mom.

He finds her in the makeshift conference room that Mothma used to preside in during the hectic last days of the Empire. His mom has a sky-blue shimmersilk robe over her nightgown. Her hair is braided, but in a hurry since he can see tufts sticking out of the knots. She's sitting down barely paying attention to the datapad in her hands. He approaches her with downcast eyes like he's ashamed.

"Mom, I can't sleep." He even rubs his eyes for good measure. She puts down the datapad on the holoprojector console.

"Neither can I, starbird." She picks him up and puts her on her lap with an oomph. He hugs her and glances over her shoulder at the datapad.

"Are you catching up on work?" And it looks like a proposal from the Nagai. The what? The Knives people. The what!? They're some alien race in the Unknown Regions, and it looks like they want to set-up a face-to-face meeting on their homeworld.

"Threepio just dropped it off; I may need to go to Chandrila." She's going to solicit Mothma for advice. Why? Because Mothma is her mother figure, and she wants her approval. Why? Because her mom, her dad, and the entire planet of Alderaan are dead. I'm glad I don't have any of those.

"….May I come with you?" He says as quietly as the fluttering of a butterfly's wings. She kisses the top of his head; he hears rejection humming in their bond. So he takes it away.

"I'm scared that…..it'll happen again, and I-I won't ever see you again!" What is that sound you're making? I'm sniffling. Why? Are you allergic to your mom?! No, crying is a powerful tool for manipulation, but only employed at the right time.

"Oh, Ben, you can come with me." His mom hugs him tighter, and he buries his crying face into her and stains her robe.

Huh, I didn't think you could cry just like that.

I really can't. The more truth you put in a lie the better it is, and I was afraid that I was never going to see her again when I was in your gullet.

What about your dad?

I'd miss him, but I would never cry for him. He hates crying.

What about Armitage?

If it brings us closer.

Armitage Hux leaves the Commandant after an hour of being in his company for a very important task: he has to make sure that Ben and Dead-Star are okay.

Unfortunately, finding them is far more challenging than he ever thought. The Commandant has only been confined to his bed, so he has now knowledge of the layout. So Armitage decides to give himself an impromptu tour and hopes to find someone who can give him direction.

After about ten minutes of wandering, he finds his way to the hangar where he sees the Millennium Falcon with its ramp down.

"Chewie, hand me the cape."

The Wookie grumbles with disapproval.

"It's armorweave; it'll hold until I get my hands on some spacer's tape."

Armitage decides to leave before he gets caught up in an explosion from the hack repair job. From there it only takes him another five minutes to find the Initiates' Hall.

The Initiates' Hall reminds him a lot of the Stormtrooper barracks back in the Academy. A hallway nearly nine meters long, but only a fraction occupied. The walls in that fraction have old Rebellion and New Republic propaganda posters, while also sporting a couple of holo-star maps of the known galaxy.

Instead of bunk beds with small lockers at the foot of them, there are just bed rolls with children in them. From what he can tell, there are four humans, a Chandra-Fan, and a Mon Calamari suspended in a miniature seapod.

How did they not sense me? Does Skywalker put sleeping potions in their teas before bed? And from what I can tell, the majority are female. Huh, I guess Ashla grew weary of the patriarchy.

He leaves the Initiates be and wanders for a good ten minutes before he catches the sound of a large nose snort.

THE PRINCE! He thinks immediately and sprints to the sound. He skids to a halt before the doorway and sees the Senator comforting the Prince.

"Prince, are you okay!?" The mother and son pair look at him with shared confusion.

"Why are you shirtless?" The Senator inquires as the Prince hurriedly wipes away his dribbling snot with the back of his Jedi tunic sleeve.

"Because it's humid."

"But why the cowl?" The Prince asks, and this time Armitage blushes and looks down at his boots.

"It makes me feel like a superhero."

"It makes me feel like a superhero."

Xanatos and Bruck nearly choke on their laughter, while Anakin smiles in the face of their mockery.

"F-Force, that's s-so–" Bruck begins, expecting Xanatos to finish for him.

"Heroic!" Anakin delivers to them like a firm slap to their faces.

"Anakin, he looks like a half-naked fool." Xanatos declares with utter certainty.

"And capes get stuck on everything unless you use the Force." Bruck then coughs Vader into his balled-up fist.

Anakin ignores him serendipitously and returns his attention to the holo-screen. He sees that Armitage is now sweating like he ran a meter and holds out a piece of flimsi to Leia. She takes it and skims through it; she frowns pensively.

"What's it say, mom?"

"It says: 'I, Brendol Hux, of sound mind and health, do hereby transfer the property known as Armitage Hux to Leia Organa for a period of no more than two months.'"

Bruck looks at Anakin and then quickly at Xanatos; he swallows and then points out the bantha in the room.

"So is Armitage a slave?"

And the Jedi Afterlife experiences a seismic quake.

In a small stone hut, just a small distance from the Jedi Praxeum, two boys share a bedroll together. The light, a tea candle, has gone out, but neither move to re-light it.

"Your mom looked really sad."

"She was masking her fury and didn't want you to think that it was your fault."

"I mean it kind of is. If I wasn't born, this wouldn't be a problem."

"It shouldn't be though. Your….sire is a Commandant; he should have the power to make you a citizen."

"If I had an Imperial or First Order birth certificate, then I'd be halfway there. The other half would be me submitting my genetic record to the First Order database."

"Why in the Hells would you need to do that?"

"The Medical division could see if there's any preventive diseases in me and treat me accordingly. But it's mostly so old-school Imperial families aren't marrying their progeny into a genetic cesspool. Which, given how my other parent is a human-mutant, I would be that."

"…That's so karking stupid!"

"Hmm, I don't really think so; it also prevents accidental incest from happening because there are certainly a lot of bastards running about. Granted, most of those bastards get sent to the Stormtrooper program along with all the unwanted orphans."

"You're a bastard, why didn't you end up in the program?"

"Because the Commandant loves me and, most importantly, can afford to take care of me."

"…And?"

"And Grand Admiral Sloane has high hopes for me."

"Why?"

"Aside, from spitefully thinking that it'll piss the Commandant off if I became more important than him, I believe it's because I have the right circumstances to become someone great."

"…Explain."

"From her perspective, I started out with nothing. I'm the Commandant's bastard who he didn't bother to file/forge flimsi-work to get me Imperial citizenship, so under Imperial law I'd just be property. In the First Order, it's largely the same, but if I graduate from the Academy, then I'll get my citizenship."

"You are the number one student in the Academy, so you're getting there."

"Yeah, but then I'm supposed to climb my way in the hierarchy and become the Grand Marshal."

"….I don't know what that is, but it sounds stupid."

"It really is, Dead-Star. It's basically a knockoff of Grand Admiral, except it means I'll have control of the military and answer only to the Supreme Leader. I think she's hoping when that happens I'll do a coup and become the new Supreme Leader. If I do that, I'm immediately changing that title to Emperor."

"Will you do that?"

"Maybe, but that's like decades from now. Right now, I'm more worried about if I even get to go to Chandrila."

"You will."

"Considering your mom's reaction, I don't think Chandrila will accept that piece of flimsi as a temporary visa."

"You are mom's….responsibility now."

"That is true. And if worse comes to worse, she can smuggle me in her carry-on!"

"…Yes, shall we sleep now?"

"Yes! Goodnight, Prince."

"Goodnight, Armitage."

"Goodnight, Dead-Star."

"Goodnight, property."

And Dead-Star licks him on the cheek, while Armitage sighs.

Author's Comments- No links this time.

I expect this to be shorter than the last multi-chapter part, but the chapters will most likely be longer considering how much I want to explore Chandrila, Nagi, and a certain other "rest-stop" planet. Also, get into some foreshadowing regarding the First Order.

Next chapter: Armitage, Ben, and Dead-Star journey to Chandrila, while the Force Ghosts have to deal with Anakin in a rage.