Arrival at the Citadel

[Kriel Firin]

He was met on the landing pad by a hooded figure. He could tell right away this wasn't the same one who had found him on Bespin. This person had neither the size nor the impressive bearing of his liberator – for that was how he had come to think of the Knight of Ren that found him.

This figure, which Kriel now thought to be female, motioned for him to follow. Silently she led him down a flight of stone steps and into the temple itself. They crossed a landing and Kriel descended another set of stairs, then repeated the pattern, working their way level by level down from the temple's apex to the ground below. There were doors and passages leading off from each landing, and Kriel could hear snippets of sound and conversation echoing from them, though he could never quite tell what was being said.

She didn't speak, and Kriel knew better than to break the silence himself. Technically, he was still a prisoner. For all he knew, she was leading him to his death. He wasn't about to make things worse by asking foolish questions.

When they reached the bottom of the building, she led him to a stone archway with yet another flight of stairs. These were different, however: they were narrow and dark, and wound their way down until they vanished from sight deep in the bowels of the ground. Without a word his guide handed him a torch she had taken from a bracket on the wall and then stepped aside.

Wondering what was going on, Kriel made his way carefully down the steep staircase. He couldn't say how much deeper he went; it was difficult to maintain any perspective in the narrow confines of the stairwell. After several minutes he reached the bottom, only to find a long hallway stretching out before him. At the end of the hallway he encountered a single room.

The room was dark and filled with shadow. Only a few torches sputtered on the stone wall, their dying flames barely able to pierce the gloom. Kriel paused at the threshold, letting his eyes adjust. He could just make out a dim figure inside. It beckoned to him.

"Come forward."

He felt a chill, though the room was far from cold. The air itself was electric, filled with a power he could actually feel. He was surprised that he didn't feel afraid. He recognized what he felt as the chill of anticipation.

As Kriel moved deeper into the room the features of the shrouded figure became clear, revealing himself to be a Twi'lek. Even under the loose-fitting robe he wore, Kriel could see he was thick and heavyset. He stood nearly two meters tall, easily the largest Twi'lek Kriel had ever met.

His lekku wound down his broad chest and wrapped back up around his muscular neck and shoulders; his eyes glowed orange beneath his brow, mirroring the flickering torches. He smiled, revealing the sharp, pointed teeth common to his species.

 

[Kriel Firin]

“My name is of no importance,” he said. At that moment, Kriel knew without a doubt this was someone of significance – of real power and he gave a slight bow of his head in acknowledgement. It came naturally, without bidding and in a sense surprised him.

“I am to be your inquisitor,” the Twi’lek explained, his voice showing no emotion. “I alone will determine your fate. Rest assured my judgment will be final.”

Kriel nodded again.

The Twi’lek fixed his burning orange eyes on Kriel. “You are no friend of the Jedi or the Alliance.”

It wasn’t a question, but Kriel felt compelled to answer anyway. “What have they ever done for me?”

“Exactly,” the Twi’lek said with a cruel smile. “I understand you have some power and influence on Bespin. Your…” He paused. “Compatriots speak highly of you.” There was a sneer in his voice and Kriel was unsure if it was a compliment or a put-down.

“They’re easily pleased,” Kriel said. His throat had grown so dry and tight that he had trouble getting the words out.

“Why did you stand up to the First Order on Bespin? Why not comply with our inevitable might?”

“A coward would have complied,” Kriel replied sharply, stung by the accusation.

The Twi’lek tilted his head to the side and waited.

“Attacking the First Order would have been a mistake,” Kriel continued, trying to press his point. “But I do not back down so easily.”

“But you did…In the end you did…”

“I prefer not to throw my life away needlessly.”

“I can see that from your criminal record,” the Twi’lek said, the sneer returning. “Petty theft, bar-room scuffles, small-time extortion…if these reports are accurate, you have performed incredible feats during your time on Bespin. Truly awe inspiring, yes?”

Kriel bristled at the implication. “The reports are accurate,” he replied.

“I have no doubt that they are.” The Twi’lek either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care about the tone of Kriel’s reply. “Do you know why I had you brought here?”

 

[Kriel Firin]

Kriel was beginning to realize that this wasn’t really a trial after all. Not in the conventional sense. It was some kind of test, though for what he still wasn’t sure. “I feel I’ve been chosen for something.”

The Twi’lek gave him another sinister smile. “Good. Your mind works quickly. What do you know of the Force?”

“Not much,” Kriel admitted with a shrug. “It’s something the Jedi and Sith believe in: some great power that’s supposed to be just floating out there in the universe somewhere…apparently.” He couldn’t hide the disbelief in his voice. Jedi on Bespin were a rare commodity.

“And what do you know of the Jedi?”

“I know they believe themselves to be guardians of the galaxy,” Kriel replied, making no attempt to hide his contempt. “I know they wield great influence. I know many believe they have mystical powers.”

“And the Knights of Ren?”

Kriel considered his words more carefully this time. “They…you… are like them but the sworn enemy of the Jedi. Many believe that you, like them, have unnatural abilities!”

“But you do not?”

Kriel hesitated, struggling to come up with the answer he thought the Twi’lek wanted to hear. In the end he couldn’t figure out what his inquisitor was looking for, so he simply told the truth. “I believe most of the stories are greatly exaggerated.”

The Twi’lek nodded. “A common enough belief. Those who do not understand the ways of the Force regard such tales as myth or legend. But the Force is real, and those who wield it have power you can’t even imagine. You have seen life but you have not experienced war. Whilst you and those like you seek to control a few square kilometres of turf, troops vie for control of worlds and moons. But the Jedi and the Knights of Ren seek to destroy each other. We are being driven toward an inevitable and final confrontation. One that has been coming for millennia. The faction that survives, Light or Dark, will determine the fate of the galaxy for the next thousand years.”

“True victory in this war will not come through armies or ships, but through the Knights of Ren. Our greatest weapon is the Force, and those individuals who have the power to command it. Individuals like you.”

He paused to let his words sink in before continuing. “You are special, Kriel. You have many remarkable talents. These talents are manifestations of the Force, and they have served you well as a petty criminal. But you have only scratched the surface of your gift. The Force is real; it exists all around us. You can feel the power of it in this room. I know you sense it!”

Kriel hesitated only a moment before nodding. “I feel it. Hot. Like a fire waiting to explode.”

“The power of the Dark side. The heat of passion and emotion. I can feel it in you, as well. Burning beneath the surface. Burning like your anger. It makes you strong.”

 

[Kriel Firin]

The Twi’lek closed his eyes and tilted his head back, as if basking in the heat. The tips of his head-tails twitched ever so slightly. The only sound was the faint crackle of flame from the torches. A bead of sweat rolled down the crown of the Twi’leks bare scalp and along the back of his neck. He didn’t wipe it away, though he did shift his feet uncomfortably as it trickled its way between his shoulder blades.
The slight movement seemed to snap the Twi’lek out of his trance.

He didn’t speak again for several seconds, but he studied Kriel intently with his piercing gaze. “You have touched the Force in the past, but your abilities are an insignificant speck beside the power of a true Master,” he finally said. “There is great potential in you. If you stay here, we can teach you to unleash it.”

Kriel was speechless.

“You would no longer be a free spirit,” the Twi’lek continued. “If you accept my offer, that part of your life is over. You will be trained in the ways of the Dark side. You will become one of the Knights of Ren. And you will not return to Bespin.”

Kriel felt his heart pounding, his head swimming. As long as he could remember, he’d known he was special. And now he was being told that his abilities were nothing compared with what he could really accomplish.

Still, part of him balked at the idea of leaving his life of luxury behind. He recalled one of the last things one of the crime lords on Bespin had said to him: Don’t count on others for help. In the end each of us is in this alone. The survivors are those who know how to look out for themselves.

He could rely only on himself, like always. He’d be a fool to turn this opportunity down.

“I am honoured, and I gratefully accept your offer.”

 

[Kriel Firin]

“The way of our Order is not for the weak,” the big Twi’lek warned. “Those who falter will be ... left behind.” There was something ominous in his tone.

“I won’t be left behind,” Kriel replied, unfazed.

“That remains to be seen,” the Twi’lek noted. Then he added, “This is a new beginning for you, Kriel. A new life. Many of the students who come here take a new name for themselves. They leave their old life behind.”

Kriel suddenly had no desire to hang on to any part of his old life. Money meant nothing to him. Power did. He had been seeking a new life for as long as he could remember. Crime had offered a challenge and an escape, but it had been a temporary and unfulfilling one. Now he had a chance to leave his past behind forever. All he had to do was embrace the Knights of Ren and its teachings. And yet, for reasons he couldn’t explain, he felt the cold grip of fear closing in on him. The fear made him hesitate.

“Do you wish to choose a new name for yourself, Kriel?” the Twi’lek asked, possibly sensing his reluctance. “Do you wish to be reborn?”

Kriel nodded.

The Twi’lek smiled once more. “And by what name shall we call you now?”