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He stared a Rey. She stared back at him, her gaze level and unafraid. There was no hatred in her eyes, as there once had been. But there was no compassion either.
A moment later Rey severed the connection, leaving Kylo alone in the gloom with his father's dice resting in the palm of his upraised hand. A moment later, they faded and vanished.
-The Last Jedi (novelization)
Kylo curled his fingers around his empty palm. A flood of emotions came bubbling up all at once. Rey's rejection. Confusion at Luke's death. Relief at Snoke's. An unexpecting longing at Leia's, which somehow lacked the closure he needed. The ever present fracture in his chest at Han's. He could still hear Rey's screams echoing through the throne room of the Supremacy. First in pain, then in rage. Flood gates opened in his consciousness. Emotions he'd been bottling up for years came rushing up for his attention. He couldn't find a feeling to hold onto. There were too many, all at once. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he could feel Hux's eye boring into his back.
Like an elastic band stretched too tight, it snapped. Everything shut down. All the madness in Kylo's mind quieted to the laser focus he needed. A klaxon that drowned out all the other thoughts. One overriding directive that had gotten him through the last five years.
Survive.
One galactic standard day.
Survive.
Make it through the next twenty six hours.
Survive.
Immediate threat: Armitage Hux.
Survive.
Kylo had to deal with him first. Keep him busy and closed off. Make a tactical retreat. Assess the situation. Figure out what to do next. He still had control of the First Order, or at least the illusion of it. That was all he needed to get off the planet and back to a ship, any ship. He could buy himself a day. That was enough time to plan his next step.
"General." Kylo stayed on the floor, allowed Hux to see his back and know that his Supreme Leader did not consider him a threat. "I want a full forensic analysis of this base."
"Supreme Leader?" Hux asked.
Kylo stood. "Every data terminal, every skin cell and hair follicle, the composition of the salt, all of it. I want to know who was in here and what we know about them. Who is left of the pitiful Resistance and who they attempted to contact." He closed the distance between them in two long strides and dropped his voice. "I also want a total communications blackout. No outgoing transmissions."
"The rest of the fleet—"
"No outgoing transmissions," Kylo seethed, his voice a barely audible hiss. "If I find out a single trooper sent a two word message to his superior on another ship I will hold you personally responsible. We suffered a great loss here today. Your actions in the next twenty six hours will determine who takes responsibility for that loss."
Hux's shoulders tensed. He'd gotten the message loud and clear. Kylo knew he suspected that Snoke's death wasn't just the girl's doing. Now he knew that Kylo knew it too, and was still in a position to turn the tables. This could all come crashing down on his ginger head if he wasn't careful.
"A message of strength needs to be sent in the wake of Snoke's death. We will send that message when the time is right, not before. We need to contain this first."
Hux's eyes flicked up to Kylo's face at the first 'we' and narrowed at the second. He was right to be suspicious. Not that it would do the General any good. A plan was already starting to form in Kylo's mind. Hux had an army of sycophants within the First Order's ranks, but he'd also made a number of enemies with the older Imperial loyalists. Kylo had made a note of each one in case it would ever be necessary to use. That day might come soon, but first he had to build his own army of loyal followers. Six names came immediately to mind.
"I'm returning to the Supremacy." Kylo turned to the gaping hole that had once been the blast doors of the mine. "There may be salvageable ships. We need to get out of this system. Where the hell are we anyway?"
"Crait," Hux said.
Kylo froze mid step, turning slowly to examine Hux's face. There was no deception in the word. No malice in the delivery. Hux didn't know what that one word meant. He couldn't have. Few enough were privy to those stories. A sixteen year old girl in her first year on the Junior Imperial Senate. Desperate to make a name for herself. Desperate to prove her worth to her adoptive father.
He'd been stupid. Distracted by Rey and Snoke and empty visions that turned out to be nothing but more of Snoke's manipulations. If he'd been paying attention he would have seen it. He would have known.
Hux's eyes narrowed. "Supreme Leader?"
The klaxon's sprang to life again in Kylo's mind and he turned away.
Survive.
He'd already given away too much. Lost control and revealed more than he should have.
Survive.
He slammed the door on his memories shut and sealed them away for later. There would be time for it later.
Survive.
Immediately threat: Armitage Hux.
Next step: call the Knights of Ren.
Step three: get a new mask.
"Stay here and oversee the analysis. I will find us a way out of this system. Don't fail me General." Kylo walked out onto the bleeding earth and towards his command ship with one thought repeating itself in his mind.
Survive.