When you saw the meadow, it was long stretches of flat, soft green grass. Dotted with yellow daisies and tall plants of lavender. It smelled sweet and it was warm. You stood at the center of it, feeling the rays of sun on your skin that you'd never felt before. Springtime. The start of new growth. Everything felt so warm, and you didn't feel so alone, although you couldn't see anyone around you.

Stop it!

Your mind jolted awake and you stood up quickly. How long had you been daydreaming? Pushing your hair back away from your face, you turned around in a slow circle, taking in the reality of your training room in the cold, dark base. This was your home. Not some springtime meadow that caused a sort of homesickness inside of you that you didn't understand. This was home.

Your teacher was your home.

And now he was walking into the room, black hood pulled over the emotionless mask that he wore. You'd never seen his face, but you knew he wasn't much older than you. You guessed he was only five or six years older. He paused at the center of the room and you smiled.

"Master," you said. "You met with the Supreme Leader already?"

"I did," he said. "And what he told me... was less than satisfactory. He is displeased with the outcome of the stormtrooper program so far. Although why that is my problem, I don't know."

"Maybe because you're the commander," you said, following him as he walked over to the wall. As he sat down, you followed, your eyes on the side of his mask.

"It's Hux that insisted his program was better than using a clone army," he said.

"I think... truthfully, I think that he expects more from you than he does from General Hux," you said. "You're his student, after all."

"I suppose you're right."

"What does he want out of the stormtroopers?" you asked. "What is he expecting?"

"A fast win."

This didn't surprise you. You'd never met the Supreme Leader, but you knew enough about him through Kylo. He was afraid of him, you could sense it. Supreme Leader Snoke was a very impatient man. He had high expectations of Kylo Ren and believed that everyone in the First Order should possess the power to defeat the Resistance quickly.

Unfortunately, that wasn't how a war worked. As powerful as the First Order was, the Resistance was relentless. They weren't weak, the way most here wanted to say that they were. They knew what they wanted and they fought hard for it.

"A fast win just isn't that easily achievable," you said. "It's absurd to think otherwise---"

"I would watch what you say," Kylo snapped quickly. "If the Supreme Leader knew you were doubting his abilities to win this war---"

"I'm not doubting him," you argued. "I'm just thinking realistically."

"The Supreme Leader is wise," he said, "and he knows more than either of us."

You looked away from him with a huff. "Yes, Master."

"He wants to complete my training soon. He says something is coming --- something to test me."

"What could it be?" you asked.

"Part of me knows," he told you, "but I can't say."

"Is that all that's coming? The end of your training?" Surely there had to be more --- it was plaguing your dreams. Making you see things you didn't understand.

"No," he said. He paused. "Soon, there will be an awakening."

Your eyebrows pulled together slowly. "An awakening?"

His voice was soft, thoughtful. "Of the Force."

Was that why you were seeing things in your mind? Were you waking up? You couldn't understand it. Your eyes focused on the gleam of light reflecting off the chrome floorboard. As you swallowed hard, you let your guards down. You dropped the walls of your mind, exposing the scene of the meadow in your mind. His head turned quickly to look at you and you let your eyes close.

"I... I wanted to tell you something," you whispered.

His voice was hard. "Go ahead."

At the same moment, something changed. You could feel it in your heart --- something was wrong. You stood up quickly as Kylo did. He was moving, not waiting to see if you were following, just expecting that you were. You were right at his heels, pulling the lightsaber from your belt, preparing to use it. But the danger wasn't on the base.

"Prepare my ship!" Kylo barked.

"Yes, sir!" one of the stormtroopers replied. The others saluted him quickly before they rushed off.

General Hux, red-faced and out of breath, rushed over to Kylo's side. "They've attacked the Star Destroyer that currently hold thirty percent of our troops and a majority of our supplies are still there. They were scheduled to be shipped later this evening, but the Resistance found it before they could escape. We cannot let the Resistance have this. We'll lose too much if we surrender this."

"I don't plan on surrendering, General," Kylo Ren said. "Gather your troops and fill the shuttles. We're leaving now."

You stood beside the Commander's side as you always did. It didn't take long to get to the Star Destroyer. As you landed, the stormtroopers filed out first and you and Kylo followed, side by side, red flickering from the lightsabers you both held.

"Lead the troops to the south side," he ordered. "I will come from the north and meet you in the middle. Hopefully we will be able to push a majority of the scum to the center and we can finish it together."

"Yes, Master," you said.

There wasn't a chance to say anything more as you lead a fleet of stormtroopers through the Star Destroyer. The corridors were filled with broken supplies and corpses of troopers that had died before the help arrived.

The closer to the center you moved, the more Resistance scum you saw. They fired their blasters at you as your stormtroopers pushed forward, firing their own guns in retaliation.

You followed behind, surprising the soldiers with your lightsaber. They screamed for help as your scarlet blade sank deep in their bodies. Using the heel of your boot, you kicked each one off your weapon with enough time to spin around and catch the next closest off guard. Your movements were identical to your teacher's. You were fluid in your stance, aggressive in your moments, and you allowed your anger to swirl around you, knowing full well that it guided your hands to cut in just the right way.

Whether the Resistance knew of you or not, you weren't sure. You weren't present in many battles, at least not on the frontlines. Kylo kept you hidden away during most attacks, or he kept you busy with other things. This was the first time you'd been on the frontlines since the Resistance really rose to power a couple of years ago.

You were ready for this.

As you walked down the narrow corridor, you eyed six Resistance soldiers pressed against either side of the walls. They knelt down, their blasters raised. Their shots took out the remaining four troopers on either side of you. As their bodies fell to the ground, you stood at the beginning of the hall, your lightsaber flickering across the walls.

"It's Kylo Ren!" one of them screamed at the back. "Fire!"

You spun your lightsaber and moved forward as the blaster shots came soaring your way. It was easy, slicing your weapon in such a way to hit the shots. They went bouncing back towards the Rebels. Each of them slumped to the floor and the last one got up to run.

You raised your hand and his body froze. Your teeth clenched and you closed your fist, watching in satisfaction as he grabbed for his throat, desperate for air. A smirk was the last thing he saw from you before you tossed him to the side.

He whimpered and you approached him, kicking the weapon that he was trying to grab hold of. It slid against the wall, out of reach, and he laid still on the floor, accepting his fate.

As you turned him over and raised your lightsaber, keeping it pointed down at his throat, you heard a strange sound.

You barely had enough time to turn around and see the X-WING heading towards the viewport you were standing in front of before it collided with it, shattering glass all over you and throwing your body backwards in a ball of hot flames.