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Chapter Text

Finally, Rey thought.

She'd patiently watched as nightfall darkened the sky. Students retreated to their huts and prepared for bed. She could no longer hear anyone walking outside, so she slipped into the dark and masked her Force presence from nearby students. The salty sea breeze and the cool feeling of the grass between her toes felt exhilarating. No, it was more than that. It was the exultant and wild feeling that comes with rule breaking. Her breathing hitched with excitement as she made her way down the gently sloping hill to him. His was the very last hut before the cliff jutted down to the beach where they trained.

She could just make out the ocean, the calm waters a dark, roiling mass. A moonless sky was ideal for sneaking around after curfew; the darkness protected their secret.

These trysts had begun a few months ago, as a way for two friends to unwind after a long day-- talking, laughing, secret sharing. But recently something had changed between them. There was an intimacy that she supposed had been shifting and building long before now. An electric charge, an energy crackling between them, like just before lightning struck. At today's evening meal she could barely resist her urge to touch him in some way--his hand, his face, his broad shoulders. This kind of intimacy simply wasn't allowed in the Jedi Academy. Rey couldn't fathom why the compulsion was suddenly so strong. But from the way Ben kept catching her eye across the table, she suspected he wanted to do the same. They hid it well, engaging in conversations with their friends and waiting until they were out of earshot to confirm their meetup with a few choice words in a dialect most of their classmates had not bothered to study. 

She dashed between two huts, and could see Ben peering out into the night, his head poking out from his cracked door. Her heart and her pace quickened.

Ben had been pacing in his hut since the call for lights out.  He couldn’t see or sense Rey, which was good, but not so good since he had no idea when she might be able to slip away and come to him. He was keyed up, muscles tight and sore from the day’s training. But the loss of sleep, the butterflies he felt in the pit of his stomach, it was all worth it to see her away from prying eyes and strict moral codes of conduct.

Suddenly, she flew around the corner. His heart stuttered, but his body reacted instinctively. He swiftly opened the door wider for her to enter, she slipped in silently and he shut the door in one fluid motion. 

A lone candle illuminated her lovely skin. Suddenly, they were both nervous. He looked down to see Rey’s hands twisting together in anticipation. They had rarely been alone together in their years at the Jedi academy. Only for brief moments between classes, and before that, not since he'd discovered her force sensitivity in that desolate wasteland, Jakku. That is, until they'd started breaking the rules. 

"Did you have any trouble?" He asked, voice low. 

"No, everyone's in bed," she half-whispered. 

He took a tentative step toward her. “I’m glad you’re here," he murmured, opening his arms. She eagerly accepted his embrace.

He pulled her close to his chest, tucking her head under his chin. He felt her take a deep breath and melt into his arms. Both their hearts slowed into a steady, calm rhythm. Why did it feel like his world was made whole when she was nearby? He savored her body's warmth against his, and the lavender smell of her hair.  

Rey breathed him in, feeling safe and content. Being held was the best feeling in the world, and she never wanted this to end. Coming from Jakku an orphan, she went right into Jedi training where it was all combat, solitary meditation, or studying. She didn't know what love felt like or looked like. The thought stung, and her mind sprang into action to push the awareness deep into the back of her thoughts.  

 "I'm happy you're here," Ben murmured into her hair.

His voice, his timbre, it centered her. The intrusive thought was gone, and suddenly he took up all the room in her mind. He must have sensed her brief melancholy, because he pulled back and lifted her chin to study her face. Her Force signature changed within moments from desolation to shyness and anticipation.

“Me too,” she whispered.

She tilted her head up more, looking at his lips, and back at him. He felt like his stomach was doing backflips, his breathing shallow. He cradled her neck with his hand, his other palm pressed flat against the small of her back. He leaned down and slowly pressed his lips to hers. Rey closed her eyes tightened her arms around him. He realized he had stopped breathing altogether, ablaze with this feeling like he was flying a barrel roll in the Falcon. When he pulled back he took a deep breath and released it shakily.

That was her first kiss. His first kiss. She marveled at the feeling, the zinging current she felt on her lips even after the kiss was over. He looked at her to check in, eyebrows lifting in a question if he should continue. Suddenly emboldened, she whispered a command. 

“Kiss me.”

He brought his head down, finding her warm lips. His hair fell and tickled her cheeks. She reached up with one hand to run her fingers through his midnight hair. Another kiss. And another. Each gentle and slow. She breathed in his scent, wood and musk and spring soap. She reached up to wrap an arm around his neck and their kiss deepened. He held her tightly against him and she felt like she would burst with happiness. More she thought. I want more.

Rey tentatively parted her lips and Ben felt her sweet breath on his face. She pulled him to her and gently licked his lips. He quivered and eagerly responded, meeting her tongue with his. She felt so warm and soft against him, her scent of mint and sweetgrass entering his mouth as their tongues explored each other. He had to breakaway to gasp for breath. He stood upright and her hands fell to his chest. He placed both hands on her cheeks, breathing deep and desperate to continue.

“Let’s lay down?” Rey suggested, cheeks flush and eyes bright.

“Yes.” Was all Ben could manage.

At the foot of his sleeping mat was his desk, littered with calligraphy ink, paper, and pens. The lone candle flickered merrily, illuminating his beautiful handwriting.
Ben bit his lip nervously, watching her admire his space. She turned to look back at him and smiled. He smiled in return and kneeled upon his sleeping mat, guiding her down to him. He placed the blankets over them both. They lay on their sides, facing each other. Rey felt herself trembling, and decided to make small talk to calm herself.

“What’s Chandrila like?” she asked quietly. She’d asked him this dozens of times, but he always humored her. She loved hearing him recount happier childhood memories. She reached for him under their blanket, hand upon his chest.

Ben smiled and reached for her waist. “The world itself is beautiful. Made up of your favorites colors, green and blue.” Rey smiled shyly and took his hand in hers. “There’s hills and seas, and the weather is mild. Nothing like the winter rainstorms here,” he mused. “It’s a peaceful place.” Then, he sighed. “The people in the capital are consumed with their need to be the smartest, the most proper. They’re judgmental. It’s… not easy to make friends or a real connection.” His face scrunched with dislike at the memories as he looked up at the ceiling of his hut. He looked down and met her gaze again. “It’s a relief to be away from that scrutiny. But I loved picking grappaberries in the city vineyards. Elsie would take me there, sometimes.”

“Your nanny droid,” Rey murmured, already knowing of the primary caretaker from his childhood.

“Yes,” Ben replied. “And Beex. He cooked the best Colla sauce. And the best caf,” Ben added, smiling.

He was tracing patterns on her back with his fingers and she ached to be nearer. She nudged his arm and he pulled it up around her shoulder. Now she was within his full embrace, breathing him in deeply as he pulled her close. Her toes tickled at his shins and she smiled. She nuzzled his nose with hers.

“And now?” She breathed.

“Mmm?” He murmured. He was lost in her eyes, unable to make sense of what she was asking.

“How do you like being here?” Rey asked, half teasing. They’d discussed this many times too in their three years of schooling.

“Meditation has been difficult lately,” Ben mused.

“Why?” She asked surprised.

“Because I always get distracted thinking of you.” He grinned and looked down at their bodies flush against one another. “Thinking of this. Being with you.” He caressed her cheek.

Now she blushed, moving in to kiss him. He responded gladly, taking her bottom lip between his and tracing his tongue across it. He felt her back arch towards him and his body grew flush with heat. Lying in a bed together certainly heightened the sensuality of the experience, he thought.

The kiss deepened, and they both were gasping for breath when they could manage. Sometimes they were clumsy and knocked their teeth against each other. But after several minutes of practice, they seemed to find a rhythm.

Ben’s hand wandered down to her thigh and hitched her leg over his. She let out a soft moan into his mouth. His felt his erection pressed tightly against his pants. His wide hand squeezed her thigh, moving up—but he took pause. His lips slowed and he drew back his head.

“What’s wrong?” Rey said breathlessly.

“I don’t want to move too fast” he uttered meekly. “I want you to be comfortable. I don’t want you to regret this.” There he was, looking down again, like he was ashamed or unworthy.

“Ben.” She whispered. He eventually looked up solemnly. “I have wanted this— you. For a long time. I know you can feel that.” She placed his hand on her heart. He could feel her energy signature alight with peace and joy. A calmness, and a sense of belonging.

Ben agonized that he hadn’t known this sooner. Sometimes when they were together in classes or training, he’d felt her presence in the Force— a sense of longing. But he had never guessed it was longing for him. She reached up and cupped his cheek.

“I feel safe with you,” she said simply. It was the highest of compliments, coming from her. He leaned into her touch. “I’d been alone for so long…” she started, suddenly emotional.
Ben’s forehead crumpled with pain as he watched her eyes fill with tears. He reached up to brush her hair back and tuck it behind her ear. She pressed on, determined to finish her thought. “The day I saw you on Jakku with Master Luke… You were so kind to me.” She brushed a tear away quickly that had fallen. “I’m so grateful we met, and Master Luke took me in.” She took a deep breath, calming the overwhelming emotions of this new experience, of confessing her love to the boy who’d helped save her life. “I’ve never felt more at home with anyone but you,” she finished quietly.

Ben recalled the day Rey came into his life, his memory flashing with images of the blazing sun and sand dunes. A scrawny girl in the marketplace of Niima Outpost who kept meeting his eye as she flitted around, following them from a distance along a different row of shops in the marketplace. Luke had taken Ben on this trip to pick up a rare piece of equipment needed to repair a failing circuit in R2-D2’s system. The droid design had fallen out of style and been phased out long ago, but that hadn’t stopped Luke from going to a junkyard like Jakku to help his friend. He was negotiating a price with Unkar Plutt when Ben turned in surprise to see Rey right next to him, staring intently. A sun-weathered girl of 15. She had looked at him like he was familiar, but she couldn’t describe how. She’d never seen him before but she felt it.

That was three years ago.

Ben smiled at the memory “You were positively feral” he teased, kissing her forehead. She poked a finger between his ribs and he squirmed, laughing softly. He looked at her endearingly, his thumb caressing her lips.

“My cyar’ika” he whispered, leaning in to kiss her once more. “I’ll never let you be alone again.” And now her tears fell in earnest. She buried her head in his chest, holding him tightly against her.

Chapter Text

They lay together, dozing in and out of sleep, and caressing one another until dawn approached. Ben nudged her awake with gentle kisses to her jaw and throat.

“Rey, it’s time to go.” She stirred and let out a small whimper in protest. He smiled, but the dark was quickly waning. “I’ll see you at breakfast,” he murmured against her skin. She sighed, and started to get up.

“Next time, you come to my hut so I can sleep in,” she grumbled. She pushed the blankets off and sat up, slowly.

“Oh, you want Tiya to suffer through watching us kiss and talk all night?” Ben teased. Rey’s heart was aflutter, imagining future nights like this one.

“She was okay with my sneaking out and covering for me,” Rey shrugged jokingly. She got to her feet and stretched, stepping aside so Ben could get up in the cramped space. He enfolded her in his arms for the last time. They felt each other’s sadness as the day’s work would mostly keep them apart.

“I’ll see you at breakfast, okay? Try to get a bit more sleep first,” he whispered into her hair, kissing her forehead. She nodded, pulling away sleepily. He opened his door for her and watched her tiptoe out of sight.

As she walked to her own hut, she couldn’t stop her mind from replaying last night. All those kisses, the way he called her my darling. “Cyar’ika,” she whispered, feeling the words on her own tongue. She smiled to herself, and edged into her hut as quietly as she could. She yanked on her boots to warm up her toes. She dove under her blanket and Tiya stirred in the opposite corner.

“How was it?” Tiya asked, her speech sleepy and garbled.

“Amazing,” Rey replied, eyes closed and smile on her face.

———

It seemed like seconds later Tiya was shaking her awake.

“Rey, come on, we’re late,” Tiya groaned. Rey was groggy beyond reason, but moved to get out of bed.

“Coming,” she said, eyes halfway shut. She yanked on another sweater before they rushed up the hill to the refectory.

Ben met her eyes the moment she walked in, and relief swept over his face. He was already halfway through his bowl of boiled mealgrain and had been anxiously watching the doors for her arrival. Meals were their only time together during the day. He and other Jedi Knights had a different training rotation than Rey’s Apprentice class. He watched Rey dash to grab her own bowl of mealgrain, toast, and jogan fruit. She was flush and breathless when she sat next to him, a casual distance away.

“Jate vaar’tuur!” She spoke Mandalorian shyly at him. It was one of the few languages she had not been familiar with before coming to the Jedi Academy, but she’d always enjoyed linguistics and seemed to have a knack for picking them up quickly. No other students bothered to learn this nearly dead language, but Ben was ever the historian. He studied ancient Jedi theory, and learned Mando’a, simply because he appreciated the beauty of it. He sometimes tutored her in the library, another brief moment of time they could be together, though still in view of other students.

“Good morning to you too,” he grinned warmly.

He watched her dig into her food with reckless abandon, her usual style.

She’d eaten herself sick for weeks when she first came. Eventually, she finally leveled out, trusting that there would be food tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. But she still scarfed food, barely chewing. Ben adored her lack of manners at the dining table. It was quite a refreshing change from all the stuffy political dinners he’d experienced while growing up. He was always looking to find some new food for her to try when he was off planet, delighting in her experience. He wanted to show her the entire galaxy, all the foods, all the mountains and oceans and whatever else lay beyond what little she’d seen.

“How did you sleep?” He teased.

“It was a great night with very little sleep,” she mused, chewing her toast. “Worth it.”

Tiya joined them across the table and dug in. Students were already leaving to get an early start training down at the beach or meditating on the hill. The padawans were already in the library. Droids busied themselves cleaning up the nearby tables.

“Thank you, Tiya, for your discretion.” Ben said quietly. Tiya shrugged and gulped down juice.

“Can we count on your help again tonight?”

Rey blushed, surprised, and looked to see Tiya’s reaction.

“Sure, no problem,” she said easily.

Ben nodded and then smiled at Rey. There were only droids in the immediate area, and so their hands found each other and intertwined under the table. Ben’s attention flickered to the person walking into the hall— Master Luke. Ben immediately broke apart their hands and focused on his breakfast. He took his last bite and stood up from the table.

“Good morning, Tiya, Rey, Ben.” Luke nodded at each of them. “Ben, would you meet me on the beach and assist with today’s lesson for the Apprentice class?”

Rey nearly choked on Tiya’s juice that she’d stolen a swig of. Tiya rolled her eyes. Ben nodded to his uncle and said, “Of course. What can I help with?”

“I’d like them to see your Juyo form and practice their Ataru form with you while I observe.”

“Very well, Master Skywalker.” Ben nodded again. He took his leave, dropping off his bowl in the disposal bin.

“Running late, ladies?” Luke asked.

“We’re on our way, Master” Rey said, cramming the last bit of jogan fruit in her mouth.

Luke left and the girls dumped their waste in the bin. A droid hummed behind them to wipe down their table.

“Lucky for you,” Tiya said, tickling Rey’s side. “You get to watch your boyfriend fight!”

“Tiya!” Rey hissed, looking around anxiously. They grabbed their sparring sticks at their hut and walked down to the beach. “He’s not my boyfriend,” she muttered finally, sure that no one could overhear.

“Then what are you?” Tiya asked.

“I don’t know,” Rey said simply. “We just… belong to each other.” Tiya groaned at the sappy way Rey’s eyes glazed over.

“He’ll be a master soon. What will he do after that?” Tiya asked.

“I don’t know,” Rey repeated, slowly. It had only just occurred to her that there might be even more of a separation between them than just sleep and classes. They could be galaxies apart. When would she see him again if he decided to work and travel elsewhere? Her anxiety gnawed on her in a way she couldn’t quite shake.

But then, there he was, stretching on the beach, preparing for her class. She watched his lithe form as he slowly maneuvered his sparring stick. Rey also noticed the other students on the beach, watching him with awed reverence. Ben had just turned 22, and was a scholar in the different forms of lightsaber combat, more than any of the other Knights. Rey and Tiya arrived at the sandy beach and took their place amongst 7 other students, ages ranging from 16-19. Rey pulled her hair up into a bun to keep it out of her face. The class settled and a hush fell over the students as Luke and Ben stepped up to begin.

“Today, we begin learning to block against Juyo form,” Luke said. “Also called the ferocity form, it is the most aggressive and dangerous style of combat. It provokes anger and negative emotions. It is a barrage of assault, an onslaught that requires drawing upon the Force for every strike. For this reason, it is a dangerous fighting method; one that can bring the user perilously close to the dark side.” Luke paced a few steps as he continued.

“Our goal is to recognize this style of fighting, and break the form, forcing your enemy to adopt a different style. You must find an opening to strike or compromise their accuracy.” Luke gestured to Ben who looked out at the students, catching Rey’s eye but maintaining an impassive expression.

“Ben has experience studying Juyo, and can help you find the weak spots that cause your enemy to slip up, and make the wrong move.” 

Luke bowed his head and waved his hand to give Ben a turn to speak.

Ben began speaking, his baritone voice overpowering the clash of waves from the nearby ocean. “Once your enemy falls into a rhythm of Juyo, they’ll be drawing on the Force and won’t be depleted of energy, despite the bombardment of strikes. You’ll want to end the fight as quickly as possible, rather than try to outlast them. The best way to achieve this is using Ataru form. With an acrobatic style of combat, you’ll be defending against incoming projectiles, like a merciless lightsaber.”

Ben was solemn, focused, in his element. Rey watched with fascination as he moved his body slowly, so students could follow along and mirror him in Ataru form. Rey was a step behind everyone else because she was trying to pay attention to the lesson, and yet enamored with watching Ben.

“If you can manage, move to a wide open space, so you can jump and move without a pattern, so they’ll be forced to chase you in order to strike.” He motioned for the 16 year old boy Atreyu to come forward to demonstrate. Atreyu looked determined but very small next to Ben’s tall form. Ben gave a nod, and began a slow motion Juyo attack, encouraging Atreyu’s next moves. “Good. Now jump back as I spin to strike across…”

The students watched, eagerly awaiting their turn. Rey lined up to go after Kesi and Deng, and she felt excited. She and Ben rarely got to spar— only when all the students combined for group lessons, and Knights served as tutors to all Padawans and Apprentices.

She’d had more fighting experience than most her age, but that was a necessary skill to survive Jakku. Many of these students knew what it was to have a cozy home with parents who fed them and tucked them in at night until they came here to train. Rey had only ever known the blazing heat and the ferocity of self-preservation.

Master Luke and Ben had taught her to refine her fighting to be less animalistic, and more pragmatic. But they couldn’t deny that in a sparring match, she often won out because of her ability to predict the opponent’s moves and improvise spontaneously, leaving her victorious. Ben knew her fighting style best, though, and knew how to read her in a way others couldn’t.

Her turn came. They too started slowly, but as Rey was the fourth to practice, she’d seen three others fight and had taken mental notes on how to move. Soon enough, she and Ben were hitting harder and moving faster than previous students. Ben grinned at her. He loved to push her, to see her excel.

The students and Luke watched them as their fighting styles drew them close together and then apart, again and again. Their chemistry was undeniable, and they lost themselves in each others moves, forgetting their audience. Their bodies synched together in perfect unison, as if they could read each other’s minds. When they struck each other’s sparring stick, an energy seemed to reverberate around them, powerful and raw.

Luke eventually cleared his throat and stepped in. “Let’s move on. Voe, your turn.”

Rey stepped back, panting. Ben composed himself and reset for another student. She peeled off her extra sweater and redid her messy bun that had come loose in their sparring. After each student had a turn with Ben, Luke smiled and encouraged students to pair up and practice Ataru form.

“Master Skywalker?” Tiya asked. “Why only practice Ataru and not Juyo?”

“As I said before, Juyo is a dangerous form that gives way to the dark side. The rage required to keep up the onslaught causes the user to become aggressive and unpredictable. In fact, this form was eventually banned by the Jedi High Council long ago. But it’s important to remember history and study it. If we did not do so, we would be ill-equipped to fight against an enemy who has done the work. If we don’t know our history, we are doomed to make the same mistakes.” This was one of Luke’s most repeated ideologies, each student had heard it a dozen times before.

“Ben has studied Juyo from a historical point of view, not as a choice way to enter combat.”

Students nodded and turned to partner up.

Ben watched them, pleased with their progress. Luke put a hand on his arm and guided him to the edge of the beach for privacy.

“Can I see you after dinner?” He asked.

“Yes sir,” Ben said. It was an unusual request. Normally when he needed Ben’s help off-planet he told him outright.

Luke only gave a small smile and excused Ben to his own class. Ben ascended the cliff side stairs, wondering what their meeting could be. When he reached the top of the stairs, he looked down the short cliffside and watched Rey another minute more as she spun and stretched her body to strike. He pulled himself away with the promise of seeing her again tonight.

As Ben hiked the well worn dirt path to his own class, he recalled the memory of seeing Rey for the first time.

Ben had sensed the Force in her right away— like it had been bursting to awaken within her. Luke noticed too, and had cut off negotiations with Unkar Plutt for the droid part, instead inquiring about the young girl looking at them peculiarly, an arm’s length away. She later said she’d been drawn to them, their Force energy.

Luke took her aside and asked if she’d ever like to leave Jakku and start a new life. She’d been hesitant at first. Some part of her wanted to believe that someone was coming back for her, to rescue her from this wasteland. Ben had sensed her hesitation, but saw in her eyes that she was leaping at the chance to say yes to them.

And finally, she did say yes. There was something about the way she looked at Ben. The way the Force seemed to swirl and magnify when they were together. Luke sensed it too, but couldn’t understand the strange, swelling phenomenon. He only knew that Rey seemed destined for a life outside of this one. So they’d rescued her.

Unkar Plutt, seeing their affinity for Rey, tried to demand an outrageous price for her freedom. Luke explained that while he knew Rey was worth more than any number, it still wasn’t exactly a fair bargain. Plutt wouldn’t budge, until Luke pointed out the jar of exotic and very illegal spice within Plutt’s office that he’d forgotten to hide before Luke’s arrival. Outraged, Plutt tried to deny it, but there’s no lying to a Jedi. Luke made a deal for R2-D2’s droid part, and Rey’s freedom from slavery for a nominal fee. In exchange, Luke would forget about the spice, leaving Plutt fuming but agreeing through gritted teeth.

When she first came here, to the Jedi academy, Ben was her only friend. She was not eager to trust anyone, and didn’t understand much about socializing with others. Her life on Jakku had been purely transactional— she worked alone all day and traded goods for sustenance. When she did work directly under the oaf Plutt, he’d only given her orders, and beat her when she made a mistake. Since then, she had worked hard, with his help, to understand what it meant to have friends, connections, and allies. To trust others.

He and Luke had followed Rey to her makeshift AT-AT home to help her pack the very few items she owned so they could leave. Ben had been shaken to his core seeing her home. He had always hated that slavery still existed in the galaxy after thousands of years. But seeing it on this microlevel—seeing a young woman who had been sold into slavery at five years old, spending a decade living alone, broke something in him. It made him angry. He saw the notches on the walls. Thousands of ticks to mark her banishment here. The small doll she’d made to look like a pilot. The precious, dried rose on her makeshift table. He saw the way she’d tried to give herself something of beauty to look at. Ben felt forever bonded to this girl. He felt protective over her.

I will show her what it’s like to be loved every day, he swore.

———

When Ben rejoined his own class, they had moved on from meditation and were en route to the library to study. He fell in line with Tai and Hennix, explaining his absence because of his assignment to help the Apprentice class.

“Yeah, you just love being teacher’s pet, don’t you Solo?” Sneered a voice behind them. It was Gaven.

“It sure beats being second best all the time, right?” Ben said casually. Gaven’s face curved down and he stalked away, fists clenched.

Tai sighed. “Must you goad him on like that?”

“He’s his own worst enemy. And he started it,” Ben retorted. Gaven had always been jealous of Ben’s natural abilities in the Force. He also hated that Ben was a Skywalker. To him, it proved your bloodline determined how powerful you were—or could become.

“I’m not special,” Ben insisted. “If Gaven would just open his mind and let go of his ego, he might prove to be better than me.” Tai shrugged grimly as they turned into the library.

They picked their usual corner, Gaven glaring at them from across the room. Ben ignored him and opened a book on the Clone Wars. He had studied as much as he could from this era, taking great interest in the achievements of Obi-Wan Kenobi, his namesake and his uncle’s first mentor. But there was little mention of him in the official history texts. Ben supposed it was because after the Jedi were wiped out, there was no one left to write their stories.

What little did remain was written in these books. They mentioned Obi-Wan and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker. Luke had explained that his grandfather Anakin had died during Order 66, and his grandmother soon after. Ben still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that his family had played such an important role in the galaxy’s history. He was the third generation of Jedi, his predecessors having fought in the Clone Wars and abolishing the Empire. It often left Ben feeling small and insignificant.

The missions when he had helped Luke were practically child’s play. There was never any danger when they sought out holocrons or other ancient Jedi temple relics. Ben wondered when, if ever, he could contribute a legacy as great as the Skywalkers before him. He also wondered if he even wanted to.

———

The rest of Ben’s day passed by in a blur. He let himself go on autopilot for the day, too enamored with memories of kissing Rey the night before to care much what food was put in front of him or what work they did.

“You okay?” Hennix asked him at dinner. “Your eyes look glazed over.”

“I’m fine.” Ben moved his spoon around the last of his orxtle stew. “Just thinking I guess.” He changed the subject. “I have a meeting with Master Luke after this. I better get going.” He got up from the table.

He didn’t want further questions from his classmates, and didn’t want to lie to them either. It was a well understood rule that you do not entangle yourself in relationships at the academy. To do so would cause a loss of focus and a gap in your training. He already felt guilty enough about Rey losing sleep last night, but they’d so rarely had a moment alone. Their longing for each other had reached a pinnacle in the last several weeks, and it seemed that this was the only way to be together—in secret.

Ben walked slowly to Master Luke’s meeting, eager for night to come, and for Rey to join him in his bed.

Chapter Text

“Hey Artoo” Ben said, cheerfully.

R2-D2 chirped excitedly and announced Ben’s arrival to Luke, who looked up from his datapad.

“Come in Ben,” he said, sounding formal.

Ben took a seat across from him at the table. R2-D2 strolled out merrily and left them alone.

Luke’s voice was solemn. “I have reason to believe that you and Rey are developing romantic feelings for one another.”

Well, so much for secrecy.

Luke spoke again before Ben could deny it. “I understand how much she means to you, but I must uphold the rules about dating, even for my own nephew.”

What choice did Ben have? Luke knew him better than his own parents at this point, and could always sense when he was lying. Ben chose a different tactic of defense.

“Master Luke, I can assure you that we both take our studies seriously and want nothing to jeopardize that. We both agree that schooling remains at the top of our priorities.”

“It’s not just that, Ben. You’re a Jedi Knight, about to become a master. You will have a level of responsibility that far exceeds her understanding. Entangling in a romance can have serious consequences on the abilities of a Jedi Master and his oath to the people of the galaxy.”

“I know all of this.” Ben tried to say with a calm passiveness. “And I can assure you there will be no problem.”

“You can’t guarantee that, kid.” Luke said sadly. “Sometimes things happen that are out of your control. Feelings change and getting your heart broken only clouds the mind with selfish thoughts and actions.”

Ben hated the way Luke talked down to him. The way Luke didn’t understand the bond Rey and he shared.

Luke continued. “I don’t want to withhold your ranking of Master but if you become too distracted—”

“You would stop me?” Ben’s outward temper began to rise. I’m only months away, and you would hold this over my head as… a threat?”

Luke’s tone sharpened. “Things are never as simple as you think they’ll be. I know that you feel some sort of connection with Rey, but you’re so close to starting your life—“

“She’s part of my life. One of the best parts,” he argued.

“So what, you’re going to become a Master and then wait around for her to graduate?”

“Oh, you know she should be much more advanced than she is, she’s more intuitive and faster than anyone you’ve ever seen.” Ben spat back.

“That’s not the point.” Luke folded his hands on the table in front of him.

“Isn’t it?” Ben retorted. “You’re always saying it’s not the time spent at the academy, it’s the skill acquired. Or does that rule not apply to Rey?”

Luke bowed his head, thinking before his next statement. “I had hoped that keeping you two more separated would keep this from happening.” He said tentatively.

Ben was about to start shouting when Luke continued.

“I know that there’s some connection between you, and for three years I’ve researched, I’ve tried to find it. I feel like it’s on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t know why you’re bonded,” he said quietly.

“What does that have to do with the rank of Master being withheld from me?” He said through gritted teeth. Luke sighed.

“I made a promise to your mother that I would see you graduate from this academy. She’s got enough stress right now with her campaign for Chancellor. What you do reflects on her, too. Just keep your head down for a while longer.  If you get too serious with Rey, it will jeopardize everything you’ve worked so hard for.”

“Why don’t you let me decide that for myself?” Ben stood up, desperate for this meeting to be over. He hated it all. Belonging to this family of heroes and knowing if you stepped one toe out of line, the entire galaxy would be gossiping over the scandal.

Luke pursed his lips and sat back in his chair resigned. “Ben, I felt something in the Force shift. I have a bad feeling, like a darkness is coming.”

“Maybe it is,” Ben retorted. “If you stand in my way.”

He swept from the room, and Luke sighed in defeat.

———

“Tiya?” Rey asked tentatively.

“Yeah?” Tiya looked up from the book she was reading. They were lounging in their hut after dinner, but Rey was nervously twiddling her fingers, waiting to see Ben later.

“Do you really not mind that I’m seeing Ben? Do you think… it’s bad?” Rey’s forehead creased with worry.

“Rey, Voe and I have been seeing each other for 6 months,” Tiya said casually. Rey’s jaw dropped.

“You have?!”

Tiya laughed at the way Rey’s face was frozen in astonishment.

“Yes. She and I sometimes go to the ‘fresher last so we can have some private time together. In fact, after you go to Ben’s hut, she’s coming to ours. So, I guess I should be thanking you for helping us too.” Tiya smiled. “Plenty of other students are busy flirting and finding ways to be alone. They’re just careful about it.”

“So you don’t care about the no relationships rule?” Rey felt like she’d discovered some private club of which she’d been a member and unaware of it.

“I think the rule exists to simplify life at the academy,” Tiya said. “To focus on the studies and less on flirting. But you put people our age together, and the flirting is going to happen.” She smirked, then paused thoughtfully. “Besides, Jedi can have sex. They just try not to form emotional attachments. I doubt they all succeeded in that, though. I don’t think it’s so wrong to love someone and be a Jedi.”

Rey thought about this for a moment. “Sometimes when I think of Ben it makes me feel stronger in the Force, like I understand it in a different way than I’ve been taught. Maybe there’s more to that,” she wondered. Tiya just shrugged and continued reading.

———

Ben felt anger course through his nerve endings. The cold cut across him when he stepped outside. Winter was coming. The sky was darkening earlier every day, and the mornings were near frigid. He felt the chill up his spine as he descended down the row of huts and made his way to Rey’s, uncaring of who saw. Very few people were out in the chilly air anyway.

He stopped at Rey’s door, and knocked feverishly.

She answered, surprised, but delighted when she saw his face.

“Ben!” She said quietly. She opened her door wider to grant him entrance. He stepped in to join her and Tiya.

“What’s wrong? What’s happened?” Rey asked. She sensed his fear and frustration radiating off him.

Ben closed the door behind him and grabbed Rey’s face between his large hands. He kissed her fervently, then explained his meeting with Luke. She clutched him tighter as her heart sank.

“What should we do?” She pleaded.

“Meet me again, like last night.” Rey opened her mouth to protest, but he kissed her desperately and whispered, “Please.” Rey looked at his pained eyes and finally, she nodded slowly.

He left the hut in a flash. Rey sat dejectedly on her mat, eyes on the floor. Tiya came to her side to comfort her.

“Are you okay?” She put an arm around Rey’s shoulders.

“How could Master Luke know already? I mean, we’ve always been close, but. I just… I don’t want to lose him,” Rey whispered.

Tiya had no words of comfort to offer, she could only hug Rey.

———

Ben paced the same three steps again and again in his tiny hut, the candlelight swaying to the breeze he created. What would Luke do to enforce a punishment? Make one of them to leave? He’d be damned if Luke tried to kick Rey out— she had nowhere else to go. The Force was so strong within her. This was where she was meant to be. Now that Luke suspected them, the risk of being caught had multiplied. But he couldn’t not see Rey again. Not when they’d finally admitted their feelings for each other.

When she first came to the training academy, she had been scrawny. Years of malnourishment and the Jakku sun beating down on her. She’d been able to flourish here, gaining strength physically and in the Force. He watched her learn a new skill, and once she got the hang of it, the way she’d look up at him, eyes bright with excitement and pride.

Ben supposed now, he’d always loved her. He’d just denied the fact to himself until the past several months.

Back at the beginning of summer, he’d just had a fight with his mother over hologram communique. Afterwards, he had asked Rey to train with him, as they often did in their spare time. They sparred for a bit, but Rey could see that Ben was distracted and upset. She called it quits and they sat alone on the beach beside each other. The sun had set, and the sky glowed orange and yellow. Most other students had taken leave to visit their homes for the week.

“What’s wrong?” Rey asked gently, touching his arm.

“My mother won’t be home for the break and my father is off doing who knows what. She says he hasn’t been home in weeks. She has meetings and will be off planet. This is the third year they’ve shoved me off,” he said bitterly, throwing a rock into the ocean waves. Rey took his hand and entwined her fingers with his.

It was true, she’d never met his family apart from Luke. Years ago, she’d argued with Ben about his problems, telling him he should be grateful he had parents at all. But as the years passed, she saw the toll their fractured relationship had on him. It didn’t matter if you had parents if you always came second to their work. If they were too busy to talk or comfort you. Long ago, she’d decided to never push back on the matter again. Ben knew what it felt like to be lonely, just like she did. It was different, but the hollow feeling was the same.

“I don’t feel like I have a family anymore,” he said quietly. He kept his eyes on the golden ocean sunset, but she saw the way his eyes were strained with grief.

“Maybe…” she said meekly. “Maybe I could be your family.” He had been her one constant, after all. She had friendships with other students of course, but no one like Ben.

He recalled the simple sincerity in her eyes. He’d wrapped an arm around her, and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

“You’re not alone,” she whispered.

“Neither are you,” he replied.

In the months that passed since then, they’d grown closer than ever before, holding hands under the table, passing notes, and sharing their most vulnerable selves.

Ben was pulled away from sweeter memories when the stress of the current situation clouded his mind again.

He did want to become a Jedi master. He wanted his mother to be proud of him. He also wanted Rey to continue her training. But he couldn’t bear the thought of calling off whatever this was between them. Maybe together they could find a solution.

Chapter Text

When night fell, it was with much less enthusiasm that Rey crept out of her hut and into the black night. She practically sprinted to Ben’s hut. The cool night air now felt like a cold punch to her chest rather than an exhilarating adventure.

He was there, waiting with the door cracked open for her to slip through. Rey jumped into his arms, holding him tightly in a hug around his neck. He squeezed her close to him and her legs wrapped around his waist.

“What’s going to happen to us?” She pleaded, face buried in his throat.

“I don’t know,” Ben said truthfully. “Luke even threatened to withhold the rank of Master from me,” he finished bitterly.

Rey’s mouth fell open in shock and she slid down to the floor on her own feet.

“How could he? His own nephew?” She said incredulously.

“It might be because I’m his nephew” he rolled his eyes. “Family legacy and all that. He said he made my mother a promise that I would become a Master.” Rey knew of the complicated emotions Ben felt about his mother. Rey couldn’t bear to be the thing that drove a further wedge between them.

She looked down, ashamed. “Maybe Luke’s right. I don’t want to hold you back from—“

“No, Rey. You’ve done nothing wrong,” he said fiercely, taking her hands into his own. He kissed her palms and looked into her pained eyes. Could words ever express how much she meant to him?

Rey felt like she was spiraling. It had been hard enough for her to open up to others. To rely on them; to trust them. Could she trust Master Skywalker? He was the one who gave her all of this, and he could take it away. He could send her back. It would be easy because he held all the power.

As a slave, she’d felt angry at her lack of agency. She was never in control of her own life. She thought she had been freed from that prison when she left Jakku. But now she realized she merely traded Unkar Plutt for another master. Someone else who held the puppet strings.

She was a desert rat. A nobody. People like her weren’t meant to fall in love with the galaxy’s prince charming. A person like her could never end up with someone like Ben.

She felt a rage build up in her, and Ben sensed her feelings in the Force shifting from despair to fury. He looked at her anxiously.

“I don’t have a choice do I?” She said, feeling her anger writhing within. She clenched her fists against Ben’s chest. “Luke could dispose of me if I don’t follow his rules. I don’t mean anything to him!” Hot tears ran down her cheeks and she began beating her fists against his chest.

Ben was in agony, watching Rey hit him and feeling her pain like it was his own in the Force. He could only think to hug her tighter to him until her anger ran its course. She felt his energy signature reach out to soothe her like a cooling balm. She gave up hitting him and let out a quiet sob.

“You mean something to me,” Ben pleaded. “You mean everything.”

But Ben didn’t understand, Rey realized. It didn’t matter if he loved her back. His fate wasn’t up to him either.

So, she couldn’t have him.

Rey tried to speak this truth to herself, hear the words, and try not to collapse under her grief. He was meant for other things. Perhaps he would work with other politicians like his mother. He could work for the New Republic. He could travel the galaxy, learn about other worlds, help people, and give back. She would be so lucky to achieve half as much as he would.

She ached that she would not see that version of Ben come to be. Her longing for him gave way to something more—something primal and physical. She couldn’t keep him, but she wanted to claim him. At least for tonight.

“I want you,” Rey whispered, almost growling. She reached up her arms to pull him down for a fierce kiss. Ben returned the gesture immediately, slightly surprised at the way her emotions had shifted, but all too eager to comply with her wishes. She pushed him down to his mat. She needed to feel his body heat; to be smothered in him.

Filled with a newfound confidence, she straddled him, her hooded eyes dark with desire. She tugged at his tunic to untuck it from his pants. Ben helped and removed it swiftly. He lay back again and she drank in the sight of him. Shadows and lines from the candlelight showed how muscular he was from years of lightsaber training. She placed her palms on his chest and ran her hands up to his broad shoulders, exploring the sensation of his skin on her fingertips.

Ben’s mind was wiped blank with pleasure. His hands moved up her thighs, around her waist. It felt so good when he touched her. She felt his erection grow rapidly beneath her. Encouraged by this, she pushed her pelvis forward and back. Ben moaned and gasped for breath.

Rey’s tongue found the sensitive spot under his ear. His pelvis arched reflexively in response to her mouth on his skin. She grind against him again, and this time his hands went to her hips and he held her down tightly against him for more friction. She moved to his lips hungrily, taking his bottom lip and grazing her teeth as she sucked. His tongue found hers and oh stars, she tasted so good.

As they kissed, he realized he could still feel tear stains on her cheeks. As much as he wanted her, he sensed the agony that underscored her feelings of lust. He would not deny her the comfort she sought, but he also couldn’t take advantage of her in this state of distress. He wanted her so badly. But not in this way. Not in an angry reaction to his uncle.

“Rey,” he whispered softly. His own reckless passion was subsiding and morphing into a tender concern for her. She sensed his change of mood and understood why. She sighed and moved down to lay her head against his heartbeat.

Their breathing slowed, and he felt her relax against him. Her pain was now a dull throb in the Force. He traced patterns on her back and began humming softly. An old lullaby from Alderaan that his mother had sang to him. He felt her exhaustion and eventually, she drifted to sleep.

When she was well and truly out, he adjusted her form so she lay by his side, her head still nestled on his chest. Then he joined her in slumber.

Chapter Text

The hologram notification pestered Luke awake as the sun was just starting to rise. He rolled to turn off the beeping and take the call. His eyes were still blurry with sleep, but he tried to look awake and presentable.

It was from Airen Cracken, the leader of the New Republic Security Force. He and Luke were good friends, and had fought alongside each other in the Rebellion. Cracken greeted Luke and informed him of a call to aid from the outer rim planet Koethra.

“We received this tip from a Daneb by the name of Cen Inorak. He suspects possible gang crime outside his city. We sent out as many agents as we could spare, but our investigation proved fruitless. With the recent uprisings elsewhere, we really can’t spare the resources to send out another crew.”

Luke saw that Cracken was under stress from the magnitude of his responsibility. Maintaining order in the New Republic had been an increasing struggle as of late. With the Empire’s collapse and the death of Jabba, the Hutt Clan had left an enormous power vacuum in the spice trade, leading to an increase in numerous gangs to take up the trade routes and claim territory.

“I’d be happy to help, Airen,” Luke said.

Cracken looked relieved and nodded in gratitude. “I’ll forward along the initial report from Cen Inorak. I wish you luck, Luke. May the force be with you.”

The live call ended and now the recorded message began. Luke watched an elderly Daneb male speak. He had a dark blue skin, and light grey markings on his old and weathered face. His form was humanoid with legs and arms and golden eyes. His hair was a deep navy blue and parted into three braids. Luke had never met a Daneb personally, but knew of their species from his travels.

“Greetings, my name is Cen Inorak and my people have need of the New Republic’s help. In the city of Biri, our people have experienced physical violence at the hands of outsiders that are new to the area. My granddaughter, a young Daneb female by the name of Selaa has recently gone missing from Biri, and we suspect kidnapping. We are a peaceful people, and have no wish to engage or confront them ourselves.”

Luke made mental notes of the names and locations given. Cen Inorak’s message continued, giving coordinates and a link for primary contact. When the message was over, Luke pondered what it would mean to pursue this mission. The Jedi Knights Scerria and Tamar could oversee classes. But should he leave Ben in charge as well? Or take him along?

In his mind, Luke replayed their argument from yesterday. The rift between them had pained him. Luke wanted to reach out, to explain his reasonings for their argument. But there was still so much Ben didn’t know. About Leia’s vision of Ben turning to the dark side, a prophecy she had felt when he was still growing in her belly. Or the truth about who is his grandfather really was. Not a slain Jedi, as he currently believed, but as Darth Vader. He and Leia had agreed to tell him about it all after he became a Jedi Master; after he learned a balance that would hopefully prevent a dark side turn.

Perhaps this new mission could be his final training. Perhaps it was time for Ben to ascend and learn the secrets that had burdened his family for so many years.

He resolved to take Ben with him to help the Daneb people. He would make a concerted effort to connect with his nephew and mend this rough patch between them. He dressed and met R2-D2 in his office.

“Artoo? Pack a bag. We’re going to Koethra,” he said, smiling as the droid whistled in delight.

———

Rey headed straight up to the ‘freshers in the early morning, and Ben had watched her go gloomily. She had been quiet and resigned, her Force signature putting up a barrier to his own. He was unable to sleep and decided he might as well head to breakfast and meet her there. Perhaps she’d feel better when she got some food.

As he entered the refectory, he saw Luke already there, seemingly waiting for him. Ben froze momentarily, worried that Luke knew about Rey spending the night with him. He quickly composed his face into what he hoped was a neutral expression.

“Good morning, Ben,” Luke said kindly.

Ben was wary of Luke’s jovial tone. “Good morning,” he said, somewhat stiffly.

“I’d like to ask you to come with me on a mission to Koethra.”

Ben’s feelings changed to surprise and curiosity.

Luke continued, “I’m not sure how long we’ll be, but I think it would be a great experience for you to complete your training.”

Ben’s jaw dropped in surprise. “Oh. Uh, yes Master Luke.” His mind was reeling at the unexpected turn of events. He felt excited, nervous, but ready.

“Let’s get some food and I’ll fill you in on the details,” Luke suggested, letting Ben lead the way.

———

Rey took her time in the shower, so when she was done, plenty of other students were seated and eating breakfast. She saw Ben talking to Luke at a separate table. They were talking amicably, it seemed. She felt a sudden misery at the thought of eating breakfast without him by her side. Get used to it, she reminded herself. She was going to have to let him go, the sooner the better, probably.

She plunked down next to Voe, Tiya, and a few other students who were chatting merrily. She ate in silence, trying not to watch Ben from across the room. When she was on her way out, purposely keeping her eyes forward when Ben called her name. She turned, desperately happy for a reason to talk with him and yet hating that she felt so happy about it. Luke had cleared out by then and Ben was walking toward her, a smile on his face. He scooped her up into a hug and her feet left the floor. Her heart melted at the physical contact and all too soon he put her down.

“Rey, Luke is taking me with him on a mission. He said this could complete my training!” She saw the gleam of joy in his eyes and felt it around him like an aura.

“That’s wonderful!” Rey said earnestly. She was happy for him, really. That’s how a friend should feel.

“We’re leaving right away,” he said. “Will you come help me pack?”

“Sure,” Rey said carefully. Her heart felt like it was tearing in two— wanting to have a moment alone with him, especially if he was leaving, and feeling like she would burst into tears. This was the beginning of the end. He’d come back a Master and probably leave to fulfill an exciting destiny elsewhere.

They walked down to his hut, and Ben looked at Rey. She kept her eyes downcast, chewing on her lip. In one way, he felt disappointed that Luke had not chosen someone else to go with him. He imagined what it would be like to have several days without Luke’s scrutiny. The things they could do together… The fantasy of that nearly made him want to turn around and tell Luke to pick someone else. And yet, to finally complete his training. To finish the journey he’d started so many years ago. To make his family proud of him. He couldn’t pass up the relief of that accomplishment.

When they entered Ben’s hut, Rey twisted her fingers anxiously in the way Ben recognized. He lifted her chin with a finger and kissed her gently. She returned the kiss hesitantly at first, then more consuming, as if she was trying to deny herself but couldn’t help it. She tugged at his hair as she kissed him. He knew he didn’t have much time, so he pulled himself away but cradled her face in his hand.

“When I come back, I won’t be under Luke’s thumb anymore. I could even train you myself,” he said, glowing.

“You…you would stay here and teach?” Rey asked.

“Of course, cyar’ika. I’m staying here. With you.”

Rey nearly burst into tears hearing his term of endearment. Could she let herself hope that he would stay with her? That they could keep hiding from Luke? The doubt settled in her chest, but she gave a small smile to him anyway.

“Is your mission dangerous?” She asked, addressing her next source of anxiety.

“It could be,” he shrugged. “There’s not much intel to go on at this point.” He reached down for a knapsack to pack a change of clothes and his lightsaber. She was unable to stop imagining all the ways he could die.

“I’ll be waiting.” She hoped her voice came off as nonchalant. He stood and turned to face her, kissing her forehead.

“I’ll be back as soon as possible. Maybe I can snag you a local delicacy from Koethra,” he said grinning. She pasted a smile onto her face, and leaned up for one more kiss. She  concentrated on the feel of his lips, his taste. Just in case it was the last time.

“Be safe, and come back to me,” she pleaded.

His forehead leaned against hers, their eyes closed.

“Always,” he replied.

Chapter Text

The trip to Koethra would be a short one, only a few hours from the jump point to lightspeed. Luke and Ben fell into a familiar rhythm of piloting together as they had done for the last decade of his training.

They jumped to lightspeed and the ship blasted forward. Artoo beeped happily. Ben felt the exhilaration of an adventure. He noted the ways his uncle was being kind as they’d prepared for takeoff. He was treating him like a partner instead of an apprentice. It was nice.

“How will you feel, being the second Jedi Master in the galaxy?” Luke teased. Ben huffed and one corner of his mouth lifted.

“I have no idea,” Ben mused.

“You’re going to be great, kid. I’m so proud of how far you’ve come.”

Ben felt himself blush, but he was quite happy to hear his uncle praise him this way.

“I think I’ve had a hard time finding the balance between being your teacher, and being your uncle,” Luke admitted, looking over at him. “With Han out there… doing his own thing, I’m sure it’s been hard for you knowing your mother’s alone.”

Since the summer, Han had never returned home. He had eventually sent word that he was making good money as a starship racer. Leia had been fine with it, too concerned with her work in the senate and her campaign for chancellor. For Ben, it had been a blow to see his family fall apart. Outwardly, his parents acted like friends and said things were fine. But how could a father leaving his family be fine?

“I know it doesn’t feel like it, but the separation may be good for them,” Luke continued. “And no matter what, they both love you.”

Ben found that harder to swallow. They hadn’t seen him in years, too obsessed with their own work. It felt like he’d grown accustomed to being an orphan.

Luke felt Ben’s sour mood and decided to change the subject. “What would you like to do after you’re done with your training?”

Ben hesitated. “Well, it feels like the academy is my home now. And with the school growing, I thought I would stay and teach with you.”

Luke nodded his head, looking at the whirl of space in front of them. “It would be great to have the help.”

Ben couldn’t read his uncle’s reaction to this, and wondered if Luke wished he’d said something else.

“I’d like to spend some time visiting mom, though,” he added. Luke smiled at him.

“I think she’d like that.”

———

When they exited lightspeed, Koethra was in full view. It was a beautiful planet, made up of light blue oceans and teal green land. Rey would love it, Ben thought. It was a tropical planet judging by the lush green colors. They drew closer, planning to dock just outside the city of Biri where they would make contact with Cen Inorak.

They landed smoothly, despite the lush jungle making it difficult to find a place flat enough for their ship. Luke dropped the boarding ramp and Artoo was chirping with a frenzy that made Ben chuckle. They walked out to a humid and warm atmosphere. Ben could feel the Force buzzing with the many life forms here, various animals, and insects inhabiting the jungle.

They hiked north to Biri and saw the city ahead as the jungle began to thin out. The small city was clustered and piled onto itself, each building tall and covered in vines, the jungle still trying to lay claim to the land. Each building looked remarkably the same, and Ben wondered how people didn’t get lost. They were all a light sandy color, probably made of clay from their own soil and water. It was nice to visit worlds that were full of nature and uncharted terrain, unlike Coruscant, a planet made entirely of skyscrapers.

They snaked through narrow alleyways until they found the main road. Here, a bustling market and plenty of people were buying and trading goods. Ben’s eyes raked over the offerings, spotting bags of exotic fruit and nuts that he would love to get for Rey.

He walked up to the stall and Luke followed, taking in the sights. Ben purchased several small bags of food, and tucked them in his pack. He smiled as he handed over the credits to a Daneb man with beautiful indigo skin and a long, navy beard. Ben moved on, hearing the shouts of small Daneb children who ran shirtless in the street. He saw a woman calling out prices for the bounty of seafood and fish for sale, fresh from the nearby ocean. Ben marveled at it all, but couldn’t help feeling a pang of longing that Rey wasn’t here to see this. He missed her terribly already.

They made their way up the street to a building that looked the same as any other.

Artoo chirped. “Well, this is the place,” Luke said, looking up at it. He headed to the simple wooden door and knocked. After a moment, an elderly Daneb man answered, his beard long and grey and his face weathered but kind.

“Thank you for coming, Master Skywalker,” he said.

“Thank you, Cen Inorak,” Luke said, recognizing the man from the hologram message. “It’s our pleasure to help.”

They were welcomed inside to a modest home with simple furniture. There were no rooms, just one open square of space and a staircase in the back to the upper floors. They sat in wooden chairs while the man offered them tea.

They took their steaming cups, and Ben sipped the hot liquid carefully. It was earthy and refreshing after their journey.

“Please tell us about yourself,” Luke asked.

Cen Inorak settled into his own chair and began his story.

“My community has lived here for hundreds of years. We take no more than we need from the land, and we have sustained our way of life without harming our planet. It’s our strongest belief to maintain a balance with nature, so that nature can always provide for future Daneb people.

“This is my family home,” he motioned upward to the ceiling with one hand. “The Daneb people build a home on top of a home again and again for the generations that come after. Children live above their parents, and grandchildren above them, and so on. We build up and we share one home so we do not take too greedily from the land.

My son and his wife were taken from us years ago by an illness that killed many in our city. I have raised their son and daughter from childhood. Alas, my family home is much more empty than most.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Luke said, brows furrowed in sympathy. Cen Inorak bowed his head, took a deep breath and continued.

“Recently, we have seen more strangers in our city, always coming in at night, and leaving the city before morning. They drink, and they fight and abuse the kindness of my people. They are wasteful and cruel. We do not know where they go in the day. There are no other cities nearby and only one ship ever flies to and from our city. Once every two weeks, the ship will leave and return.”

Cen Inorak paused now, looking more grief stricken than ever. “A week ago, they took my granddaughter, Selaa. We do not know where they may have taken her.”

At that moment, a young man burst into the room from a staircase at the back of the home.

“And I saw them take her!” He shouted. Ben noticed this man’s likeness to his grandfather. He had short-trimmed facial hair and what seemed to be a bruise healing on one cheek, the light grey markings on his face a bit discolored from the injury. He had long, handsome braids of hair down his back and his golden eyes blazed in anger.

Cen Inorak shook his head, as if embarrassed and apologetic.

“This is my grandson, Derru. He witnessed Selaa’s kidnapping—“

“And I’m going to get her back,” he declared.

“Derru, please—“ Cen Inorak begged. “It is not our way. We do not fight.”

“Yeah, well maybe it’s time we learned. Times are changing and I’ll be damned if I let them get away with taking my sister.”

“I cannot lose you too,” Cen Inorak pleaded with his grandson.

Luke interjected. “Derru, I’m sorry for what’s happened to you and your family. We would like to offer our assistance. We need a guide to navigate the area and help us learn all we can about these men. Will you accompany us to find your sister?”

Derru looked surprised to hear the stranger so willingly include him.

“You… you would take me with you,” he said hesitantly.

“You would lead the way and guide us,” Luke nodded.

Derru stood up straight and jutted his chin upward.

“I accept. I will lead you to them.”

Cen Inorak looked concerned for the safety of his last remaining family member, but saw that Derru would not be swayed to stay behind.

“It is settled then,” he said.

Chapter Text

“Remember Ben. It is not the Jedi way to use your power to make other people fear you. Be the better person. Remember there is good in all and don’t engage in anger.”

“Yes, Master Luke,” Ben murmured.

The sky was dark now, and Ben, Luke, and Derru walked to the local cantina where fishermen and other townspeople gathered after a day of work.

The cantina was at the top of a building that had a different shop on each level. Furniture, textiles, tools, and more. The stairs of this building were zig zagged on the outside of the structure to afford each shop its autonomy. Up and up they climbed, to the sixth level.

They entered the cantina dressed in casual clothing, with lightweight robes overtop their tunics and pants. This afforded them quick access to their lightsabers while concealing them from view. The place was filled with young people dancing to music, laughing and talking. Ben observed young people his age living a completely carefree life. He watched the intimate way Daneb people moved together, touching and rolling their hips. They were unashamed of their bodies. Unashamed to kiss and caress one another. Ben ached to touch Rey like that in public. To take her out dancing. Somewhere they could be free to kiss and hold each other.

Derru motioned them forward and Ben tried to refocus on the mission. They made their way up a spiral staircase to the roof of the building. The air was cooler here and two bright moons shined down. There was another bar on this level where a woman served drinks, smiling and giggling. It was less crowded than downstairs, but a few people were dancing merrily in the fresh evening air.

In the opposite corner of the roof, a wide berth was given to a few tables clumped together. Several human men sat together, grimly watching the festivities and sipping a dark liquid. One of the grungy men caught Ben’s eye.

“There they are,”  Derru said to them over the music. “They always sit there and drink all night. Nothing else.”

But this night was not like others, apparently. The moment these men saw the trio, they pulled out blasters and began to fire.

They took shelter behind the bar and everyone else fled, screaming from the abrupt attack.

Ben unsheathed his lightsaber and stood again, blocking their fire with his saber and using the Force to divert shots back to the men. He hit the largest man who fell down under the table. Shots ricocheted to the bar, shattering glasses. Ben tried to redirect errant blaster shots so that innocent people weren’t hurt. One of the four men split from the group and jumped off the roof to the staircase below. Luke followed him while Ben was still deflecting shots from the two men on the roof. Derru was behind the bar, weaponless. Ben grew tired of the antics with the blasters, and reached out to Force choke one of the men. He ceased firing immediately and dropped his weapon.

But then, the large man under the table came to and grabbed the dropped weapon to continue firing. Ben took cover again behind the bar. Had their blasters only been set to stun? Why? He could sense Luke, now running down the street after his target.

“Come out, darling” One man jeered at him from across the roof. “Let’s have a dance, shall we?”

Ben couldn’t focus on three armed men and protect Derru. “Wait here,” Ben said to his frightened partner. Ben rolled out from behind the counter and motioned for all the glassware and bottles to fly out from the bar and careen towards the firing men. They yelled out in surprise and threw their arms over their heads to protect themselves from the shattering glass that came down like rain. Ben saw his chance to move in and met the first man with a simple swipe of his saber, cutting him down. The large man who was now standing by, mouth frozen in terror, was the next to go. A simple curve and thrust. Two down, one to capture for questioning. But the last man thrust up one of the tables at Ben, turned around, and launched himself off the roof.

He landed on top of the next building over, and began running. “Derru, come on!” Ben shouted, stepping back to get a running start to jump to the next rooftop. But Derru was already passing him and hot on the tail of their target. Ben was surprised but happy to see this was something Derru wasn’t afraid of. And he was quick.

Over and over, they dashed across the many rooftops of the city. The narrow gaps between buildings made it almost easy. Ben followed behind Derru, bounding again and again, jumping a moment after Derru’s swift form. The man they chased veered left and jumped down to a lower rooftop, and Ben lost his visual. Derru called back to him.

“I’ll head him off up ahead! You follow him!”

Derru leapt across another roof straight ahead instead of turning left like their target.

As Ben approached the edge of the roof to make the jump, he saw too late that the gap between these buildings was much wider— this was the main road he’d walked earlier. He’d already made his leap, and although he hadn’t known the gap would be wider, it seemed he would just make it, his feet outstretched to meet the edge of the roof.

Well, he almost made it. His foot brushed the ledge and he scraped his knees, but he managed to land on the roof. As he was getting to his feet, he saw the man he was pursuing—running right at him. The man crouched and rammed his body forward into Ben’s, and Ben was shoved off the roof.

———

Give it up, Rey told herself. There’s no way you can get through this. She was trying (and failing) to meditate with her classmates. It felt like this day without Ben had dragged on forever, but at least it was almost dinnertime. She didn’t feel hungry for once, but at least dinner marked the end of her pretending to pay attention in class.

She opened her eyes a bit to peek at everyone else. They all seemed to be doing just fine. She huffed and closed her eyes again. She gave up and let herself think about Ben.

She imagined him standing before her, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her away. Maybe down the the beach, where it would be warm and sunny, unlike today’s grey clouds. It would be warm enough that they could strip down and get into the ocean together. She would swim out, wrap her legs around his waist, and kiss him until they got bowled over by a wave. They would re-emerge from the water, laughing and kissing again. He would touch her breasts, then inch down to touch her aching core under the water, stroking her gently while she moaned into his mouth.

Rey felt herself throbbing, felt the wetness between her thighs. She bit her lip gently, the way she imagined he would if he were kissing her. She wanted to come for him. She nearly reached down to put her own fingers there when she remembered where she was. She opened her eyes and gasped.

She was levitating several feet off the ground. Some other students had clearly given up on their own spiritual journey and were watching her jealously.

“Well done, Rey!” Scerria called, now that Rey had opened her eyes. She outstretched her legs and touched down to the ground again.

“Great job, everybody,” Scerria smiled. “Let’s go to dinner.”

———

He’d had to drop his lightsaber but Ben was able to cling to the roof ledge with one hand. He was panting with the effort. He thrust up his other arm to take hold of the ledge. But it slipped, and he was left still hanging on with just one arm. He felt the sandy texture moving under his fingers. He was losing his grip. Just when he was about to fall— a hand thrust out around his wrist. Derru’s hand.

Derru helped pull him up and Ben rolled himself over the roof ledge, huffing with relief.

“Thanks,” he gasped.

“Don’t mention it,” Derru said, chest heaving up and down. “I think that guy got away.”

Ben huffed out a chuckle, but then he looked around. “Yep. With my lightsaber it looks like.” Kriff.

———

He’d commed Luke and they met up at the south edge of the city. Luke had tracked his target to this point, and they continued in the dark. Derru had better night vision than they did, and they were grateful for his ability to track foot prints in the mud and flora of the jungle. It was now their only lead to finding the men who’d escaped them.

They walked for an hour, maybe two. Ben felt exhausted, trying to draw upon the Force to help keep him alert.

“The man that we chased, he was the one who took my sister,” Derru explained to Ben. He hit me and made off with her on a speeder before I could get up.”

“And you were at the cantina then too?” Luke asked.

“Yeah. We were out with friends. We were just leaving, walking home. Those men were trying to convince us to buy something, but wouldn’t say what it was. Just that it would feel good. They said they’d give us a sample for a good price. When my sister refused, they grabbed her and just took off.”

“What’s it like to live in Biri?” Ben asked, changing the subject to lighten the mood.

“Everyone knows everyone. No one ever leaves, and no one really comes here. It’s quiet. I love my home, but sometimes I wish I could see what else is out there. It’s a bit unnerving to know exactly where you’re gonna end up when you’re old.”

Ben nodded quietly. He thought of his own life and the opportunities he’d been given. The life of a Jedi required selflessness, but it gave you a ticket to travel the galaxy to help those in need. Yet Ben was also drawn to the quiet peace of this place. Your family settled down and stayed together. You danced with friends. You loved someone. Simple.

They eventually stopped to rest, and Derru volunteered to take first watch since his eyes could better see an attacker in the dark. Ben tossed in his sleep, feeling insects crawl on him and buzz around his ears. When Derru shook him awake to take his watch, it was almost with relief that he didn’t have to keep trying for this restless sort of sleep. He felt naked without his lightsaber, and he kept absently reaching to feel his side, only to be reminded again of its absence.

The sky began to lighten, and Ben could just make out the outlines of different trees and plants. The color of the night was still a violet purple, but it was changing minute by minute. Ben ran his hands through his hair, wondering if he should wake up the other two and get a move on.

But then suddenly, his world seemed to shift. It was like all the sound was sucked out of the air. He looked around and to his right, it seemed a figure was emerging, growing clearer. He was about to call out for Luke when an echoing whisper reverberated through his soul.

“Ben?”

It was Rey.

“H-how? How is this happening? What’s happening?” He stammered.

Her form was clear now. She looked just as startled as he was.

“I don’t know,” she echoed to Ben. He took a tentative step toward her. She looked so real. Like she was right in front of him.

Ben considered he might have gone insane, or perhaps it was extreme thirst or exhaustion causing the hallucination.

“Where are you?” Rey asked.

He shook his head hoping to clear his mind, but there she was, beautiful and in her own sort of moonlight that seemed different than his.

“I’m… in a jungle,” Ben said. “Where are you?”

“I’m on the beach. I couldn’t sleep. Went for a run,” she replied.

“Can you see my surroundings?” Ben asked, looking behind himself. “I can’t see yours. Just you.”

He stepped toward her again, reaching out a hand to touch where her face would be when her form disappeared like smoke, leaving no trace behind. The sounds around him magnified to their normal noise level again, but suddenly seemed very loud after his encounter.

Was it real? Ben asked himself. He couldn’t know. He’d never read about something like this before. She was lightyears away, yet seemed close enough to touch.

He heard a crack behind him like a twig breaking underfoot. Then the world went black.

———

He awoke to a splitting headache. He was laying flat on his back on a hard surface. His eyes were blurry, out of focus, and far too sensitive to the bright light that was shining into them.

He tried to move one arm to block the light in his eyes, but felt his hands bound in front of him.

“Hello, Jedi,” He heard a polite voice say. Ben managed to stay conscious, straining his eyes to focus on the face of the man talking. “Welcome to my home. I am the captain. We have been waiting for you to arrive, and we’re so glad you’re finally here,” he said jovially. “And I see you’ve brought a friend! Maybe I’ll play with him too, like the other girl.”

Derru tried to scream, but the sound was muffled. Ben shook the hair out of his face to better see the man talking. He could make out a long, pale face with gaunt eyes and a wide smile. His lilting and slimy voice made Ben’s skin crawl.

“The New Republic’s Security Force is a joke. They gave up looking for us so easily,” the man giggled. “So, now it’s just you. And I’ve got you all taken care of. We’ll kill you and no one will bother us again. What a happy ending,” he sighed, delighted. “Take these two away and leave the old man. Let’s have some fun with him.” 

Ben tried to make a sound, to make words come out of his mouth, but he could only get out the first letter. “Nnn” his voice trailed off.

He drifted again into darkness.

He dreamt of Rey. Of her soft skin, the freckles on her nose. The hazel color of her eyes. The way she looked at him with trust. Come back to me, she urged.

Chapter Text

“Ben. Ben!” His eyes fluttered open. “Ben!” He turned his head to the sound of the voice. It was Derru calling his name from across the room. Ben blinked and sat up slowly. He’d been tossed into a prison cell in a small room. Derru sighed with relief.

“You okay? You were out of it for awhile.”

Ben lightly touched the back of his head and hissed in pain. When he looked at his fingers, he saw fresh blood.

“Were you awake when we were captured? Do you know where we are?” Ben asked.

“They pulled a bag over my head and dragged me here,” Derru answered.

“Do you know where Luke is?”

“They took him to a different room. That’s all I know.”

Ben closed his eyes and focused on reaching out in the Force. This place, wherever they were, was cool and dark. Steel and stone. They were underground, probably in the middle of the jungle. The tendrils of the Force slithered out, curling around corridors and into the room where he sensed Luke, still alive, but in pain. They were torturing him.

Ben got to his feet slowly. The room was fairly dark, only two prison cells. They also seemed to be filled with something else. Ben walked over to a pile of what looked like bricks. He picked one up and examined it more closely. In the dim light he saw tightly packed and wrapped portions of dark brown powder. Spice.

So this was part of a spice smuggling route.

“Derru, do you know what this is?” Ben asked.

He shook his head no. “It’s spice,” Ben said, tossing the brick down onto the pile.

“They could be distributing it in the city, and probably all over the outer rim too, by the looks of this stockpile.” Ben examined the rest of his cell and the room. There was no simple way of escaping this, especially with his hands bound in stun cuffs. He was at the mercy of his captors. With these cuffs he could be shocked or jolted into unconsciousness, depending on how they wanted to utilize them. He and Derru looked at each other miserably.

———

Rey was distracted and getting thwacked again and again with Tiya’s sparring stick.

“What’s up with you, Rey? I can never beat you this easily,” Tiya teased.

Rey wiped the sweat off her forehead and jabbed her own stick upright in the sand. The entire school was practicing along the beach, paired up. Scerria and Tamar usually joined all the classes when Master Luke was away. It was a good time for Padawans and Apprentices to ask questions and work with mentors.

Rey didn’t know if she should explain what had happened earlier this morning— her vision or whatever it was— with Ben. It was impossible. How could he have appeared in front of her? Talked to her?

“I’m just tired. I don’t feel very well,” Rey answered.

Tiya walked forward and put a hand on Rey’s shoulder.

“It’s okay if you want to take off the rest of the day. I know you miss him. Go have a lie down I’ll cover for you if someone notices you’re gone.”

Rey felt a surge of gratefulness for the idea. She couldn’t bear the thought of doing anything else.

“Thanks, Tiya.”

“I’m going to tell everyone I won our sparring matches fair and square though,” Tiya said twirling her stick and grinning.

———

Rey plopped onto her mat in her hut. It felt nice to be alone, to not have to act normal in front of other people. She replayed her vision of Ben again. He’d said he was in a jungle. But Rey couldn’t have known that detail, unless she’d made it up herself?

Her mind was spinning in circles thinking when time seemed to slow down. The air changed, and sound was sucked out of the hut. She shot up to a sitting position and looked around. It was happening again. Directly in front of her, Ben appeared, sitting and leaning against a wall she couldn’t see. He was covered in dirt, his hair ragged and matted with blood. His eyes opened and he looked at her in awe.

“Ben?!” She said. He looked injured and exhausted. “What’s happened? Are you okay?” She scooted forward to him, reaching out her hand in trepidation.

“Rey,” he rasped.

He reached out his shackled hands to her, and though it couldn’t be, though it was impossible, Ben’s fingertips touched hers.

Like lightning shooting through her brain, Rey saw flashes of Ben’s recent past. Chasing someone, jumping and falling. Hiking through dark jungle, her own face. And now the cell he was trapped in.

Ben grasped her hand more firmly with both of his. They realized their connection must somehow be real.

Suddenly, words were tumbling from Ben’s mouth.

“We’ve been taken prisoner by cartel in an underground complex where they store spice. We're trapped,” his voice broke. They stared into each other’s eyes, both with longing and fear.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to Rey.

Keeping one hand in his, as if the bond would break if she didn’t keep hold, she leaned to the side and reached for her lightsaber next to her sleeping mat. With trembling hands, she slowly passed him her saber, feeling a sort of fluttering air between them as the matter shifted over to him. Her eyes never left his face.

She felt the air and sound shifting again. The bond would break soon.

“Come back to me,” she said, resolute. He now met her gaze with determination.

“I will.”

And then he was gone.

———

Ben watched her form disappear in front of him. He realized he was breathing hard, and looked down to see her lightsaber was actually in his hands.

This was no vision. It was real.

“Um. What the hell just happened?” Derru said off to the side.

Ben looked over, his face breaking into a grin.

“We’ve got a way out of here.”

———

Luke felt sweat run down his temples as he struggled to maintain composure. Four men were taking turns prodding him with an electrostaff on a low setting. Not enough to kill him, but enough to get enjoyment from seeing their prisoner twitch in pain. Luke was using the Force to remain conscious and try to telepathically send out a distress call, but the frequent zaps made it impossible for Luke to focus on much else but the pain. The captain who greeted them earlier had tired of the game when Luke seemed almost unaffected.

“I’ll return soon with more toys,” he’d said.

Luke could only hope that whatever it was, he had the strength left to endure it and send for help at the same time.

———

Ben held the lightsaber carefully between his cuffed hands and ignited the blade. Instantly, the cuffs split apart and he had two free hands again. He also noticed he no longer had a splitting headache. He reached up to touch the open wound on his head, and it was gone. Completely healed as if it had not been there before. Ben was incredulous, full of questions and wonder. But that was for a later time. Right now, he had a wrath of vengeance in mind, so he thrust the saber into the lock mechanism of his prison door and watched the steel melt. He stepped out of the prison and and saw Derru watching him gobsmacked, mouth agape.

Ben did the same to Derru’s prison door and cuffs.

“You ready?” He asked. Derru nodded. “Okay. Let’s go get your sister back.”

He opened the outer door and immediately slashed down the two men standing guard. Ben picked up their blasters, tossing one to Derru. “The safety is off. Shoot holding it with two hands if you can; it will give you better control and aim.”

Derru nodded determinedly. They stalked down the deserted corridor. Where is everybody? Ben thought. He headed toward Luke’s energy signature, diminished but still glowing. When they came upon the door Luke was behind, he sensed four other lives inside. He signaled to Derru, and slashed the door open with Rey’s saber.

The men were completely caught by surprise and barely had time to fumble for their blasters before Ben had all of them off their feet, hovering a foot above the air and choking for breath. Yes, this felt good. It was everything he’d been holding back before. With a jerk of his arm, the men were thrown against the wall and crumpled to the floor. Derru undid Luke’s restraints on the table he was strapped to while Ben stalked over to the men, holding them paralyzed on the ground. None of these men were the Captain he’d seen from earlier.

“Where is Seraa?” Ben seethed, rage coursing through him. He felt his power magnified, like it was able to run free and untethered. 

When none of them answered, he clenched his fist, inflicting spasms of pain. He took pleasure in their cries and screams. He released his fist a fraction, and the screams became dull moans.

“Where is Seraa?” He asked again through gritted teeth.

“S-she” one man spluttered. “S-she’s in the captain’s qu-quarters.”

Derru and Luke now joined Ben at his side, Luke rubbing his wrists from where the stun cuffs had cut into him.

“Ben,” Luke said, trying to place a hand on Ben’s shoulder, but Ben shrugged it off. 

“No,” Ben hissed. “We’re doing this my way.”

Luke stepped back and watched Ben from behind. He sensed the darkness coursing through him, the light in Ben was a distant second in his Force signature.

“Get up. Slowly.” Ben released his hold on the four men and they pushed themselves shakily to their feet. Ben eyed them all, and chose the two he wanted. He cut down the others only inches away from the terrified men that remained standing.

“You will return our lightsabers and lead us to the captain’s quarters,” Ben said calmly. They nodded, eyes wide with terror. He relinquished the saber’s light, but held it at the ready if they should think to disobey him. The men walked to another door and led them down a different hallway. The five of them walked stiffly.

Luke was confused. Who’s blue saber was Ben holding if not his own? He looked more closely at the part of the hilt he could see. It was Rey’s.

“Ben, why do you have Rey’s lightsaber?” Luke asked softly. Ben turned his head to glance at Luke from his peripheral vision.

“I’ll explain later,” he said.

They began to walk past huge open cargo bays where they saw hoards of an orange, leafy plant being trimmed and cut open down the stalk by dozens of workers, all human.

Derru gasped. “That— that plant is sacred! It is the plant of my ancestors!”

Ben could see Derru was deeply offended by this. “Why is that plant special?” He asked.

“The enerva is used to make a special tea to help the dying pass on to the next life.”

“Like a poison?” Ben asked.

“No, it is meant to relax you. You release your pain and leave it in this existence. You will be free from pain and suffering in the next life.”

The next cargo bay had a medicinal smell, and they saw the plant was being cooked down in water. Then they drained the water, leaving behind the mushy leaves and stems where they were mashed and flattened into a sheet of paste.

Another cargo bay. Here they dehydrated the paste and it became a fine, brown powder. The spice Ben had found in his prison cell. The two men guiding them past looked tentatively behind at Ben. With a flick of his wrist, the two had their necks whipped forward, tensely upright.

“Keep moving” he muttered at them.

He was eager to finish this mission and get out of here.

Finally, they reached a wide door where one man typed a code to grant them entry.

“The captain’s quarters,” he mumbled, head down. The trio followed the men inside and the door shut sleekly behind them. This wing of the base was much more stylized and less industrial than the rest. They saw their reflections in the black tiles under their feet. It was grossly extravagant, and it looked as if this base had been operating for quite some time. Very profitably. At the back of the room they saw a platform with a large bed. Long, black drapes and chains hung from the ceiling. Ben’s stomach lurched. 

Ben saw their lightsabers on an intricately carved wooden table to the right of the spacious room. He and Luke walked forward to retrieve their weapons. Ben belted Rey’s saber and gripped his own broad hilt again.

“Where is my sister?” Derru demanded. To the left, one man opened a door to a small, dark room where a girl lay curled up on the floor.

“Seraa?!” Derru called. He rushed forward and knelt beside her. Luke kept watch on the two men while Ben helped pull the woman  upright. She wasn’t unconscious, but she seemed unaware of what was happening. They’ve been dosing the spice to her, Ben thought. Probably to keep her docile. She was naked and shivering. Ben removed his outer robe and covered her. Derru looked at him gratefully, his eyes full of tears. 

“What have you done to this poor woman?” Luke asked the men.

“The captain keeps her and beds her when he wishes,” one of them muttered.

Ben saw Derru’s face twist with anger, and he felt the same. If someone did this to Rey… he would hunt down every last person in the galaxy who had anything to do with it. He would kill anyone who did this, no matter the victim. This would end here, today.

“Where is your captain now?” Ben asked, currents of dark energy rippling in his veins.

“He’s right here,” that eerie, happy voice lilted from behind him.

Chapter Text

The captain was fully armed with explosives strapped to his body, and holding a large cannon blaster that whirred to life. Derru held up his own blaster, but Ben put a hand up to stop him.

“If you shoot, he’ll blow us all up,” Ben muttered to him.

“That’s right,” the captain said, mouth tight. Ben noticed there seemed to be a glimmer of fear in his eyes. Tales of the Jedi and their abilities had become more like rumors and myths in the decades that followed the great Jedi purge. Most did not know the true extent of a Jedi’s powers. The captain must have felt great success initially in capturing them. Now, he looked half petrified under that gaunt smile. The explosives were his last resort at maintaining control.

“Put down the blaster,” Luke said calmly, his palms raised. 

“I think it’s time for you to say goodbye now,” the captain sneered.

He aimed the blaster at Luke and—

Crrrikkkk

A sickening crunch echoed in the silence that followed. Ben had snapped the man’s neck in half, killing him instantly. The captain seemed to fall to the floor in slow motion. He hit the ground with a loud thud. Ben was awash in his power, feeling it bloom and ripple throughout him. He relished in killing this man. It was justice. It was vengeance. It was a pleasure. He breathed in deeply through his nose, feeling exultant.

Everyone remained frozen as Ben walked forward and stripped the captain’s body of explosives and the detonation remote. He stood and walked slowly back to a shocked Derru. Ben locked eyes with him to help him focus. “Derru, we need to place explosives around the base. It’s not enough to evacuate or shut it down. With the infrastructure in place, it would be all too easy for someone to come back and start up again.”

Derru’s face changed from one of shock to resolve and determination. “I’ll do it,” Derru said quietly, jutting up his chin like he had before, when he’d first joined them. Ben nodded. He carefully handed Derru the explosives, then gently lifted Seraa into his arms.

He turned to the two men, their eyes wide with terror and hands raised up in surrender. “You two, get us a landspeeder so we can get the hell out of here.”

They walked to the transportation bay and Derru followed Ben’s directions for where and how to place the thermal detonators along the corridors. A perk of being the son of a smuggler, Ben thought. You know how to blow something up.

The men led them to the transportation bay, and Ben chose a land speeder that could fit them all comfortably. He lifted Seraa into the backseat with Derru, then turned to address the men one last time. “You have five minutes to evacuate,” he told them coldly. “Use that time to get people out. Don’t even think of hauling out your store of spice.” They nodded. Ben felt their relief in the Force. If they came out of this with their lives, that was good enough after what they’d seen.

Ben got into the landspeeder and it roared to life. He guided it outside the transportation bay and they zoomed out into the jungle and warm afternoon sun.

When he felt it had been enough time, Ben pushed the detonation remote. A steady burst of eruptions sounded like a volcano from underground about to rise to the surface. But within moments the sounds dissipated to a rumble as they sped away, the breeze whipping their hair.

Luke’s lips were pursed. He hadn’t argued with Ben about any of it. The choices Ben made, albeit while saving their lives, had brought his darker side to the surface. Something Luke knew had been welling up inside him all his life. It felt like a prophecy that Luke couldn’t stop. But he would keep trying. He had to.

———

When they returned to Biri, they were reunited with R2-D2, and Cen Inorak. Ben carried Seraa into their home and placed her on the bed by the fire. Cen Inorak rushed to gather supplies to treat Seraa while Derru spoke in their native tongue to explain a shorthand of what they’d gone through.

Cen Inorak was horrified to learn of what had been done to Seraa. He put a cool towel on her forehead as he wept and murmured prayers for her recovery. Prayers for their jungle land that had been cut down and pillaged for their sacred enerva plant.

His grief cut into Ben’s heart. He imagined how Cen Inorak must feel; the family and the land that were most precious to him had been deeply violated. Cen Inorak looked up at Ben, startling him like he’d intruded on something very personal. “Please, tell me about the people who did this,” he asked.

Ben explained the number of men, what they looked like, what they said. After this, Cen Inorak’s eyes closed and he bowed his head again in prayer. “Bless them, that they may find peace and healing in this life or the one after,” Cen Inorak whispered.

Ben was incredulous. “You… you would bless the people who hurt your family? Your land?” He asked.

Cen Inorak looked up again, his tone sombre. “All life is sacred. I wish them no harm. As I said, the Daneb are a peaceful people. We believe in evolving throughout our reincarnations until one day, we carry no more burdens. No more anger or pain.”

Ben felt astonished at this. It tugged at his memory of an oath he’d learned at school. A Jedi is meant to value all living things. He had reveled in cutting down the men who gave such pain to Cen Inorak and his family. But he now tried to see the other side of it. The men he killed would never know the grief they’d caused. They would never understand it or apologize, or try to make it right. They would never do anything again. And Ben had decided that for them. He had made the choice for their lives to end. And while he’d killed before, on other missions, he’d never felt the way he had today. He had never craved that vengeance before. A Jedi is meant to value all living things. Had he forgotten that?

Luke sent a message to the New Republic Security Force to inform them of the coordinates of the destroyed base. “You’ll likely find stragglers in the jungle who could have further intel.” Luke ended the message and joined Ben in saying goodbye. Derru shook Luke’s hand, then turned to Ben.

“How do you know this wasn’t one of several locations in a bigger cartel?” He asked.

“I can’t be sure, but the captain’s quarters were far too lavish for someone doing the middleman work. That sort of wealth and accommodation goes to the people at the very top.”

Again, Ben was surprised at how the time spent with his father, Han Solo, had shaped his understanding of illegal activities. “The Security Force will sweep the area and arrest anyone left behind, now that they have the location.”

“Now is a time of healing for your family,” Luke said. “We wish you well.” Derru nodded, then held out a hand to Ben.

“Thank you for saving my sister.”

Ben took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “No thanks needed. You saved mine on the roof, remember?” Derru gave a small smile, and Ben returned it.

They took their leave and flew over the smoking ruins of the spice base. It seemed Ben had done an adequate job of destroying the underground structure. It had collapsed on itself and the jungle would soon claim it again. Though, given the value of the enerva plant, he didn’t doubt that people would once again try to set up a base of operations here. The forces of evil were cyclical.

After they entered lightspeed travel, Ben retired to the small cabin aboard Luke’s ship. He checked on the fruits and nuts in his pack for Rey. Only a few hours more. Then he’d be with her. It was a physical ache in his chest, the way he missed her.

Luke came into the small space and leaned in the doorway.

“So, how did you manage to get Rey’s lightsaber?”

Ben felt suddenly anxious. He unclipped Rey’s saber from his belt and turned it over carefully in his hands. If he told his uncle the truth, would he be angry? Frightened? Jealous? He took a deep breath.

“When I was in that prison cell, something happened. The Force connected me to her. She appeared right in front of me. I reached out and… I could touch her hand. She was real. I told her what happened to us, and she handed me her lightsaber.” The awe and wonderment washed over him again. He looked up at Luke, apprehensive but desperate to see his reaction.

Luke looked stunned, eyes wide. “I’ve always wondered—“ Luke started. “Tried to research whatever it was between you—but this— this is something else.” He looked up at Ben. “I once traveled to an ancient Jedi temple, years ago when you were a baby.” Luke stepped forward and sat on the bunk in the cabin. His eyes were distant, recalling the memory from long ago. “I found a holocron that prophesied a connection like this. A pair that can meet across space and time. I didn’t make much of it. I didn’t even get a chance to take the holocron with me before an acklay was chomping at me and I had to escape,” he chuckled. He looked up at Ben. “I think it’s time we look again for answers to this connection.”

Ben sat on the edge of the bunk next to Luke. “You’re not… mad?” He asked.

“Why would I be mad?” Luke asked. “It’s incredible. I’ve spent the better part of my life studying and learning about the Force. Collecting artifacts from Jedi temples, creating a school, building a library… and there’s still more to learn,” he said.

Maybe I was wrong, Luke thought. Maybe Rey is meant to help Ben. Maybe it could save him from the dark side.

He looked intently into Ben’s eyes. “The Jedi have long taught the principle of training yourself to let go of attachments. But this is an attachment that helped you. An attachment made by the Force itself.” He shrugged. “I don’t claim to know everything about the Force or what it can do. But, maybe we can learn together?” He placed a hand on his nephew’s shoulder.

Ben was moved by his uncle’s gesture. But this mercy made him feel all the more guilty for his actions on Koethra.

“At that base I—“ Ben hesitated. “I lost control. I felt so angry. For their hurting you, for what they did to Derru’s sister…” he closed his eyes, remembering the horror. “I’m sorry.”

“You care deeply,” Luke said. “Compassion can make for a strong Jedi.”

“But I don’t deserve the rank of Master after what I’ve done,” Ben whispered, head in his hands.

Luke paused, choosing his words carefully. He did not want to alienate Ben or shame him. Those feelings would not help him choose the light. But Ben was right. There was still too much conflict in him, even now.

“You killed in self-defense and to protect innocent people. Nevertheless, you took lives. It’s never easy to make that decision. I know you don’t take that lightly.” Ben flinched, thinking again about forgetting his oath to value all life. Could his uncle sense the extent of his guilt and shame?

Luke continued. “I would like you to do some introspection on your mental state. Let’s meet in a day or two to discuss how you feel about all of it.”

“Yes, Master Luke,” Ben said quietly.

Luke stood up from the bunk and walked to the door, but turned once more. “I would also like to work with you and Rey on your connection. The Force seems to be showing you a different path. I’m going to trust it.” Ben looked up, surprised. Luke smiled, then turned and left the cabin.

Ben felt a mixture of emotions. He knew a Jedi should not take pleasure in killing others—but hadn’t he felt that way? Striking down the captain in that horrible room had felt good. It felt like justice. At the same time, Luke had been understanding and kind. He wanted to understand Rey’s connection to him.

Ben decided to let himself feel a bit of hope. Perhaps his rage on Koethra had been a temporary lapse in judgement. He would do better, work harder to overcome this.

———

The sky turned a dark black, and Rey hadn’t left her bed since her encounter with Ben. She felt tired but couldn’t pinpoint why. Tiya brought her food and she nibbled on some bread. She hadn’t told her roommate what happened. How could she possibly explain it when she had more questions than answers?

Besides that, she could think of little else but the way Ben had looked—bloody, and exhausted. She tried again and again to push the image to the back of her mind. He couldn’t leave her. He couldn’t die. She begged the Force to connect them again— to show her where he was, what he was doing now. She imagined his face appearing. She squeezed her eyes tight—but nothing happened. She huffed and got up to take a walk in the dark, suddenly keyed up.

Rey grabbed a blanket and crept out of her hut. She walked to the cliff edge and curled up in her blanket to sit on the long grass. She watched the skies, willing for a ship to appear.

She forced herself to think only of him returning. She had no idea when he’d be back, but she was more confident now that he would come back. He’d promised her.

She didn’t know how she could possibly touch Ben from lightyears away, but she knew the Force had willed it so. And that gave her comfort.

When she could bear the cold winds no more, she trudged into Ben’s hut and lay in his bed, smelling his clothes and blankets, and pretending that he was holding her. 

———

Ben and Luke landed planetside smoothly. Ben’s stomach was in knots at the anticipation of seeing Rey again. Perhaps he would go to her hut and steal her away to his own. They walked down the loading ramp and started to head in different directions.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Luke said. Ben was shaken from his thoughts.

“See you,” he said, blushing and turning his face away quickly. He headed to the ‘fresher to wash two days of jungle and sweat off his body. As he lathered his hair, his thoughts kept returning to Rey’s face. The way she held his hand in that prison. The way his pain had dissipated. He ran his fingers down his scalp again. There was no cut, no scar even. She had healed his wounds. She had saved him. She must be a goddess.

———

Rey awoke some time later to gentle kisses blessing her face and arms. “I’m here, my sweetheart,” he whispered into her ear. “I’m here.”

Tears of happiness clouded her vision. An invisible weight seemed to lift off her chest, allowing her to take a deep, ragged breath as if she’d been underwater until this moment.

She whispered his name over and over again, curling her fingers into his wet hair and pulling him close to her. She felt his smile on her cheeks as he kissed her. She squirmed out of her tangle of blankets and curled up in his lap. He held her close, nuzzling her face.

“You saved me,” he said softly.

“I don’t know how,” she whispered.

His lips pressed to hers. It didn’t matter to him in this moment. All that mattered was holding her and not letting go.

“What happened to you?” She asked. Ben explained the journey, his capture, and the way he’d taken control to escape. He confessed to Rey that he’d killed several men.

“A Jedi must always be ready to take a life when they draw their lightsaber.” Rey repeated the lesson they had learned years ago. “You did it to survive.” She traced the features of his face with her fingertips. “The Force connected us and let me give you a way to save yourself,” she said fervently. “That must mean something.”

Ben looked at her, fierce and beautiful in his arms. He marveled at her. His life before her was a series of duties, of expectations. Working to please his family. But then she came into his life. She made him feel excited to wake up every day. To keep living. Not only that, but to enjoy the life he had. She had exploded his universe with new purpose. He felt overcome at the gift she’d been to his once lonely existence.

“I love you, Rey,” he said, running his hand down the curve of her face.

Rey felt her heart stutter, her breathing stopped as she took in his words. She saw the way he smiled at her, his eyes seeming to hold an endless depth of passion and adoration.

“I love you, Ben.”

It was simple, really. She had experienced joy and kindness with him. He encouraged and inspired her. For years, Rey had struggled with the idea that she was unworthy of this life. That she must have deserved to be stranded on Jakku. But Ben made her feel wanted. He made her feel like a queen.

She was suddenly overwhelmed with need. “Touch me,” she whispered, kissing him fiercely.

She pushed him down to his sleeping mat and straddled his hips. Her breathing was ragged, but she no longer felt self-conscious with him. He loved her. Rey felt herself grow wet with lust, an aching urge calling from between her legs.

Rey slowly lifted her tunic, revealing her breastband. Ben’s hands reached up and wrapped around her bare waist. His hands inched up to her ribcage. He’d seen her like this before, training on the beach in summer, but to touch her—his mind went hazy, thinking only of the pleasure it was to touch her skin.

She fiddled around to find the end of the breastband, then began unwrapping. Ben felt his erection twitch under her at the anticipation of seeing her breasts. He felt incredulous that she chose him. That this moment was happening. The remaining wraps loosened and fell to her waist, revealing the curve of her breasts at last. Her skin was unfathomably soft, her nipples light pink and taut. She threw the wrapping aside and watched as he marveled over her, one thumb softly tracing the outline of her areola. She reached a hand under his tunic, and pulled it up to feel his stomach. He leaned up to remove the shirt. When his chest was bare, she leaned down, skin to skin and kissed him urgently.

He was enamored with her. Her breasts pushed against his chest, feeling her tongue in his mouth. He rolled them over gently so he was on top. Rey’s legs instinctively curled around his hips, keeping him close to her. He pressed his lips to her neck, her collarbone, and down to her sternum. Rey’s hips moved in a circle and she uttered a soft hum. He took a breast into his mouth, feeling the texture of her stiff nipple and swirling his tongue. She moaned, unable to contain the sound, and bucked her hips into his groin.

“Ben?” She whispered. He looked up, releasing his suction of his mouth from her nipple with a pop. She bucked under him, gasping. He palmed her breast, rolling her nipple between his thumb and finger. He kissed her stomach. She was panting now, whispering his name again, trying to recall what she’d meant to say in the first place. “I want you… to take off… your pants.” He paused in surprise and pulled up to look at her.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she said resolutely.

She unfurled her legs from around him. Ben straightened up on his knees. With trembling fingers, he reached into his pants to release his bulging erection. He pulled the pants down and shimmied them off his ankles, nervous to meet Rey’s gaze. When he finally looked up, he saw her hooded eyes dark with lust. She licked her lips and sat up, legs still spread to each side. He leaned back onto his haunches, kneeling bare before her. She tentatively wrapped her hand around the base of his cock. His breath hitched in his throat, watching her hand move slowly up and down, gently squeezing his shaft.

Rey could feel her underwear soaking as she took in the sight of him, fully nude. Her hand was dwarfed by his girth. The skin of his shaft was smooth, save for the blood pulsing in his veins. She ran a thumb over the head and heard him stifle a grunt. She looked up, pleased and smiling. He leaned down to kiss her, unable to help himself. Their tongues intertwined with ferocity and passion. Rey leaned back, breaking their kiss. Ben watched her hungrily while she lifted her pelvis off the ground to take off her leggings. When she tossed them aside, she tentatively opened her legs, allowing him a full view between them.

Ben relished in the sight of her, letting out a slow, shaky breath. He felt like his body was buzzing, adrenaline coursing through him. Rey reached out one hand to beckon him forward, flush with desire. He obliged, kissing her and pressing down upon her warm body. His sex pressed upon hers and he felt the absolute heat radiating between her legs.

Rey moaned with pleasure as he glided against her clitoris, slick with her own wetness. Ben was panting, uttering her name over and over in a fervent, quiet prayer.

They felt their bond in the Force open wider than ever before. It was like he was connected to her experience, her pleasure as well as his own. She could feel his arousal and mind numbing pleasure in the expanse of the Force that only the two of them shared. Ben seemed to read her thoughts, feeling her excitement peak and swell in a certain area when he rubbed against her. He reached down, and lightly pressed his finger there. She moaned louder now, her eyes rolling back, her torso arching up to him. Yes, there. Ben was overjoyed at her pleasure, at his ability to give her this, and yet also entranced by the telepathic bond they seemed to have awakened.

Rey was lost in the thrill of her pleasure, gasping and moaning unashamed. Faster, Ben heard, and his finger quickened the pace of the light circles he drew upon her. He kissed her in an attempt to stifle the involuntary cries now coming from her lips. He was thrilled, but aware that his hut was not so far from the next one. She urged him on, hungrily kissing and taking his tongue into her mouth, reaching an exhilarating high, until—

Rey shattered beneath him, trembling and twitching, gasping for breath. Ben’s movement slowed and, ever watchful of her face and mental reactions, moved his fingers down to her folds, rubbing and exploring them while she came down from her peak. Rey’s eyes were closed and her face had a look of bewildered pleasure. She felt like her body had turned into jelly, settling and melting into the floor. Her mind was automatically relaxed. Ben bestowed kisses to her cheeks and neck.

She looked at him, sated and in awe. He returned the look, smiling and biting his bottom lip.

I want to make you feel that way, she communicated without saying a word.

“You don’t have to” Ben said, suddenly self-conscious. This had been more than enough. He felt like he could die happy right now, making Rey come.

“Switch places with me,” Rey said, a devilish grin on her face.

Ben’s cheeks grew flush with nervous excitement, and he rolled off of her and onto his back. She climbed on his lap and straddled him once again, nothing blocking the contact of their skin now. His hard cock curved up to his stomach. She placed herself against his erection. She was too nervous at the thought of this inside of her just yet, so she thought instead to stroke his shaft with her own body. Placing her hands on the mat at his sides, she began to gyrate her hips, pressing her wet, hot sex against his thick length. Ben’s eyes fluttered closed, only inhaling and exhaling to sound off his pleasure in the quietest way possible. His hands roamed her body, her waist, her derriere, her breasts, her thighs.

Rey was also alight with pleasure again, her clitoris notching against the head of his shaft with every stroke. She felt her wetness soaking between them. His wide hands gripped her hips, guiding her pace. She clenched and released her vagina, and Ben felt her muscles contract on his cock. His eyes opened in wonder and lust and oh, stars it all felt so good. Rey’s pace quickened, an urgent hunger building in her again to achieve that illustrious, orgasmic high. Ben watched her hips arch, her breast swaying, and it was all too much for him. He was starting to lose control— nearly there—

Rey began to come a second before him, and feeling her contracting against him pushed him over the edge entirely. Her wetness, her movement, all pushed upon him in an orgasm like he’d never experienced with just his hand. His cum shot up to his stomach, each pulse a blessed release of ecstasy.

Rey’s breathing slowed again, and she looked down to see his ejaculation between them. She felt curiosity and pleasure. She’d done that. She’d made him feel that way. She couldn’t help but slide a finger across his stomach and taste the strange, translucent texture. It was salty, slightly bitter. It was gelatinous and warm and part of him. 

She noticed Ben staring, eyes wide.

“What?” She said, suddenly self-conscious. “Is it bad to taste it?”

“No,” Ben shook his head laughing. “I was just surprised. That…was arousing, watching you do it.”

Rey blushed and looked down. She traced her fingertips along the lines of his hips. He reached for her hand and kissed her palm, eyes half closed.

“Thank you” he whispered. He seemed to be able to pass along all his emotions of the experience into her mind. The way he felt so lucky to do this with her— this girl he loved. The way he didn’t feel worthy of her affection, but was grateful for it all the same.

Rey felt his thoughts in her mind, and shook her head, smiling. She leaned down.

“I feel the same way,” she whispered in his ear. She pressed a tender kiss to his lips.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Rey discovered they’d overslept, and sunlight was pooling under the door of Ben’s hut.

“Ben!” She hissed, her mind racing with panic. “Wake up! We’re late!”

Ben squinted with one eye to look at her, then noticed how bright the room was. He bolted upright.

They dressed in a fluster, no time to savor the feel of each other’s naked bodies pressed together. Ben clipped his lightsaber to his belt for his morning class and remembered Rey’s saber was still in his pack.

“Here,” he handed the hilt to her.

“Thanks,” Rey said, taking it from him after pulling on her leggings.

Ben peeked out of his hut door while Rey put her shirt on.

“I don’t see anyone,” He said, surprised. “No one’s outside. Maybe everyone’s still at breakfast?” He guessed.

“Well, lucky for us.” She belted her own saber and reached on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. His concentration was broken and he looked down at her, grinning.

“Let’s make a run for it.”

They burst from the hut, running and giggling as they ran up the soft slope of the hill to the temple. There was no helping the fact that they would enter for breakfast at the exact same time— they’d have to play it off as a coincidence if they wanted to snag any scraps of food left.

The curious thing was why no one else was milling about, making their way to classes.

Ben looked through the door window and saw the entire school seated in the refectory, their faces glum. He entered, Rey following behind, and saw that all the students were watching the HoloNet projection on the walls. Two people were delivering breaking news on the broadcast.

“—no comment yet from Senator Leia Organa, but we do have confirmation of legitimate proof that exposes Senator Organa as being the daughter of Darth Vader, Sith Lord and face of the Empire. Serving under Emperor Sheev Palpatine, Darth Vader killed countless civilians across the galaxy. Few people would want to associate with the daughter of the biggest monster in our history. It’s quite a blow to Senator Organa’s campaign for Chancellor of the New Republic.”

“That’s right, the only acceptable action now is for Leia Organa to resign and end her campaign for Chancellor. We are left asking ourselves if Senator Organa wanted to put herself into a position of power to inflict her own agenda the way the Empire did. Who’s to say she wouldn’t enact harmful laws and policies? The genetic pre-disposition of being the daughter of Darth Vader could mean she’s had malicious intentions all along—“

Ben froze, hearing the broadcast. His heart began to race with anxiety. They couldn’t possibly be discussing his mother? Daughter of… Darth Vader? No, that’s not right. There’s no way it could be true.

The news anchors were now introducing new footage. It was the evidence, the proof of their claims. An old hologram began to play on the walls. Ben recognized the image of his grandfather, Bail Organa.

“Leia, your real father was Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi who turned to the dark side and became Darth Vader. Your mother was Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo. Padmé gave birth to twins just before she died. Your brother Luke was taken by other relatives, and your mother and I adopted you. Leia, I know this will be hard to hear—“

It seemed the entire school now converged onto Ben, whispering about him, their heads turning to stare at him like he was a monster— a freak. Ben heard a ringing in his ears, a high pitched sound, making his vision go blurry at the edges. His face grew hot with embarrassment as so many eyes followed him. He felt someone touching him. Rey. She took his hand.

“Let’s get out of here,” she whispered urgently. She tugged him backwards and out of the refectory. Ben followed the pull of her hand in a daze, unable to take control of basic functions. She led them to an empty classroom. His muscles were tense, his breathing shallow. He was sure time had slowed and he would not recover from this seeming paralysis in his brain.

“Ben!” She couldn’t reach him. She hugged him to her. It was like he was a ghost— looking straight ahead but seeing nothing. It was like he didn’t know she was there.

There was something in Ben’s mind clawing at him. Your real father was Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi who became Darth Vader.

Ben slowly sank to his knees.

A Jedi who was turned to the dark side. The words replayed in his head, each piece clicking into place like a new puzzle that made up his identity. His family’s identity. His hands slowly reached up and held Rey, still standing, to his kneeling form. He buried his face in her stomach and she wound her arms around his head and neck, holding him tightly to her.

“I’m so sorry, Ben. I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Rey thought of how most people in the galaxy would view this. Never before had there been a scandal like this in her memory. She had no connection to those parts of history. No parents or grandparents to tell her stories of the Clone Wars, or the Empire, or even the Battle of Jakku, which had ended the civil war and the Empire itself. Her only part in this story was being a scavenger from a war that had come before her. She had scaled Empire Star Destroyers in the desert so she could eat, so she could survive.

She’d never considered the way those giant ships, half buried in sand, had shaped the very painful history of this galaxy.

She imagined what Ben must be feeling. He had always been weighed down by his family’s expectations for him. Being the son and nephew of the galaxy’s three biggest heroes who’d led the rebellion to victory. But now he was also the grandson of its biggest villain.

Ben’s breathing was ragged as the shock settled and other thoughts began to race through his mind. What would be the fallout of this information? His mother’s political career— it was over. What did that mean for his family?

Did his mother know the truth before today? Did Luke?

Ben moved to stand up again and Rey helped, always keeping a hand on his arm or chest. “I have to see Luke,” he said robotically.

“I’m coming with you,” Rey said firmly. Ben thought to argue against it, but he admitted to himself that having Rey by his side would keep him grounded. He could feel her reaching out in the Force to soothe and support him through his grief. He let her in, taking comfort in her presence. He nodded, and they walked hand in hand to Luke’s office.

When they entered, Luke’s data pad was beeping with several hologram messages and he was recording his own message, talking in a frenzy. The news broadcast was also playing, contributing to the fluster of noises arguing with each other. Luke ended his holo message immediately and muted the HoloNet broadcast when he saw Ben appear in the doorway.

“Ben,” he said, his face turning white. “I—we— need to talk.”

“Did you know?” Ben said standing solid, a wall that couldn’t be avoided.

“Yes,” Luke said hesitantly.

“When did you find out? Have you always known?”

“I found out when I was around your age,” he said. “I told Leia shortly after that. It was all during the rebellion. It was a shock to us both.”

“And you never thought to tell me.” Ben’s tone was cold, unfeeling. His face unexpressive.

Rey looked up at him, worried. She saw his rigidity, his jaw clenched and the muscles pulled tight in his face. A nerve below his left eye twitched in distress.

Luke tried to gain control of the conversation. “We wanted to tell you very soon. We planned to tell you after you became a Jedi Master—“

“Why? Why wait?” He asked angrily. His composure was slipping.

“Ben, your mother had a vision before you were born. She saw that you would be tempted by the dark side. We didn’t want you to feel like your ancestry dictated who you would become. Just because Darth Vader was turned to the dark, it doesn’t mean you will. We wanted to wait until you chose the light of the Jedi for yourself and completed your training, so that you would be as prepared as possible if you were ever tempted.”

Luke’s eyes flickered to Rey involuntarily.

Seeing this, Ben’s rage burst forth, his tone scathing. “You thought I couldn’t handle it? I guess we’ll never know, since you couldn’t trust me enough to let me in on the big family secret,” he said sarcastically. “And now I have to find out like everyone else: on the HoloNet. With people  staring at me like I’m a monster. Because you were too cowardly to tell me.”

Luke flinched and tried to speak again, but Ben cut him off.

“You lied to me. About Anakin Skywalker.”

“I didn’t lie!” Luke said indignantly. “Anakin did die the day he decided to murder younglings and turn to the dark. Darth Vader was like a different person. But there was still good in Darth Vader. He saved my life and killed himself to protect me. He turned back to the light side and died in my arms. That is the real legacy of your grandfather!”

Ben huffed a humorless laugh, shrugging his shoulders. “It doesn’t matter. You lied.”

Rey felt a storm was brewing in the Force. Dark smoke curled around Ben, and flashes of black lightning struck his aura. She squeezed his hand. Her own light couldn’t penetrate the wall he’d built around himself. Her attempts to reach him were smothered in his black clouds.

Luke slammed his fist down on his desk. “Dammit, Ben! This was all for your benefit! To save you!”

Ben shook his head grimly. “No. I don’t believe that.”

Luke’s Force signature was changing now. Streaking with darkness like black stains on a white canvas.

Ben took a step forward. “Did you always doubt me? Or were you afraid I would tell other people?” Ben asked. Luke was silent, glaring at his nephew.

Ben tilted his head to the side, contemplative. “Huh. Is that it? I mean, how could the galaxy trust you now? You lied to everyone, even your family. So you could build all this,” he gestured around him.

“What do you think is going to happen now? Do you think anyone is going to want their children to study under the son of Darth Vader?”

Luke roared and ignited his green saber. He split his desk in two, his blade screeching through the wood. With a wave of his hand, Luke’s desk separated into two pieces, bolting apart and smashing into opposite walls. He stepped forward, darkness overtaking him.

Ben ignited his blue saber. “Rey, get out of here,” he told her, not breaking eye contact with Luke.

“I won’t leave you!” Rey cried.

Luke calmly centered his green saber in front of himself as he watched them.

Rey is the problem, he thought.

He had lost control of Ben. He was more distracted, less obedient. Luke would have been able to calm Ben if she hadn’t been there. It all came down to solving the problem of her.

Luke set his eyes on Rey and lifted his saber to attack her.

Fury, pain, and fear exploded from Ben’s Force signature. No! He raised his hand into the air, palm up. Books, holocrons, every possession in Luke’s office soared straight at his uncle. Luke bent to one knee and used the Force to project the objects away from him. Books flew from the shelves and glass shattered against the walls. Bookshelves crumbled and fell. Luke rose to his feet again and swiped his green blade before Rey could ignite her own, but Ben moved to block him. Their sabers shrieked from the friction.

Rey approached Luke from his left side and Ben from his right, forcing Luke to adjust his fighting style to defend both of their blows from opposite sides. Sabers met walls and slashed through the room, splitting and scorching everything in sight.

Rey, the room is going to come down. We need to move out. Their bond helped them coordinate a block and attack defense as they retreated back to the door. Ben screwed up his strength, drawing on the Force for more power. The ceiling of Luke’s office began to cave in. Ben manipulated the weakening structure; wood beams cracked and split overhead. Luke saw that he was trapped in the condemned room and fought harder to push Ben back and out of the exit. Rey saw Ben’s focus slip. Luke was coming for an attack but Ben was focused on bringing down the ceiling. Luke’s killing blow seemed to come down in slow motion over Ben’s head. She desperately reached up to block it at the same moment Ben did. Their lightsabers crossed in an X shape to protect from Luke’s strike.

Boom.

The echo of their lightsabers crossing created a sonic boom. Glass and windows shattered. Luke went flying back ten feet from the force of the blow. His body smashed into the back wall and crumpled to the ground. Then the ceiling finally broke loose and caved in.

Ben turned and grabbed Rey by the waist, pulling them both out of the office. He took her hand and they sprinted down the hall. Behind them, they heard shouting and screaming as students discovered the source of noise and destruction.

“What’s happened? Master Luke! Where is he?!” Students called.

Rey looked back and saw students pointing at her and Ben as they ran away.

“They attacked Master Luke! Stop them!” Someone yelled. They were being chased by Gaven and other students, their lightsabers drawn to fight.

They stepped outside to the landing pad where four ships sat, warming in the sunlight.

Ben’s power flowed freely through him, as if he’d been let loose from a cage. He motioned for large boulders on the ground to soar up and smash into the door where students were seconds away from exiting. He grunted with the effort, but managed to barricade the door completely with rocks. He might have just killed his uncle, who had tried to kill Rey. The students would blame him for everything. He was a criminal now, an outlaw. The ringing in his ears was drowning him again until Rey’s voice cut through.

“What do we do?” She asked frantically, her lightsaber still held between both hands.

Ben looked at her, pained. He couldn’t ask her to run away. To ruin her whole life, her training.

“Rey, I—“ his voice cracked. “I have to leave.” He held out one hand to her. A silent question.

Rey bit her lip. She looked at him, then back at the temple. Students would come any second from other doors. What would they do? What would she do?

She imagined the different scenarios that could play out. One, she could take Ben’s hand and leave with him. Two, she could stay behind while he left. The thought alone crushed her. To be left planetside again while someone she loved flew away. Since she was a little girl, she had constantly wished to go back to the moment when her parents left her on Jakku. She wished she had fought harder to stop them from leaving her behind. If she let Ben go, she might never see him again. The only person that really loved her would be gone, and she would be alone again. No. No, no no.

She reached out and took his hand. “We leave together,” she said fiercely.

At that moment, they heard people shouting and running outside. They were coming.

If they stayed a moment longer, they would have to fight, and lives would be lost. It was now or never.

Their hands locked together and they ran for the nearest starship. They sprinted up the ramp and Rey headed to the cockpit.

She willed her hands to stop shaking as she activated the sublight drive. Ben shut the loading ramp and rushed to the cockpit to pilot. He engaged the repulsorlift and they rose slowly into the air. Students were running to the ship, shouting. Others followed behind, their faces tear stricken and distressed. The ship rose up and away, gaining speed and elevation until they were out of the planet’s atmosphere. Someone could still come after them. She gasped.    

“I have to deactivate the tracker!” Rey said flustered. She left Ben in the cockpit while she went to the mainframe to stop the location beacon from tracking their whereabouts. But, where would they go?

They’d stolen a valuable ship from the academy. A combination of a small yacht and scout vessel, it was a ship that a Jedi could use for speedy travel, but it could also accommodate one or two people for several weeks if the mission required it.

She ripped wires out of the mainframe while she considered that. Where was home? It wasn’t Jakku. Never by her choice. The Jedi Academy… it was a place that taught her to wield extraordinary powers and channel them with focus and patience. It was a place for rules, discipline and self-restraint. It wasn’t a home, but it was the place that gave her Ben every day for three years. A place for friendship and building trust. Yes, she would miss this place. But she couldn’t forget Luke’s eyes as he walked forward to kill her. That crazed look of anger.

What if they had lost the fight? What if Ben had died?

She grit her teeth and tore the tracking beacon from the antenna wiring, tossing it to the ground.

Ben was home. He loved her more than anyone else in this galaxy. And after the way they had given themselves to each other last night… Stars, was that really only hours ago? She thought. She took a deep breath and finished re-wiring the antenna. She closed the maintenance panel and walked back to the cockpit. 

She was a bit surprised to see Ben calm, focused. He was entering coordinates for hyperspace when she took a seat in the co-pilot chair.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“It’s a tiny planet in the Outer Rim called Sedri. My dad once had a smuggler’s hideout there. I think you’ll like it.”

Rey nodded and gave a small smile. She wasn’t sure how to act or how to feel after what they’d just been through. But she was sure of her choice.

Ben guided the ship into lightspeed and sat back in his seat, staring ahead. He was leaving. He was already gone. He would never return to that school. A place where he was lied to. A place that taught him to forget his emotions, become unfeeling. To relinquish all personal attachments. How had he ever hoped to fall in love with Rey and still become a Jedi? Luke never would have allowed it. He’d seen the proof of that when his uncle had tried to kill her.

“Luke was so angry…Why would he come for us like that?” Rey asked quietly, breaking their shared silence.

“He attacked when he didn’t have control anymore,” Ben said. “He was angry and we were the nearest target.” He replayed the image of Luke’s green saber slashing at Rey and flinched. He reached out to her beside him, as if needing physical reassurance that she was okay.

She took his reaching hand and wrapped it in both of hers. He looked over at her finally, his forehead creased with sadness.

“I’m sorry you got mixed up in all of this,” he whispered.

She shook her head. “There was never any other way,” she said simply.

“I’m not ever going back there,” he said. “I’d rather run away than be under the thumb of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master.”

“What about your mother and father?” She asked.

He was angry at all of them. For lying to him, for making him jump through hoops to be a Jedi. To earn their approval. To earn the right to know the truth about his heritage. They’d shoved him in a corner and told him to behave. But he was done trying to please his family. Even if it meant he had to give them up.

“No,” he whispered.

Chapter Text

When they dropped from hyperspace to Sedri, Rey’s jaw dropped at the sight of the planet. It was a turquoise ball with swirls of cerulean clouds. Spots of green and black dots speckled the planet like freckles. The planet was made up of small islands and volcanoes scattered across its blue ocean.

“Who lives here?” Rey asked.

“No one lives on the island we’re going to,” he said with half a grin. While their trip through lightspeed had been somber on the heels of the traumatic fight with Luke, Ben couldn’t stop himself from feeling free. An escape from oppression. And while his empty future was daunting, it was also exciting. For the first time, he had control in the direction of his own life.

This fluttering excitement stayed with him while he navigated into Sedri’s atmosphere and past smoking volcanoes and purple-green jungles. They came upon the island of the smuggler’s hold and veered down. It was a very small speck of land, rimmed with black sand beaches and a tiny collection of jungle plant life in the center.

He looked over to Rey and she looked positively bursting with curiosity and excitement. He centered the ship to land on a short plateau above the black beach.

He docked and met Rey’s wide eyes. “Let’s check it out,” he said. She nodded eagerly and jumped out of her seat.

The first thing that Rey experienced was what felt like a wall of water as soon as she stepped off the ship into the atmosphere. The air was thick with humidity, the heat suspended in the air. She looked up. The deep blue cloud cover was thick, creating a dense and hot atmosphere for jungle life to thrive. It was different than anything she’d experienced. Jakku was a dry desert. There were seldom clouds or rain. Just the sun and the way the rays seeped into your skin, baking the sand and leaving you with constant fatigue. The climate of the Jedi temple on Mharu Brideog was much more temperate. Cool winds, green hills, and a cold ocean except for a few weeks in the summer.

Rey felt her skin start to perspire immediately. It was a startling feeling, the humidity. Ben walked to her side and they looked out at the impossibly blue ocean that spanned ahead as far as they could see. Crystal clear blue water splashed merrily onto the shore to greet them.

“Can we swim?” Rey asked.

“Yes,” Ben smiled at her.

It was dawning on both of them the freedom of this moment. They were alone—together. In this beautiful place. Rey kicked off her boots. The black sand felt a soft, pleasant texture between her toes.

“And no one is here to see us?” She asked again, giving him a look of consternation.

“Just the fish,” Ben laughed, letting his pants fall to his feet.

He was fully nude, encouraging Rey that she could do the same. She gulped at seeing his naked body, sculpted and on display in the light of day instead of confined to a tiny hut in the dark.

She smiled and bit her lip while she peeled the already damp clothes from her body. She met his admiring gaze as she stepped away from her pile of clothes, matching him. He stepped forward and took her hand.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered. He pulled their entwined hands up and kissed hers gently. She looked down shyly, and saw blurs of color moving in the water. Intrigued, she got closer and gasped, realizing there were dozens of fish of all shapes and sizes swimming near the shore. The water was so brilliantly clear, it was like looking through glass. Gentle waves lapped at her feet, making green, bubbly foam that popped pleasantly against her toes. She looked back at Ben by her side for reassurance. He smiled widely and took his first steps into the water. He nodded encouragingly and she tentatively stepped into the water. It was very warm, like a relaxing bath. She let out a squeak of pleasure and grinned at Ben.

They waded further in and watched fish peck at green plants that peeked through the black, sandy ocean floor. When Rey was waist deep, Ben wrapped her in his arms. She felt a bead of sweat drip down her sternum and between her breasts as she pushed her bare chest against his.

“I’m grateful you’re here with me,” he said. Rey looked up, admiring him. The black hair tousled around his face, his plump lips, long black lashes and adoring brown eyes. It was more than just their experience here, it was that she'd taken his hand. She had chosen him.

“I love you, Ben,” she said softly, reaching up to run fingers through his black tendrils. “My home is with you.”

He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her hungrily. She responded, entwining her fingers into his long hair. He pulled them deeper into the water and the fish scattered around them. He chose a spot that was deep enough for him to plant his feet but his chest and upper arms were exposed to the air. She clung tightly to him, wrapping her legs around his waist as an anchor. He smiled through her kisses— she was still nervous about swimming even though he’d practiced with her every summer.

He deepened their kiss, exploring her mouth with his tongue. His felt cock harden from her desperate consumption of him, her hands on his chest and moaning softly into his mouth. He cupped one hand around her ass and his other hand reached for her breast, gently rolling the nipple with his thumb and forefinger. She let out a cry of pleasure, clinging harder to him.

I want you, she begged telepathically to him. The warm water lapped around them while he reached his free hand down between her legs. She gasped with pleasure as his fingers caressed her lips and clitoris. She was silky smooth. He slipped the tip of one finger into her and she exhaled a moan, throwing her head back, then up again to look at his beautiful face. She nodded and he worked the finger deeper inside, feeling the hot, plush texture of her walls and the creaminess of her arousal. Rey rolled her head back again and he took the opportunity to kiss her neck while she moaned his name. He curled his finger inside her and she moaned louder now. More, she told him. He repeated the motion and her mouth took his again, plunging her tongue inside in a frenzy of need. After a minute, he added another finger. She clenched tightly in pleasure, rocking her hips against him. He felt her walls expand to let him in, felt her hot breath on his neck as she moaned. He curled his fingers inside her again and again until she was crying out.

He was painfully hard, hearing her moan with pleasure unabashedly. He pulled out his fingers and grasped his own cock, craving the pressure around his throbbing erection. As if she’d heard his thoughts, she wrapped one arm around his neck and with her free hand reached down to grip him. He sighed with relief, kissing her and using both hands to cup her derriere.

He thought of what it would be like to taste her, to take her sex into his mouth—

She nodded breathlessly, breaking their kiss. He cradled her as he waded back to the shore’s water-packed sand. The air was so dense with moisture, you could hardly tell the difference in or out of the ocean. It was warm and comfortable, unlike the chill you felt after emerging from the water on Mharu Brideog.

He knelt down and laid her on her back, kissing her mouth, then moving down to her sternum, her belly, and finally situating himself between her legs. He kissed her inner thighs as she panted with anticipatory desire. He worked his way higher up her thigh until he kissed the spot at the top where her tendrils of dark hair met flush, pink skin. She gasped. A few more kisses down the length of her, and then his tongue glided up again to the top. He tasted sweet saltiness. A combination of the ocean and herself. Rey whimpered and gyrated her hips under him. He moved his tongue languidly up and down, feeling the texture and shape of her. He worked his way up and closed his mouth, sucking her clitoris, tasting her sweet juices. She cried out in pleasure and he moaned into her, aroused by her sounds.

Rey’s thoughts were incoherent as she experienced his tongue and mouth. She didn’t know what noises she made or how loud she was, nor did she care. All she knew was that she never wanted this feeling to stop.

He broke the suction with a pop! And she bucked under him again. He flicked his tongue against her clitoris and she started to claw her hands in the sand, her vocalizations rising an octave. His tongue quickened pace, flicking her into a frenzy of incomprehensible lust. Just when she felt it couldn’t be more intense, he slipped two fingers into her again, filling the aching hole and guiding her to the peak of explosion.

“Yes, yes, just like that,” she cried out. His tongue and finger stroking her every nerve ending and finally— she came, her hips thrusting up into his face and screaming his name. Her thighs involuntarily closed around his head, holding him captive. His tongue slowed and licked her so gently, she relaxed as she rode out her orgasm. She felt herself gripping his fingers inside of her as she convulsed.

She was out of breath, panting as she came down. Ben withdrew his fingers and kissed her thighs again before rolling over and plopping onto his back, resting his head on her thigh.

His jaw ached in a way that was so satisfying. He smiled. So, she could be loud when no one was around. That was…exciting.

“Oh stars,” she said, her cheeks reddening. “Was I really that bad?” Rey was connected to him, hearing his recounting of the last few minutes in his head.

He laughed, “Don’t be embarrassed. It was incredibly sexy.”

They lay there for awhile, admiring the swirling blue sky above. They shared a feeling of mutual satisfaction across the Force. They were free. They were together on a beautiful planet, giving and receiving pleasure with this brilliant expanse of land before them. What could be better?

“Tell me why you picked this planet,” she asked after some time had passed.

Ben stroked her thigh with light fingers. “For a long time I imagined taking you all over the galaxy. I knew you’d like the green and blue colors here.” She reached down and stroked his hair, smiling to herself.

“I’ve also… fantasized about doing this with you,” he said shyly. He turned his head and kissed her body where her inner thigh met her body. She shivered just slightly, despite the oppressive humidity. “When we got in that ship— I decided to make that a reality.”

———

When they could bear the heat of Sedri no longer, they went for one last swim in the ocean, admiring the fish and splashing each other playfully. When their fingers pruned, Ben hoisted Rey over his shoulder and carried her back to the ship. They were famished, and ate several food rations aboard the ship, reveling in the temperature controlled coolness.

Since they’d set course for this planet, they hadn’t discussed the horror of what had happened to them or why they had run away in the first place. Ben pushed it from his mind again and again. He wanted to lose himself in Rey. He wanted to abandon responsibility and duty and family and just—exist with her.

“We’ve got enough food here between the two of us for about a week,” he said, thumbing through the storage drawers. “We’ll need to head to a city to get more supplies and fuel before long.” Rey bit her lip, nodding in agreement. She wondered how to proceed carefully in addressing the subjects they’d been avoiding with each other. 

“How will we pay for anything?” She asked timidly.

“I’ve got credits in my account. That should hold us for awhile,” Ben said, fiddling with his empty food packets.

“Ben,” she pleaded. “We do need to make a plan.”

He turned his back while he cleaned up and disposed of their trash. She could feel his anxieties in her own mind— he was feeling insecure about himself and his ability to take care of them both. He wondered about his mother and his family’s reputation in the wider galaxy now.

When there was nothing left to clean up or distract him, he sighed and sat down next to her again. Rey spoke gently, trying to assuage his fears upfront.

“I will go with you anywhere. I will support you no matter what.”

She felt him return that sentiment back to her with a rush of emotion. He wanted to be the constant, the solidarity in her life that she could count on. But he felt lost.

“I don’t think I want to be a Jedi,” he said quietly. Saying it out loud felt like the most raw vulnerability. Something that had pressed him for years but he’d never quite admitted it to himself, and now here he was saying it aloud to both himself and Rey. “Growing up I— I always wanted to be a pilot like my dad. But it seemed like because I’m Force sensitive, I had no other choice but to be trained by Luke.” Saying his uncle’s name filled him with abrupt anger as he recalled their confrontation from earlier. His mouth tightened as he tried to stay on track with his original thought. “I feel personally responsible for taking you away from something you wanted to do, something you wanted to become.”

Rey laughed and Ben looked up, surprised. “I left Jakku because you offered me a life other than the one I hated living. I am grateful beyond words that I learned the ways of the Force. But the primary reason I went with you is because I felt our connection. It felt like… destiny or something. Like I’d found the thing I was looking for and couldn’t let it out of my sight again.” She placed her hand on top of his and scooted closer to him on the floor. She looked seriously into his eyes. “The days you were away with Luke on a mission felt like a part of me had been ripped away. Any life with you is better than a life without you.”

Ben looked at her calm face, her peaceful eyes, her sincerity. His eyes crinkled with pain as he recalled much the same feeling when he’d been away.

“You are a good person, Ben. You deserve to be a pilot, or whatever you want. You deserve to be happy. I don’t need to be a Jedi. I am happy to be with someone who loves me. That’s all I ever wanted.”

———

They huddled up in a narrow bunk for the night. Rey slept on Ben’s chest while he lay on his back, looking up at the bunk above them. He thought over what they’d discussed.

From this point on, they needed to trust each other. He had to trust that she loved him, that she’d be there.

He hadn’t tuned into the HoloNet, but he needed an update to the public’s reaction about his family’s bloodline. He made a plan to head to Coruscant. They could hide in plain sight in a city so massive. He could ascertain the reaction to the scandal, and that might help indicate their next move. Their hopes for finding a home planet or a job would hinge on where they would be accepted.

He tried to meditate to fall asleep. But every time he dozed off, a red lightsaber blade would slash through his mind, awakening him and reminding him of the one aspect of this situation he had tried to repress. But finally, hours after Rey had fallen asleep, he opened his eyes, gritted his teeth, and clenched the fist of his free hand that wasn’t wrapped around Rey’s sleeping body.

He took a deep breath.

He was the grandson of Darth Vader, a monster. He recalled Luke’s words, “We didn’t want you to feel like your ancestry dictated who you would become. Just because Darth Vader was turned to the dark, it doesn’t mean you will.” But why couldn’t his mother have explained that to him before he left for his training? Why couldn’t Luke tell him, in the many years they’d spent together?

As a child, Ben had asked his uncle many times to recite the story of becoming a Jedi and defeating the Empire. He realized now that some details had been a lie. Luke would have had to choose his words carefully to avoid letting slip that he'd met his father. So many lies told for so many years.

Ben finally came to the conclusion that they never told him because they didn’t trust him. They were so scared of his reaction that they couldn’t possibly risk it. And that’s what hurt most of all. Instead of his family believing in him, believing in his countenance, his character, they believed their worst fears about him instead. And weren’t they right to worry? Part of him wondered fearfully. The way he’d acted on Koethra, killing men with a gleeful vengeance— that’s what they’d been afraid of, wasn't it? Was he destined to become like his grandfather? Becoming more heartless with each torture, with each killing?

An angry tear escaped his eye and he harshly brushed it from his cheek. But he couldn’t stop the overwhelming emotions bursting from within and without. His breathing hitched and became ragged. But he tried to steady himself so he wouldn’t wake Rey. At the same time, he selfishly hoped she would wake so she could comfort him. He let out a shaky breath, tears now flowing freely in the dark. He lost control and felt himself spiraling into a hole of self-loathing.

Rey stirred and he felt simultaneous dread and relief.

“Ben?” She murmured, half asleep. She lifted her head from his chest and heard a small sob escape his lips. “Oh, Ben. I’m here.”

She awoke to the dense calamity of emotions in the Force that bounced through the small cabin. It was Ben’s chaotic mind, his grief and anger pinging against the walls. She scooted her body up the bed so she could bury her head in his neck, whispering words of comfort into his ear and kissing his cheek. She had no idea what it would be like to discover something, anything about her own family. But she knew how it felt to cry alone at night, wishing for someone to comfort her through the cold nights on Jakku.

She thought of the images that had always comforted her then, of the ocean she imagined as a child. She’d read about oceans in a book she found in Unkar Plutt’s office that he’d let her keep in a rare moment of kindness. She recalled the drawings of fish, the color of blue from the pages she’d poured over again and again. She felt Ben’s mind open up to her invitation and she shared her visions with him. Then she envisioned the ocean they’d trained by for years. The way the waves were eternal in their cycle, the sound of the wind blowing and the water crashing ashore. She felt his breathing calm. Finally, she thought of the ocean they’d swam in today. The relentless humidity, the turquoise color of the water. The black sand, the red and orange, yellow and blue fish, radiant in their colors, all different shapes and sizes. You brought me to these oceans, she thought. You made these places real for me. That is good. You are good.

She felt his arms finally wrap around her, and sensed his shame and anxiety subside, not completely eradicated, but there was a measure of peace gained.

Rey settled into him once again, still envisioning her oceans. With his mind wrapped in hers, he was finally able to drift off and she followed soon after.

Chapter Text

Shhhink. Shhhink.

Luke kneeled on the ground, trying to start a fire with flint and steel. The morning light crept through the forest of trees, sunlight inching closer to his campsite every minute. When Luke’s flint caught fire, he worked quickly to inlay small pieces of wood next to the tiny flame. While he worked, Luke recalled his conversation from two weeks ago with Ben.

“I found a holocron that prophesied a connection like this. A pair that can meet across space and time. I didn’t make much of it. I didn’t even get a chance to take the holocron with me before an acklay was chomping at me and I had to escape,” he chuckled. “I think it’s time we look again for answers to this connection.”

The memory was now stained with the shame of what he’d done to Ben. He had promised to help his nephew. To mentor his students and help them learn about their strange connection through the Force. He bit his cheek and closed his eyes, at first trying to block it, but forcing himself to remember that terrible day—the day Ben confronted him. The day he tried to attack his own nephew.

He’d lashed out, and for what? Tempering Ben’s reaction to his genealogy wouldn’t have made a difference in what happened. His students still would have left, their parents withdrawing their children in outrage and fear. And the Republic still would have come for him.

———

3 days earlier

Luke watched on the HoloNet as they took Leia in for questioning. She’d gone willingly, making a statement to the press before she was taken into custody.

“I go with the NRSF in good faith. I want a chance to explain my side of the story and I hope to lay to rest any fears the galaxy may have about me or my family,” she said.

Luke tried to contact Han, but no answer. Knowing Han, he’d probably already abandoned whatever steady job he had and made a run for it, his instinct for self-preservation dominating any feelings for following the law. If there was a chance he’d lose his freedom, he wouldn’t comply.

That would look bad to the New Republic, but Han and Leia had been separated for long enough that she could claim a lack of affiliation, even though they kept in touch like old friends.

But then the NRSF sent two agents for him. One of them being Airen Cracken, the leader of the Security Force, who had asked him to go on the mission to Koethra just days before.

“You know I have nothing to hide, no evil agenda, Airen,” Luke said. “I don’t see why I should come with you.”

“It’s just a formality, my old friend,” Cracken said. “They want to ask a few questions and work out a statement to make to the public about all of this.”

Cracken maintained eye contact, but Luke reached out in the Force to confirm the truth of his statement. He felt a hint of deception that Cracken was trying desperately to bury in his mind.

“Ah, but I see that you’re more than willing to imprison me if that’s what pleases the general population. The Republic is on such shaky ground that they’re afraid one scandal will topple it.”

Cracken stared at Luke, trying to maintain a blank expression, but his mouth tightened and he finally broke eye contact, looking away and scoffing.

“If you come with us willingly like Senator Organa, I’m sure it will all be cleared up in no time,” he said stiffly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Luke saw Cracken’s silent partner casually place her hand on her blaster, which was still secured in the holster. 

Luke’s mouth turned down in a grim frown. He shook his head. Cracken sighed.

“I'm afraid you came ill-prepared to fight me,” Luke said casually.

In an instant, he ignited his saber to block a stun shot from the female agent. Her face flashed with surprise at Luke’s deft hand, but then her features curdled into anger.

She continued to fire while Luke expertly swung his saber, blocking each shot easily. Cracken was yelling at his agent to stop, to no avail.

When Luke had had enough, he called out, “You will stop firing.” The woman stopped, gave a curious look, then lowered her blaster slowly. “I will stop firing.” Cracken recognized the trick.

“Luke, don’t do this!” He yelled, taking a step forward.

“You will allow me to leave in peace,” Luke said calmly, looking into Cracken’s eyes.

“I—I will allow you leave in peace,” Cracken answered almost robotically.

Luke stood upright from his fighting crouch and re-holstered his saber. Then he fled before they came to and began firing again. He took the smallest, fastest ship that was left at his empty school.

———

And now here he was. There was still fuel in the ship for a quick getaway if need be. His fire was well under way now, so he began to boil the water he’d gathered from the creek by his camp.

It had been years since he’d foraged for food, but he still remembered Yoda teaching him how to use the Force to sense what plants or animals had a life sustaining energy. The stew he’d made last night had tasted much better than any of the ingredients he’d found on Dagobah. He had food rations aboard the ship, but would save them until he was no longer on a planet with edible foods. He’d chosen this small, forested planet because of its relative obscurity. Plus, these forests had giant tree trunks and branches that seemed to reach the top of the sky— it wasn’t hard to hide here where the forest cover was so dense. He’d come upon this planet once many years before, and he’d saved the location in the back of his mind, should the need arise for a hideout.

But this was more like a forced solitude. Here, there was nothing to distract him from the fact that he could have killed Ben and Rey. He still couldn’t quite believe it. He recalled the anger he felt— those memories were fresh . Yet he was surprised by the intensity of his own emotions. Was he less in control of himself than he thought?

Whatever fiery anger had burned in him that day had morphed into a deep well of shame that he was letting himself drown in. He should feel guilty, ashamed, horrified by what he’d done. Perhaps there was more darkness inside him than he knew. Perhaps he shouldn’t teach, ever again. But then what future was there for him?

Ah, another dark place his mind didn’t want to go to. He worked around certain thoughts in his mind— things he was too afraid to voice aloud even to himself. Maybe he should stay here and live out his life. Disappear into myth like the rest of the Jedi. But again, his own voice interrupted him, reminding him:      

“I found a holocron that prophesied a connection like this. I didn’t even get a chance to take the holocron with me before an acklay was chomping at me and I had to escape.”

Vendaxa. That was the planet where he’d found the holocron. He remembered only because it was the homeworld of the acklay creature, a monster he wasn’t soon to forget; the way it had almost snapped off his leg with its claws. Perhaps he could go to Vendaxa and look again for the holocron. He could still gather answers for why Ben and Rey were connected. He didn't know if he’d ever see them again, but something told him this was a start to making things right.

———

Ben and Rey touched down in Coruscant the next day. They were in need of a refuel and a fresh supply of drinkable water. Coruscant was one of the few places Ben knew of that still accepted credits as currency. It was a more stable monetary unit here with such a vast population to uphold it. After Empiric rule, several new currencies were created on a planet by planet basis, and the exchange rates were volatile. Coruscant was a sure bet that they could refuel for a fair price.

It was a place Rey had only studied about, but she was eager to see a planet that had such a vast population. When they emerged from lightspeed, they were on the dark side of the planet where the sun had already set. Rey gasped at the patterns of light swimming across the black face of the nightside planet. The light reminded her of ripples in water, the cities circular but spanning out across a great expanse.

Ben steered them toward the side that was still alight with sun, wanting to touch down in the daytime, even though most amenities were available at all times on a planet like this. He guided their ship down to a docking station where a mechanic greeted them on the landing pad. His grey jumpsuit was shabby, wrinkled and stained everywhere with oil and grease. His young face was stubbled, and his long hair slicked back. 

“Afternoon,” he said, his eyes downcast, tapping his data pad to life.

“Hello,” Ben tried to act casual. It was good that it had been some years since his face had been in the press. He had fully transformed from an awkward preteen, posing with his mother at countless events for the New Republic.

“We’ll take a full service please,” he said, pulling out his credit chip to pay. Rey stood on the edge of the landing pad, her back turned to the men while she took in the sights. She could see speeders zooming through the air from afar, and skyscrapers everywhere she turned. The air smelled horrid, like synthetic fumes and fuel. It was bewildering not to see any natural landscape. The few planets she had visited always had more land than people. Here they were stacked on top of each other, over 5,000 levels high. It was too much for her mind to grasp.

“That’ll be 70 credits,” the man said to Ben, though his eyes were averted and looking at Rey while she admired the city. Ben shoved the credit chip in the man’s face. The mechanic scowled, but inserted it into his datapad, chewing on his lip. Ben watched the man carefully, on guard and almost begging for a fight. Try me, he thought.

But nothing more happened. The data pad beeped, and the man removed Ben’s chip and handed it back to him. He relaxed his shoulders. This man was no threat.

Ben saw with relief that the data pad hadn’t pulled up his name, just his account number. This mechanic would not learn his true identity unless he looked it up in the Republic credit system.

“My water supplier is late with his delivery, so your ship won’t be restocked until tomorrow at noon. That okay?” The mechanic asked.

“Sure, fine,” Ben said, eager to finish this transaction.

“Right. What’s the name for pickup?” He drawled, scratching his rough, stubbled chin. Ben froze momentarily, but recalled the name he had invented as a child when he was learning how to write in Aurebesh. A combination of his family surnames.

A name he’d used to play the hero in all his galactic adventures as a child.

“The name is Kylo Ren.”

Chapter Text

Ben and Rey descended several levels in an elevator. The top-most levels of Coruscant were for ship maintenance and flight. Lower levels were more fit for human habitation. Rey noticed the smell of the clean air as soon as they stepped off the elevator and into a pedestrian area. It smelled much better here, absent of the fuel and exhaust from above.

They stepped out to a shopping district with a myriad of shops. Rey marveled at new things she’d never seen. She laughed at the outrageous fashion (“It’s not even functional!”) and cooed at the small, fluffy animals for sale. She held Ben’s hand while they walked, slurping down fresh Meiloorun juice. It was the best feeling Ben could imagine, being free to act like a couple together in public.

“I want to take you out tonight,” Ben said excitedly. “I want to take you dancing.” He’d been thinking about this ever since he visited the nightclub on Koethra where Derru had explained it was an activity that young people liked to do.

“I don’t know how to dance!” Rey laughed.

“I don’t either, but that shouldn’t stop us,” he said, looking hopeful.

Rey stopped walking and Ben turned in surprise to look at her.

“Wait, are you serious?” She asked.

“Yes!” Ben said, half laughing, half exasperated. “Come on scavenger, aren’t you up for it?”

He tickled her side and she made the most adorable face when she scrunched her nose and her tongue stuck out between her smiling teeth.

“Oh, I’m up for it. And I'll bet I’m a better dancer than you,” she teased, then took a pause. “Hold on, have you ever learned to dance before?” 

“I’ve seen examples in person, so I’m ready for the challenge,” he lifted one eyebrow, smiling.

He pointed to a high end clothing shop ahead. “Let’s pick out something to wear for tonight.”

———

A team of sales associates took Rey into a separate dressing room away from Ben, who was picking out his own outfit for the evening. Rey felt like she was dressed in rags compared to the elegant style of the staff, but they made her feel very welcome.

She was overwhelmed by the selection and styles of clothes. Two women and a man brought out four outfits, all very different from each other. Some were too ostentatious and garish; Rey preferred simple and clean. The two women talked her into trying on a black fitted dress with an asymmetrical hem. The front had a high slit that showed up to her knees, but it sloped down in the back to her calves. The top had a deep v-neck cut and thin straps across the shoulders. She felt very exposed; she was used to covering up because of the harsh sun on Jakku, or because of the cold winds on Mharu Brideog.

The staff showed Rey several pieces of lingerie, and she nearly combusted with shyness until she saw the look of it all together. The thong panty created a smooth silhouette down her backside. The thin garter belt around her waist attached to her thighs, and was ideal for hiding a small weapon.

Rey stared at herself in the mirror, flabbergasted but admiring the way the dress gave her curves with its light ruching and wrapped bodice. The quiet man on staff offered her a pair of drop earrings featuring brilliant, eight-pointed stars. They glittered even in the dim lighting of the dressing room. When he clipped them on to Rey’s earlobes, he smiled and nodded. The look was complete.

They carefully undressed her and wrapped the pieces in beautiful boxes. She emerged from her dressing room to see Ben waiting on a sofa, pleasantly smiling at her.

“Have you been waiting long?” Rey said worried.

“Oh, about a full day cycle,” Ben teased. Rey rolled her eyes but Ben stood and kissed her on the forehead. Ben paid and insisted on carrying their bags. Ben thanked the two men that helped him for recommending a hotel and club nearby. 

They walked farther down the walkway and soon reached the end of the shopping corridor. They entered the medical district where one could see a number of specialized healers, or medical droids for more basic treatments. An idea suddenly popped into Ben’s mind.

“Uh, Rey? I’m going to pop in here for a moment, do you want to go back to shopping? I can meet you—

“Why? What’s wrong?” Rey asked surprised.

His cheeks reddened and he looked down at his feet. “Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to get…a checkup.”

Rey shrugged and said “Well, I’ll come with you!”

Ben nodded but felt his face turn the color of the bright pink Meiloorun juice they’d drank earlier. They walked into a clinic where a droid greeted them and offered assistance.

“I’d like to get a c-contraception implant,” he stammered. Rey whipped her head to him in surprise. She smiled widely while he carefully avoided her gaze, filling out his information on the data pad. The droid directed them to room three. When they seated themselves and waited, Ben finally looked at Rey shyly.

“I didn’t want you to think I expected— for you to— I just wanted to be prepared in case—“

“Ben, it’s okay,” Rey giggled. “I’m really glad you thought of it. It’s smart.” She smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

A droid entered with a sterile tray of medical equipment. The droid was cheery and talkative, its programming meant to soothe anxiety and answer questions. They explained that a small implant in the left arm of a male human would suffice for a 99.9% effective birth control method.

“Your arm may be sore the first day, but it should subside quickly. Your implant will remain effective for five years, or you can have it removed early, should you plan to conceive with a partner.”

———

After Ben’s injection, they made their way back to the shopping district to find the hotel that had been recommended. Rey was licking a lollipop the medical droid had insisted Ben take for being such a good patient.

“I’m never going to live that down,” Ben said sarcastically, flexing his sore arm and rubbing the muscles in his bicep.

"You yelped so loudly," Rey cackled.

“It hurt more than I expected,” he conceded.

When her giggling finally subsided, he said, " You’re worth it, though.” He looked down and saw her blush and grin to herself.   

“Hey, won’t your family be able to track us from purchases with your credits?” Rey asked, suddenly anxious. She was realizing too late that this could be a problem. She wasn't opposed to meeting Ben's parents, but respected Ben's wishes not to communicate them for the foreseeable future.

“Yes, so after this we’ll need to go to another planet and trade for a different ship. Then, we’ll have to figure out our own way from there."

He turned in the direction of what looked to be one of the largest hotel resorts in the district. “Looks like this is the place,” he pointed ahead with his free hand that wasn’t carrying bags.

Rey looked up at the giant tower. This was sure to cost a lot. 

Ben sensed her mood. “Since we won’t be using credits after this, let’s enjoy ourselves tonight.” He kissed her temple and took her hand as they entered through the hotel doors.

It was the strangest decor for a lobby. It felt like you were walking outside in nature instead of into a building. There were beautiful green trees with twinkling lights on each side of a path that guided you to the reception desk. Rey gasped and looked around. She saw several benches surrounding a large, bubbling fountain and plush grass lining the floors. The entire ceiling, she realized, was a warm, yellow glowing light that maintained plant life. Strange, in a city with no nature, you had to go inside to see some trees. They stepped up to the counter.

“Greetings! How may I help you?” A white and silver chrome droid said.

“We’d like a room for one night please, the best you have available.”

“Certainly! We have a suite for 3,200 credits a night. Will that be acceptable?”

“Yes,” Ben said without batting an eye.

Rey’s jaw dropped to the floor, imagining all the different things she could buy for that amount. The number of portions… Ben’s arm wrapped around Rey’s waist and pulled her close to him, knowing where her thoughts always went when credits were brought up. She’d only known a life that revolved around scraping together enough junk to trade for food every day. As a Jedi student, meals and housing were provided, but still, she’d never had credits to her name to spend as she wished. Ben was eager for her to be at ease with him lavishing gifts on her. 

The droid took Ben’s payment. They received two thin wristbands that would serve as the keys to enter their private suite. They walked to the right of the reception desk and past the fountain, where curious eyes followed the couple as they entered the clear bubble-like elevator that would carry them up to their floor. Rey was giddy— yet another experience that was entirely new to her, and much more lavish that she could have imagined. They ascended for one, then two minutes before finally stopping at what Rey could only assume was one of the top most floors.

The doors opened to one short hallway that led to a single door at the end. Ben took Rey’s hand and nodded at her to wave her wristband at the panel on the wall. It chimed, turned green, and the door opened.

Rey could only focus on the walls made of windows as she walked in. It was truly stunning. She could see everything for miles around, skyscrapers glittering and speeders zooming in the dusk as the sky darkened.

When she finally tore her eyes from the view, she saw the contents of their suite. Keeping in the theme of nature, there were several plants and flowers planted in real soil coming out of the walls and the floor. Under her feet was the same velvet-y grass from the lobby. Small orbs of warm light hung suspended in the air around them, giving the room a soft glow as night approached. There were plush chairs and a chaise lounge in this room, along with a dining table and a small bar counter with a datapad for ordering food and drinks.

Through a door, Rey saw an enormous bed raised high off the ground. Intrigued, she stepped through to the bedroom. Ben unloaded their shopping bags and followed silently behind, enjoying her reactions. 

From the ceiling, a cloud of sheer, white netted curtains wrapped around and enveloped the bed. The white duvet looked fluffy and soft, like you would melt into the bed if you settled in. And through another door to the side, a room as large as the bedroom had a ‘fresher so big you could fit 4 people, and a bathtub big enough to swim in.

“How do you have the credits to pay for all of this?!” Rey knew the answer, but she was still incredulous. Ben turned and shrugged.

“My mother was a princess, and a high ranking government official. She inherited some and made the rest.”

“How much money do you have left on your chip?” Rey asked.

“Maybe...15,000 credits,” Ben tried to say nonchalantly. 

Rey’s eyebrows raised for what felt like the hundredth time today. She was reminded again and again that she and Ben had come from such different upbringings.

But somehow they fit together. They had an ease in each other’s minds; a shorthand for communicating and understanding one another. She thought of another way they might fit together physically, maybe for the first time in this suite, and suddenly she was excited but overwhelmed. She put out one hand on the wall to steady herself.

“Are you tired?” Ben asked. “We’ve been traveling and walking all day—“

“No!” She said a little too quickly, standing up straighter. They both laughed and her cheeks flushed.

“Are you still up for dancing?” Ben asked. “I would like to… to take you out on a real date. We’ve never had one,” he said shyly. His face was beautifully tender and young. 

“Yes, absolutely,” she said softly. She saw how important this was to Ben, and she couldn’t say no to him. Ben smiled. He looked nervous but excited. “Shall we get dressed?” he asked. She smiled and nodded.

Chapter Text

The recommended club was a short walk from their hotel. Rey and Ben descended from their room to the now bustling streets of the city. Swaths of tourists sauntered along while the evening entertainment came to life. The sound of a pounding bass drum was never too far, the rumble seeming to vibrate the very ground they walked on. Groups of friends gossiped and laughed loudly as they passed. Rey tugged at her dress for the umpteenth time, feeling a bit shy and exposed around all these people.

Ben was dressed in an all black suit and button up shirt. He looked sleek, his lustrous hair perfectly coifed back, the longest tendrils of hair brushing his collar.

Rey was walking timidly in her new shoes, chosen by the staff who dressed her. A low wedge heel with straps across her toes and ankle. She learned how to place her weight on the ball of her foot, and after walking a few blocks, she felt more sure-footed in them. On the rare occasion that she wobbled, she used the Force to keep her steady. Rey much preferred her well worn boots, but these shoes did seem to give her better posture.

She felt undeniably different, dressed more lavishly than ever before. She decided to embrace the idea of a new, evolved identity. Her life was changing rapidly. She was no longer a Jakku slave, no longer a Jedi in the making—she was just Rey. A young woman in love with the man by her side, and their future could be whatever they decided.

She walked taller then, more confident with each stride, slipping her hand into Ben’s while they strolled.

When they approached the club, Rey was sure they’d made a mistake. From the outside, the club was the size of a hut from the Jedi academy. A small, square building with a single black door. A woman of alien race that Rey did not recognize was guarding the door, and granted entry to two men who approached her. They exchanged a few words and she opened the door for the men to step through.

Ben grasped Rey’s hand in his own and together they stepped up to the woman at the door.

“Good evening,” she purred, looking at Ben up and down appreciatively. “Password?”

“Red Varactyl,” Ben said.

The woman nodded her head once, smiled, and opened the door. They stepped into the dark room and the door shut behind them, leaving them standing in total darkness. Just as Rey was about to open her mouth to ask Ben what in bloody hell was going on, the floor began to descend. The platform they stood on revealed a lower level that was booming music and flashing lights of every color. When the platform came to a stop, they stepped into Club Luxuriante.

The walls were a watercolor; gently mixing lavender, sea foam green, and cobalt blue. The way the lights shimmered on the walls gave the impression of sun rays shining into the ocean. It was as if they were under water, like fish. Rey was enchanted. 

At the center of the room, a large rectangle of the floor was crowded with people dancing to an upbeat tempo. The perimeter around the dance floor was raised up two steps. Bar counters lined the walls and more people were sitting at small, square tables on the sidelines of the dance floor.

The loud volume of the music overtook Ben’s senses. It was somewhat overwhelming, but exciting too. Rey squeezed his hand, and with her Force energy imparted a feeling of calm. He took a deep breath and looked over at her inquisitive eyes.

You okay? She asked telepathically.

Yes, he answered, smiling now.

She led him to one of the less-crowded counters. They sat themselves at the bar and a beautiful, orange Twi’lek woman greeted them and offered a drink menu. They looked at it together, their faces close. Rey felt fluttering in her stomach, even though she’d been this close to Ben plenty of times. This setting, this place, it all felt so different. The anonymity one had in a place so loud, so chaotic—it was exhilarating. No Jedi Master to watch over you. Rey decided to try the Fuzzy Tauntaun and Ben ordered the Black Tequera Juice.

The bartender was a delight to watch. Her rhythm of shaking a cocktail to the beat of the music, or the way she so confidently tossed glasses up in to the air, twirling and catching them to fill them with ice.

Rey’s drink was a light orange color with a bubbling foam atop. Rey carefully sipped.

“Mmm!” She exclaimed. “It’s sweet!” She sipped again.

Ben’s drink was placed in front of him, a dark purple liquid in a cone shaped glass.

He lifted his drink and took a swig. There was a harsh flavor, but it was muted with tart citrus and berry juice. He felt the alcohol moved down his sternum into his stomach which suddenly felt several degrees warmer.

“This is good. Want to try mine?” Ben asked her. Rey nodded and set her drink down to pick up his.

“I haven’t tried alcohol since I was a teenager,” he told Rey over the loud music. Rey tipped her head back to sip his cocktail. “My mother had a dinner where she toasted the guests and I sipped some champagne. I didn’t care for it at all. I accidentally spat it out at another senator.” Imagining this, Rey snorted into the glass, barely choking it down while laughing at his story.

“Yeah, just like that,” Ben said, laughing while Rey tried to find a napkin to wipe her mouth. They laughed together and Rey felt the utter weightlessness of his Force signature. Ben was happy because she was here laughing with him.

“Well, that’s delicious,” Rey said, handing his drink back and grinning widely.   

A few minutes passed as they sipped their cocktails, and Rey began to notice her lips take on a strange buzzing feeling. She ran her fingers along her mouth, concerned there was something wrong. The bartender came by and asked how they were doing. She asked Rey about her lips, and with relief, she was told this was a normal side effect of the foam in the drink.

“It gives a little tingle,” the Twi’lek woman winked at her.

Rey laughed and thanked the bartender, who smiled kindly before moving on to other customers. Rey ran her fingers over her lips again, wondering how long the sensation would last. What would it be like to kiss someone when your lips felt like they were tingling? She turned to Ben, who was watching people dance.

Feeling emboldened by the alcohol, she put a hand on his chest and pulled him towards her lips. She kissed him. His tongue was sweet and tart, like his drink. She moved her mouth against his and felt his hot breath swarm into her mouth. Kissing heightened the unusual but pleasant sensation on her lips. Ben’s mouth felt like sparks and crackles of energy. Their connection, their heat, their lust for each other.

Ben pulled away and looked around, but no one was staring at them. It seemed this was a normal occurrence here. In fact, Ben saw several people kissing on the dance floor. He turned back to Rey and resumed their kiss hungrily.

No more shame, he thought. No more hiding.

After another round of drinks, Rey and Ben decided it was time to dance.

Ben stepped down the two steps to the floor, then held out a hand to help Rey descend. He looked back at her and was overcome with how beautiful she looked in her dress. His eyes followed the curve of her calves up to her shapely knees, scarred from taking so many tumbles from physical labor and training, but still the most beautiful knees Ben Solo had ever laid eyes on. The hem of her dress concealed her thighs, but the wrapped fit of the bodice made every curve of her body visible.

They mirrored the dance moves of other couples around them, feeling much less self-conscious after two drinks. Rey swayed her hips, her hands up around Ben’s shoulders. He put his hands on her hips, following her movements. Rey looked around and saw other people dancing with much less distance between their bodies. She looked up at him, a fiery intensity in her eyes, and a grin on her lips. She was challenging him. He accepted, wrapping his arms around to pull her closer. People were singing along to the music, jumping or dancing. And even though they were surrounded by people, it felt like they were all alone, anonymous lovers, free from scrutiny or judgement. Ben felt his spirit enter a new high, a kind of euphoria at the seemingly limitless possibilities of this life and this galaxy.

Rey turned away from him and continued to dance, pushing her derriere into Ben’s groin. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him, one palm flat against her pelvis. She reached up to put a hand on his neck while her other hand reached back to grab his hip. He matched her movements as she gyrated her hips against him. He let out a low moan. She arched her head back onto his chest and he placed a kiss on her extended neck, a sheen of her sweet sweat on his lips. His large hands expanded across her thighs and up her hips. He ached to touch her elsewhere, to pull the thin strap of her dress off her shoulder to kiss her bare shoulder.

But this game of teasing each other was also thrilling. The music, the dancing, the feel of her body in this dress—this was enough for now. The alcohol seemed to shut off his intrusive thoughts of doubt or fear. It made him confident to hold Rey, to kiss her and dance without a care for what anyone else was thinking or doing.

A new song began that was faster, more upbeat. Rey and Ben bounced up and down, fists in the air, laughing and singing along to the music.

———

Senator Armitage Hux, a tall and brooding red-headed man stood at attention to the towering holograph before him. His eyes rose up to address the disfigured man with a twisted, hollow face. Lord Snoke wore blood red velvet robes, and his hologram towered 20 feet in the air. He looked at Hux bored, but expectant. Hux cleared his throat and began.

“My agents Dillern and Sychez have tracked Ben Solo’s credit chip to Coruscant. He’s requested a refuel for his ship and he’s checked into a hotel in the shopping district of Sector 369-4. He’s accompanied by a woman of unknown origin, her name and age are also unknown but—.”

“A woman?” Snoke interrupted. His head tilted to the side as he considered this news. He had tried to whisper into Ben’s mind for years. His master, Darth Sidious had taught him the way to impress your ideas upon another mind. But he’d lost all ability to reach Ben’s mind some years ago, and had never discovered the reason why. Was this woman a friend?

The corners of his mouth turned up in a malicious smirk.

“Well, that detail could work in our favor,” he mused. He chose his next words carefully. “Tell your agents to continue to track Ben Solo’s whereabouts. They must only engage if there are no witnesses. We don’t want to reveal our hand to the rest of the galaxy just yet.”

Hux bowed deeply. “Yes, my lord.”

Hux turned to leave, but Snoke called out his name. He turned once more.

“My lord?” Hux asked.

“Congratulations on your unrivaled win for Chancellor of the New Republic,” Snoke said smugly. 

Chapter Text

Ben’s large hands held her tightly, running up and down her body to feel every curve, every inch of her hips, waist, and thighs. Though they were in public on the dance floor, she desperately wanted his fingers to wander just a little lower, under her dress. The thought of it made her throb with desire.

She turned back to face him, and the look in her eyes was one he recognized. Let’s get out of here.

Ben nodded seriously and worked quickly to make an exit path off the dance floor.

They took the lift back up to the street level and walked outside to pouring rain. There was not another person in sight. The sky was black, but the puddles on the streets glittered from the reflection of street lights like stars. Ben hurried to remove his suit jacket and offer it to Rey to keep dry, but she was giggling and pointing her face to the sky to let the fat droplets hit her skin. It felt nice to cool down from dancing.

“Can you walk in the rain in those shoes?” Ben asked concerned. “I think I should carry you—”

Rey was jumping in puddles, on a high from the evening, and was not concerned with such things.

“Whatever is the fastest way for us to get back to that hotel room!” She said, feet landing with a splash. Her laugh carried over the downpour.

“Alright, come on now,” Ben said, draping his jacket around her head and arms. He secured one arm around Rey’s waist to catch her if she misstepped, and they began to walk.

After a few minutes, the novelty of rain had gone, and a sobering chill set in. The streets were deserted. Rain didn’t pair well with the fabrics of couture fashion, but Ben didn’t care what happened to his clothes. His priority was warming up Rey in a hot shower.

They were nearly back to the hotel, walking under a tall overpass which gave them a blessed respite from the rain when a man stepped out from behind a column to face them. Rey’s eyes narrowed. She and Ben stopped walking. Rey felt pinpricks of danger in the Force. A moment later, ten other men were appearing out of the darkness, surrounding them and pulling out blasters.

Well, these shoes won’t do, Rey thought.

With a half second head start, she ripped the heels from her feet and let Ben’s jacket fall from her shoulders to the ground. Ben reached for the two sabers attached to the waistband of his pants, pulling them free and diving into a roll to avoid a shot from a blaster. He tossed Rey’s saber to her and methodically, the pair began to kill those who were shooting at them. It was effortless, really. Rey tried to look for defining marks or clothing, but she didn’t recognize these people. Only that they were attacking and losing. Rey and Ben worked back to back, blocking blaster shots with their sabers and swiping at men who got too close. Rey leaned into Ben’s back for leverage to kick one of the men. She stepped forward, spinning to cut three down at once.

———

Agent Sychez could see from afar that the fight his men were currently engaged in would be over soon, and that his side would not win. Their stun shots were never going to hit either of the targets. He knew it was over when he saw the girl unsheathe a lightsaber. Ten of his best men were nothing against two Jedi fighters. Did Hux know the girl could also use the Force? Did he care that these men would die?

He considered his next move. He assumed the Jedi would sweep the area when they finished slaughtering his team. They would question and kill him next. He didn’t much care for dying, so he decided to take action.

He stepped out and ran forward, raising his blaster. His partner Dillern was the last man standing, taking cover behind a bench and moving to shoot again while the pair stalked toward him, their last kill.

Sychez sighed, aimed, and shot his partner in the head. Make that eleven men down.

The two Jedi stopped surprised, and locked eyes on him, deciding if he was a threat. He dropped his blaster and put up his hands.

“I mean you no harm,” he called out across the distance to them. “I saw those people attack you and I wanted to help, though I admit, you handled it well without me,” he laughed timidly.

Both Jedi lowered their blindingly bright sabers, but their eyes were still wary.

Sychez tried again.

“I never travel here without a weapon. Since the war, local gangs have overrun Coruscant’s lower levels. They come up here every now and then, hoping to steal from tourists with fat wallets.”

After a moment, the woman extinguished her saber, and the man followed her lead. He trusts her, Sychez thought.

“I wish you well for the rest of your stay! I think I’ll retire to bed myself,” he said, slowly picking up his blaster and tucking it behind him.

“Thank you,” the woman called out.

“My pleasure,” Sychez bowed and walked away, chewing his tongue anxiously, knowing they could decide to follow or kill him at any time. Before turning the corner, he chanced a look back. They were gone. He sighed with relief. He spoke into his wrist comm to contact Captain Phasma.

“What is it?” She barked.

“Both male and female are Jedi. We’re going to have to modify Plan B to extract her.”

“I see. Status report?”

“Mission fail. 11 men dead. I’m all that’s left.” The weight of that fact was now settling heavily in his chest.

“Very well. Wait for my comm with further instructions,” Phasma said, her tone void of any emotion. 

“Yes, captain,” Sychez mumbled.

He mounted his speeder, and fled into the rain.

———

Rey and Ben kissed fiercely in the elevator, down the hall, and to the door of their room. They managed to break apart just long enough for Ben to swipe his wrist at the panel to open the door. Adrenaline coursed through them both. It had been their first time fighting together, and seeing Rey like that made Ben hard. Rey pulled him into the room and took his mouth again in a kiss.

Their bodies were soaked, and Rey had run barefoot the remaining distance to the hotel. The chill of her wet clothing caught up to her, and she started trembling under Ben’s touch. He picked her up and carried her to the enormous ‘fresher. He started the hot water and helped her to undress before disrobing and joining her. Rey watched him remove his wet clothes, peeling the shirt from his broad chest. He doted on her as no one had before. She smiled to herself as she let the hot water run down her face, warming the tip of her cold nose.

Ben stepped in and enveloped her in his strong arms. The hot water ran down her back, warming her from behind, Ben warming her from the front. She rest her head against his heartbeat, taking several deep breaths of the hot steam. When her teeth were no longer chattering, she looked up. He gazed down at her, his head swimming with love, desire, concern, protectiveness.

He kissed her gently once, twice, then pressed his forehead into hers.

“Are you okay?” He asked sincerely.

“Yes,” she breathed. “I’ve never been more okay. I feel alive.” It had been her first real fight, after all. She’d never wielded a lightsaber outside of her lessons until now.

“Me too,” he murmured.

His thoughts were a whirlwind as he re-lived the last few hours in his head. Dancing. The feel of her body in his hands. The way she moved, the way she wanted him. The way she jumped into a fight, fearless. The way she launched herself off of his body to cut down an enemy.

The way she kissed him, touched him.

She was his and he was hers.

And together, they were unstoppable.

“I’m ready,” Rey murmured, bringing Ben back to the present moment. She looked at him, full of determination, but also desire, need.

Her mouth was on his again, the frenzy from before their shower had returned. Their minds linked, they shared the same feeling—I want you. Now.

Ben’s hand crept down between her legs and a lone finger stroked her lips, easing them open to brush against her clit. She jolted under his touch and moaned into his mouth, her tongue entwining more frantically with his.

He felt her legs shifting apart wider for him. He stroked a finger down her lips, unfolding them to find her sensitive nub. Rey’s eyes fluttered closed and her head fell back to lean on the wall behind her. He bent to take one of her perked nipples in his mouth. She moaned his name and scratched her nails up his back. The sensation made him painfully hard.

Ben suddenly withdrew his hand from between her legs and pulled her body against his to lift her up. He moved to get out of the shower, turning off the water and grabbing an enormous towel with his free hand. When she was thoroughly cocooned he picked her up again and moved into the bedroom. She giggled as he tossed her down on the bed.

Outside the window, a neon sign from a nearby skyscraper cast them both in a scarlet glow. She freed herself from the towel to see Ben sinking to his knees and settling himself between her spread legs.

She was exquisite. Her shining pink lips vaguely resembled a butterfly, and her arousal dribbled from her gaping cunt onto the bedsheets. He stroked one finger down her center and she exhaled sharply. He slipped one finger inside her again, watching it disappear in her folds, feeling her clench down on him. Ben couldn’t resist tasting her. His lips closed over her clitoris, sucking and teasing her while curling his index finger inside of her. She bucked her hips and called his name, so he added a second finger.

He teased her higher and higher, stopping just short of making her come. He gently withdrew his fingers and stood up while she whimpered with need. He stroked his cock, his fingers slick with her. He enjoyed the sight of her laying naked in his bed, panting for him.

He lowered himself slowly onto her, the tip of his penis nudging her entrance. He kissed her bare breasts, enjoying her impatient huffs.

“You must learn patience, young Padawan,” he teased.

Rey used a move that she’d learned back on Jakku, hitting the fold of his elbow that carried most of his weight. His arm buckled while she entwined her leg around his hip, pushing against his chest and forcing him to flip onto his back.    

Rey straddled Ben, his cock between her legs.

“You were saying?” She said, one eyebrow raised.

He smiled and pulled her down for a kiss, threading his hands into her hair.

She reached down between them to grip his cock, and notched it at her opening. Their eyes locked while she gently guided herself down upon him. She felt the head of his penis push into her, stretching and filling her up. She hadn’t known this part of her had felt empty until it wasn’t. And now there was only him. The feeling was not unpleasant, rather, a craving satisfied.

Ben’s eyes rolled back into his head as she eased down. The impossibly soft, blazing hot sensation made Ben feel like he’d gladly die any day after this one. He couldn’t imagine anything else this galaxy holding his attention, his reverence, his worship. He moaned low.

Rey’s eyes closed and she let out a deep breath as she relaxed down onto the rest of him.

Then she rolled her hips forward.

They both let out a groan of pleasure. Rey giggled softly. She gently experimented moving her hips, learning a slow rhythm that felt good. She leaned down again, to kiss Ben and noted the way it changed how they were connected.

Ben flexed his pelvic floor, engorging his already considerable-sized cock inside her, stretching her and nudging her cervix in a semi-pleasant way that made her gasp and lock her lips with his. She grind upon him, welcoming this new sensation.

She wanted to remember every bit of this. This moment was beautiful, unlike so many other memories in her life that she’d tried to push down and forget.

She and Ben were connected in the Force, connected by the flesh, connected in every way a person can be.

Ben’s hips flexed up to rub her clit so deliciously, but she needed it harder, faster. Rey’s body craved release. She quickened her pace and raised two fingers to her mouth. Ben watched mesmerized as she wet her fingers and reached down to rub herself while grinding against him. She began to moan and cry out, moving ever faster.

Ben gripped her hips in an upright position and set the pace, thrusting up hard and fast. Rey let him take control and focused on her own orgasm which was building fiercely, a race she must win. She braced herself, one hand on his expansive chest, one hand between her legs. She was lost in the sensation of his cock inside of her, pushing into and pounding her flesh, her clit swollen and sopping wet, their combined fluids smeared between them.

“Come for me, sweetheart,” Ben whispered. His sweet, encouraging voice pushed her over the edge. Rey’s unabashed cries filled the air as she orgasmed, clenching hard against his shaft, urging him into his own release. Ben choked out her name, pulsing and filling her with his cum.

Rey collapsed onto his chest, breathing hard, but finding his lips in a fervent kiss.

After a moment, she leaned up and eased herself off of him to nestle into his side. He wrapped an arm around her, drawing light circles on her ribcage. She was exhausted and yet electric with energy. Her legs felt wobbly, and she was a bit lightheaded. It was a pleasant high.

“That was incredible.” Rey proclaimed.

Ben laughed at the way she’d said it, a definitive statement. “I’m glad you enjoyed it, because I think I’d like to do that again.”

“Easy, flyboy,” she teased. “Let me catch my breath.”

They lay together in blissful silence, watching speeders the size of flies zoom across the sky from their window.

After a few minutes, Ben rolled onto his hands and knees, hovering above her again. He kissed between her breasts, and hitched one of Rey’s legs up on his shoulder. They began again.

———

It was only a few hours before dawn when they took a break to order food.

Rey slept nude in the twisted sheets, a half eaten panna cake in her left hand.

Ben awoke early from the blinding morning light coming into their room. He got up to press a button that covered the enormous window in a black, velvet curtain. He decided to let Rey sleep while he ordered a large pot of caf and catch up on the news.

He remembered guiltily this had been the primary reason for coming to Coruscant, and he’d forgotten all about it. He’d been too eager to treat Rey to a night out, to make love to her.

Ben tiptoed out of their room to the living space. His caf arrived minutes after he ordered it by a friendly service droid. He settled into a chair and turned on the HoloNet, sipping the scalding liquid. He flipped to an information page about current events and searched for recent updates about his family.

Leia Organa, princess of Alderaan and Senator of the Populist Party, was nominated for Chancellor of the New Republic. But the day before the vote, Organa was publicly outed as the daughter of Darth Vader. Organa said she knew this fact to be true, but chose not to reveal her parentage with anyone. With the loss of her closest Populist colleagues, Organa resigned as senator and withdrew her candidacy for Chancellor. Centrist Senator, Armitage Hux, has accepted the position of Supreme Chancellor, winning the nomination automatically after Organa withdrew from the election.

Organa is now in the custody of the New Republic Security Force until further notice. Senators voted to go forward with an investigation and possible conviction of Organa, the decision barely passing with enough votes. Senators and a jury will hear the outcome of the open investigation in one standard week. Senator Hux will ascend to the role of Supreme Chancellor of the wider galaxy in three days, and will oversee his colleague Leia Organa’s trial.

Luke Skywalker, Master Jedi of the New Republic and Headmaster of the Jedi Academy, has gone missing following the public reveal of his true parentage. Luke Skywalker was named the son of Darth Vader and Padmé Amidala. Skywalker was approached by authorities and wanted for questioning, however, Skywalker attacked the NRSF agents and fled. Han Solo, husband of Senator Organa and friend of Luke Skywalker, has also gone missing and is wanted. Skywalker and Solo may be working together, and are dangerous men. Notify the NRSF at once if you know the whereabouts of these two outlaws.

Ben sat back, stunned. Outlaws? His mother imprisoned like a criminal? It wasn't illegal to be related to someone who was dead.

He hadn’t expected this at all. A typical scandal cycled through the gossip rags and faded away after 2 standard months at most. Ben scanned the rest of the page, but there was no information about himself. His name wasn’t mentioned with the rest of his family, which was odd. Surely they’d want to question him too?

In a daze, he turned on a news broadcast and saw two people discussing the upcoming inauguration for the new Supreme Chancellor.

“Armitage Hux, a Senator of the Centrist party will make for a strong Chancellor. He’s young, ambitious, and the exact thing we need right now to bring the galaxy together,” one woman said.

“I agree completely, Zephen. Senator Hux will make bold moves to unite even the outer rim into the fold of the New Republic. His campaign has promised to triple the military, and restore the wealth and prosperity of so many planets that have fallen on hard times since the war,” the other woman responded.

Ben turned off the HoloNet and stared into his empty caf cup. He shook his head. Something was happening. Something bigger than anyone was letting on.

He was sure of two things. One: although his name wasn’t in the news, they needed to lay low before finding a way to help his mother. Two: they needed to get off this planet to do that.

Ben ran to wake up Rey.

———

Leia looked out the window of her prison. Her dwelling had every luxury one could ask for— furniture, a comfortable bed, a service droid. But she didn’t have the freedom to leave or communicate with anyone on the outside. She had been stewing in her anger for three days, pacing and shouting—she was sure the place was bugged— at anyone who might be listening. Her fellow senators, some whom she’d known for decades, voted to put her here. Deciding to treat her as if she was a criminal.

Being trapped left Leia with quite a bit of free time, which she was not accustomed to having. Her mind was on a feverish loop, recalling the events leading up to the moment she’d been placed in this prison. How she had failed in almost every way. Her marriage, her career, her relationship with her son— she had failed it all.

Leia had longed to re-invent the galaxy after the war. But she couldn’t lie to herself— the government they had was not much different than what came before.

For 20 years she had tried to abolish the Empire’s ways. She’d managed to outlaw slavery— but only on planets where the NRSF was able to enforce it. Which wasn’t many.

In her effort not to disrupt the economy, their government had never made the exodus shift to what she’d hoped for. The New Republic had fractured into conflicting ideas that resulted in political gridlock. Some sectors, wealthy during the Empire were now struggling to put food on the table. With opposing views in the Senate, it was too tight a line to walk without radical intervention, and no one wanted to do the hard work required to make things right.

She had recently considered retiring.

She could settle in New Alderaan, and take up her duty again as royalty. Maybe Han would come back to her if she was less busy. As a princess she could improve the lives of her people in some small measure.

Then the opportunity to run for Supreme Chancellor presented itself, and she couldn’t resist the chance to fulfill her life’s work. 

But that was all over now. Because she was the daughter of Darth Vader. Because her opponent, Armitage Hux, had publicly exposed her secret.

In the midst of her musings, Hux opened the door, knocking a few times but entering without permission. Leia turned her back on the window to look at him.

“Greetings, Princess,” Hux bowed.

Leia rolled her eyes and sat at the table in front of her. Hux joined.

“What is it?” She said, eyebrows raised, her mouth thin. It had been Hux’s idea to investigate her, to imprison her. And like cowards, the rest of the Senate followed his lead.

“I thought you’d like an update on what’s happening in the wider galaxy.” He settled himself across from her and ordered tea for them both.

Armitage Hux was young, only 30 years old. On opposing sides of the political spectrum, they had many disagreements, but she had respected him as a colleague. Until now.

“So,” he began, “it would seem your brother and your son had quite the falling out recently.”

Leia’s expression remained tight and passive, but her eyes flashed with fear.

“It seems Luke was a bit angry at Ben and they got in quite an argument about it,” Hux said.

A tray with a teapot and biscuits arrived, and he busied himself with setting out saucers and cups.

“Oh?” Leia said, attempting to seem indifferent. 

“Yes. Apparently the fight was so bad that your son brought down the roof of the school on your brother, then stole a ship to escape.”

Leia’s composure faltered.

“How do you know this?” She demanded. “Is Luke alive? Where is Ben?” 

Hux remained calm, pouring tea into his cup. He didn’t answer her until he added milk and sugar, lazily swirling a spoon in his cup.

“Many students withdrew from Luke Skywalker’s school the day your parentage was revealed. Skywalker has escaped the NRSF and evaded all the Republic’s scanners. So has your husband. Ben Solo, however, is on Coruscant with a female companion.”

Leia’s mind felt in a haze. So much had happened in the last three days. She massaged her temples.

“What exactly is your plan? What do you want from me?” She scathed.

Hux smirked and sipped his tea.

“I don’t need anything from you, per se. But I would like your blessing. As Chancellor I intend to restore a more stable way of governing. I think it will help for people to see you endorse me and my new policies.”

“Restore a stable government?” Leia lifted her head up.

“You may not choose to acknowledge them, but there are still many Empire sympathizers. They would like to see the galaxy return to a form where one has authority over all.” He paused, setting his cup on the table. “After I become Chancellor, I will take it upon myself to begin a new galactic order. The First Order.”   

Leia swiped her arm across the small table, pushing the teapot and cups to the floor where they shattered.

“No,” Leia breathed between clenched teeth.

Hux raised his eyebrows in judgement. "Really? I brought you my favorite biscuits and you treat me like this."

He stood up and paced the room while he continued.

“A coup is no simple thing to arrange, but I had help over the years. A wealthy backer, alliances with crime syndicates. Recruiting like-minded people to join the Security Force. The propaganda on the HoloNet has already begun.”

“People will never support this,” Leia hissed, standing up. “There’s too many against you.”

“On the contrary, I have most of the NRSF at my command. Not to mention the other Centrist senators in the capital." He stopped pacing and looked at Leia directly. " When the time is right, I will become Supreme Leader of the First Order. And I will have the power to eliminate anyone that stands against me, even you,” he said.

“You must consider me a hunk of bantha fodder if you think I’ll—how did you word it? Give you my blessing?” Leia seethed.

“Would you not endorse the First Order for the sake of your family’s safety?” Hux asked.

“Good luck finding them,” she snorted. Then she remembered Hux had said Ben was on Coruscant. Her stomach dropped. She reminded herself Ben was strong, a Jedi. He could fight.

“Oh, don’t worry about your son, Ben.” Hux sneered, guessing her thoughts. “Just keeping tabs for now. My backer is hoping to recruit young Solo. Imagine mother and son working to make the galaxy a better place."

“Who’s this wealthy backer?” She prodded. “What’s his name?

Hux said nothing. He composed himself, straightening his posture and made his way to the door.

“Everything is unfolding just as it should, with or without your husband or brother in captivity. Your friends and allies have turned on you because of their hatred for Darth Vader.”

“Don’t you think they might turn on you too when you try to introduce another fascist regime?” Leia asked dryly. “I can think of several planets ready to strike up a rebellion again.” Her face set with determination.

"Those planets will be the first to go,” Hux tilted his head and pushed out his bottom lip.

Ice filled Leia’s veins. “Go? Go how?”

Not again. Not Alderaan again. Her stomach curdled in pain, recalling the crushing grief.

Hux smiled. “Emperor Palpatine had quite the idea when he thought up the Death Star, didn’t he?”

He turned and left. The door locked behind him and a laser forcefield reactivated around the perimeter of the room.

Leia sank to her knees, her eyes welling with tears.

Chapter Text

Luke landed on Vendaxa at the edge of the forest, which bordered an expansive plain that eventually dropped off into marshes and swamps.

He had dug through his personal records and found the coordinates for this cave. He had visited long ago, when he was searching for ancient artifacts like holocrons to use in his school. Holocrons were like puzzles, and using the Force was the only way to open one and learn its teachings. He had found something similar long ago here, and hoped to find it again.

It was his only lead to learning more about Ben and Rey’s Force bond.

He emerged from his ship feeling the moist air, and hearing the cawing of a bird somewhere in the trees. He deboarded and headed for the forest’s edge with a vague memory of an entrance to a cave. 

He held up the compass hologram on his wrist to stay on track toward the coordinate, while looking out for dreaded acklays or worse, the Vendaxan land squid. 

Another minute more of walking, and he came upon a strikingly tall boulder in a forest bare of other stones like these. 

The whisper of a memory drew him closer to this ten foot rock. There were simple markings on the rock face, but Luke didn’t recognize them. After decades of study, he had seen countless languages, but this looked unfamiliar. He wondered if this was a Jedi temple at all. Though he couldn’t deny there was an energy here that called to him. 

He circled the stone, and behind its flat face was another short and round boulder to prop up the other. Between these two boulders was a hole in the ground, wide enough for him to squeeze into. 

Luke eased himself down into the crawl space and scooted forward into the hole. He couldn’t see how far down the drop was, but he was surprised when his feet hit the ground right away. From inside there were stones placed as a makeshift staircase to allow you to climb back out rather easily.  

Luke stepped into the pitch black underground room and lit a candledroid. He took a moment to peer around, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. This vast place felt unfamiliar and daunting. Had he made a mistake coming here?

He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. In, out. In, out. He calmed, and opened himself to the Force. He sensed a water current, a stream that ran down the mountain, through this cave and out to the open marshes. There was a whistling sound and whispers of air currents, indicating an entire network of underground caves, in which there were multiple exits. An ancient people lived here, probably to survive the very monsters Luke hoped to avoid while he was here. 

And then there something else, in the center of the room.

Luke opened his eyes and walked forward to the energy source that called to him. He reached down to the stone floor and felt a small, cylindrical object. The experience felt like a hazy deja vu. Luke tried to lift the sphere, but it seemed to be sealed to the floor. Luke sat cross-legged, the candledroid hovering lower to stay at hand level. He settled himself and closed his eyes again to meditate. Perhaps his Force energy would be accepted and the sphere would open. 

Luke was patient for several minutes before something happened. He felt a shift in the Force, like the sphere was interpreting Luke’s signature. It sensed the light and a peaceful tranquility. He felt the Force opening to him, unleashing the contents of the sphere. He opened his eyes to a brilliant green light that shone from the top of the sphere, illuminating the entire cave. Luke’s eyes adjusted to the intensity of the light beam, and he gasped, seeing the cave alight. Every wall around him had paintings and carvings of ancient people and their daily lives. Gathering fresh water from the underground stream. Hunting acklays for meat. Other drawings depicted people using the Force in rituals.

From the sphere, Luke heard the sound of some ethereal breath,a divinity. Perhaps a Seer from thousands of years ago. It spoke, it’s deep voice rumbling and echoing through the cave:

A pair made of light and dark.

They are one in the Force. 

A power as strong as life itself

Across space and time 

A Dyad in the Force.

The green light faded and retreated into the sphere, sealing its knowledge away once more. The cave grew darker, the drawings on the wall fading to black again. Luke pondered this prophecy, memorizing each line.

  The very existence of a Dyad was definitive proof that the Jedi didn’t know everything about the Force. Nor how others identified with and accessed it.

This dyad was made up of lovers. Soulmates in every sense. How could you deny someone the other half of their soul? Luke thought as he remembered the way Ben looked at Rey. They were meant to be together. 

It was a completely new way to understand and interpret the Force.

A pair, connected through space and time. Such a rare, precious thing. And it had happened to Ben, his own nephew. 

He felt both awed and envious. 

Was he jealous Ben had a soulmate? A forever bond with one person who could read your mind, experience your memories, teach you? 

Yes, he realized. 

But he was also jealous of their destiny in the galaxy together. They would never be truly lonely. Even after death, their Force energy would become whole again. They would have this life, and the next, and the next. 

Luke’s face hardened in his meditation, his ability to focus waning. Inside him there was anger, a frustration building inside him, but also despair. He’d felt it for the last several years, despite his desperation and every effort to be free of this feeling. Jealousy.  He wanted to leave this place and get back to his ship. He started to get up, but someone else appeared in the cave. 

It was his Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, standing some feet away, smiling at him just the way Luke remembered Old Ben on Tatooine.

  “Hello, Luke,” his voice rippling throughout the cave.

Luke froze. He sat back and looked curiously at the Force Ghost. “Master Kenobi,” Luke replied warily. “Why are you here?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?” Obi-Wan said cheekily.

Luke fumbled with several different sounds until Obi-Wan interrupted him. 

“Tell me why I am here. You know,” he said, an eyebrow raising. 

Luke closed his eyes and sighed deeply. 

He took long pauses between each word, “I am struggling with myself.” He jutted out his chin to fight back the face of remorse he wore. “I’m an old man now. I’m...irrelevant. Lonely.” His face turned bitter while chewing his lip, his eyes ashamed.

“I once felt as you did, when Anakin became a young man. He was much more talented than myself or any other Jedi I’d ever seen. And he knew it,” Obi-Wan nodded once.

“How did you handle it?” Luke asked. 

Obi-Wan inhaled deeply, his eyes unfocused as he recalled the memories. 

“Even as a child, Anakin was a natural. I knew he would soon surpass me with his many talents and bravery. He was The Chosen One, and I, merely his teacher. 

I wasn’t the most important person when we entered the room. And that was okay with me. I was proud of Anakin. I loved him as my brother. Many complimented me on his skills, but it was Anakin that made me look good.”

Luke replied, “I don’t take credit for so much of what Ben knows. He’s read the whole library three times over,” Luke chuckled, shaking his head.

“Part of being a master is accepting that you are replacing yourself for when the time comes to be one with the Force. We are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters,” Obi-Wan said softly.

Tears came to Luke’s eyes. “I love my nephew. I am proud of him. I just--,” he paused, hanging his head. “I used to be the galaxy’s hero. One day I looked in the mirror and saw an old man,” his voice became gruff. “I’m going to die someday, and I have to face the fact that it’s too late for me.” 

“Too late for what?” Obi-Wan asked. 

Luke’s eyes fell to the floor. “To fall in love. To have a family.”

“Why didn’t you have one?” Obi-Wan asked.  

Luke looked up, surprised and annoyed. 

“I couldn’t.”

“Who said you could not?” Obi-Wan asked. 

Luke’s face hardened in frustration. “According to the Jedi Code, it was my duty to give up attachments. To focus on greater concerns. After you and Master Yoda died, I didn’t know how to train myself. I thought following the Jedi Code was the right way to start another school. To carry on the legacy. But I didn’t ever consider if there should be a legacy.” 

He stood up. “I thought my ability to use the Force; to become a Jedi meant I was destined to serve others. And I would be happy with that life because it was my destiny.” Luke shrugged and began pacing the cave. 

“And then I see my nephew, Ben. I watched him become the best Jedi in the school. The best scholar, best fighter. And then he met his soulmate. Stars, I would do anything to have all of that.”

“Luke,” Obi-Wan said. “It is up to each Jedi how they decide to conduct their personal lives. I lived mine by a certain code, but I can’t say that I never had regrets.” He looked down, sadly. “That very Jedi Code pushed Anakin to the dark side when he was told he should give up his relationships with his mother and Padme.” 

He looked up at Luke, warmth returning to his eyes. “After the way you saved your father, I had every faith you would change the code of the Jedi to something more, something new. I still have that belief in you.” 

“Yeah, right, I’ve gone and screwed up everything.” Luke languished.

“When Ben told you of his Force connection with Rey, you were not drawn to anger. You listened. You were ready to help, to learn, to change. Now, you’ve made a mistake, and you want to set it right. So do it.”

Luke stared, contemplating Obi-Wan’s Force ghost. Finally, he nodded.

“How?” Luke asked aloud to himself and his Master.

“I might be able to help you find him,” Obi-Wan smiled and winked. He gestured to the the exit of the cave. "Shall we?

Chapter Text

Ben and Rey rushed hand-in-hand through the streets of the shopping district, weaving through crowds of tourists who laughed and shopped without a care. 

A once exciting place, now Ben could only think of themselves as easy targets here. Last night, they had been ambushed by what they believed to be a gang. They were lucky, Ben thought soberly, they had managed to easily overpower the group and escape. There could be any number of people after him-- bounty hunters, pirates, criminals. He didn’t want any harm to come to Rey, and she was at risk being seen with him if anyone recognized him from the HoloNet news. 

Before he’d woken her, he’d considered perhaps they should split up for the time being. If someone was tailing them, perhaps they would only follow Ben and leave her alone. But he couldn’t be sure. And the thought of parting with her caused a piercing streak of agony through his Force signature. Every time he considered splitting up, it sent a high alert to Rey through their shared mental connection. They had argued about it for several minutes before she refused to leave his side. It would be like ripping off a limb, no, an entire half of her body, she had told him. And Ben knew she was right, so he quit arguing.  

The Force willed their bond-- what else could it be? Ben and Rey had been together nearly every day for three and a half years. Even when they were separated during Ben’s mission to Koethra, the Force had brought their corporeal bodies to one another.

So here they were, together and hoping to get out of this star system as soon as possible.  

And to think, last night they had been too consumed with each other to think or care about their encounter with that gang. Foolish, Ben berated himself yet again.

Rey squeezed his hand. She didn’t like when he was unkind to himself. She felt anxiety rolling off of him, quite literally. He was basically vibrating, his hand twitching around every corner, every shoulder brush with another person in the crowded streets. 

“It’s going to be okay. It’s you and me,” she said, steadfast.

She had awoken from a night of lovemaking to Ben talking in a panic, speaking too fast for her to comprehend after a sleepless night. 

After some hasty drinking of caf, and the bright morning sun glaring in her face, she understood him completely. She’d seen the HoloNet in his memories and the concern for his mother’s safety. She trusted Ben completely. So they left their hotel in the early morning. She completed the task of checking out of their hotel so Ben didn’t have to. His family was in danger, and she sympathized for the breakdown he was desperately trying to stifle. 

They reached the elevator that would take them to the docking station where their ship waited for them. They would have to take it, whether it had been replenished with fresh water or not. They couldn’t wait like sitting ducks. 

Ben followed Rey into the elevator and blamed himself again for their predicament. He’d been foolish, careening around the galaxy like they owned it, like nothing could hurt them. He bit his tongue until he drew blood, trying to stave off the nerves. Everything would be better once they were in the air, flying away from this place and finding a safe hideout. Some remote planet with food and water, Ben thought. He’d hoped to barter their ship for another in case someone was following them or the mechanic looked up his name. As long as they could get away before being stopped. Their elevator slowed to the top level. Rey scrunched her nose in anticipation of the foul air quality. 

-- -- -- 

“They’re on the move,” The mechanic’s wrist comm spoke to him. “Do you copy?” 

“Copy that.” The mechanic got up from his chair and groaned, stretching his arms and yawning deeply.

His wrist comm beeped again. “Send word to Captain Sychez when they arrive. They’re already on the way.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” the mechanic grunted.

He continued to stretch his torso and hips while he stood at the edge of the landing pad of his garage. The money he was getting from turning them into the First Order better be worth it for the terrible night’s sleep he got in that chair, guarding the ship bay. They’d offered a huge sum, enough to pay off his debts and return to the Sabbac tables to win back what he’d lost from Fernando. 

He watched the pair of them step out of the elevator, waved his hand, then turned and walked away to retrieve his datapad. When he was out of sight, he spoke in a low voice to the wrist comm on his arm. 

“Your bounty is here to collect.”

“Stall them till we arrive,” Sychez barked back. 

He rolled his eyes, turned, and walked down the ramp to greet the young couple. 

“Wasn’t expectin’ yeh till later,” he said, chewing on a piece of wire casing that hung out of his mouth a few inches.

“We can leave without water,” the tall, black-haired kid said ancily, his fingers twitching. “Is it ready otherwise?” 

“Not yet. I’m still refueling--”

“Can you barter for another ship? It can’t wait.” He looked on edge.

“It’s okay,” the girl said to her boyfriend. Then she turned to the mechanic and took control.

“We realized we are running late for something off-planet that’s very important,” she explained. Do you have anything we could use for a quick lightspeed trip? We could even bring it back, we’ll only be gone half a day,” she asked.

The mechanic chewed the plastic, his eyes skittering to the sky, waiting for Sychez to intervene. Where were they? He didn’t know how they would approach the situation and he didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.  

“Follow me” he said, walking slowly down the ramp to the garage below with its vast selection of ships and landspeeders. 

He chose a dusty Delta 7, knowing they would demand something better and thus stall them further. “You can have this for the price of your ship,” He gestured to it. The young man argued that four Delta 7’s in mint condition weren’t worth the price of his cruiser.

“We want a fair deal. How about this Upsilon?” he asked, walking further down one row of ships, pointing to it.

He turned to look back to look at them, standing ten feet away when the entire world around them went pitch black. 

The mechanic felt the air pressure change in his ears, pushing in on his eardrums and smothering him in a high pitched ringing. It felt like dying, he was sure. 

He dropped instantly to his stomach. The air was thick with black fog. But he knew every corner of this shop, so he rolled to his right where he knew a ship was parked that he could take cover under in case someone shot a blaster.

As he tentatively reached above him to feel the underbelly of a ship, he watched Even with his eyes opened, he couldn’t see a thing, not even his hand an inch from his face. It was suffocating, this black hole.   

He heard the girl gasp and call out “Ben?!” the moment the light vanished.

There had been a grunting and struggle from afar. The girl gasped and ran toward where the boy had been. 

“I can’t feel you, Ben,” she sobbed, her voice further away. 

He heard a buzzing hum in the air. A second later, he heard the woman choking, then go quiet. A clank, and the buzzing sound silenced too. 

The mechanic waited for something, anything to happen.

A moment later, the light returned, and it was just another morning in his garage. His lungs expanded, and it felt like there was suddenly an abundance of oxygen in the air as there had not before. His ears popped from the uncomfortable pressure. 

He rolled out from the ship and stood up. He saw the girl, unconscious and being picked up by two people dressed in black. They grabbed her arms and legs and moved her to a stretcher. He noticed a large, black stone hanging around her neck that hadn’t been there before the attack. Her head lolled to the side as they carried her outside. 

He saw the man called Ben laying on his side, unconscious. Sychez turned his back on him and walked toward the mechanic.

“Thank you for your assistance,” Sychez looked visibly relieved. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to pay you. I’m afraid you’re a liability,” he said. Before he could make sense of his words, he brushed a quick hand against his neck, and suddenly a warm liquid was gushing into his hands. He clutched his throat, choking and falling to his knees, before collapsing into death’s arms.

-- -- --

Ben’s head throbbed. It felt like every muscle in his body was aching, but he couldn’t seem to move. His head was congested, stuffy. He remembered darkness. A smothering black ooze that seemed to deaden his senses, his ability to sense life forms around him. Someone had held a rag over his face that he tried and failed not to smell. It had been a sickly sweet scent, whatever had made him lose consciousness. He felt different parts of his body awaken. He began to move his fingers and toes, then limbs, though each movement felt like lifting a mountain at first. He rolled to his back and a brief memory swam into focus. He had glimpsed a man in black, and saw the mechanic fall to the ground dead, his throat slashed open and pouring blood. 

Ben blinked hard as he came back to the present moment. He willed his eyes to focus and adjust to the light. The darkness had been so bizarre, like his ability to feel Rey had been cut away. 

Rey.  

He couldn’t feel Rey. Even now. The more he came to, the more he could feel the pain of her absence. His bondmate had been ripped from him like a raw, jagged wound. Some part of his soul was bleeding, dying from the lack of her light within him. 

Ben grit his teeth, roaring as he forced himself to sit upright. To open his eyes. To get to his knees, and then his feet.

He reached out in the Force. Perhaps this drug stopped him from being able to access the Force? Yet he felt the energy around him that he always did. Only his connection to his bond was missing. Did that mean she was dead? Ben’s breathing became ragged and uneven as this thought occurred to him. 

After all, what else could cut off her connection to him? 

Whatever had made that suffocating darkness, he realized. Something old, a powerful Sith relic, perhaps. Ben had never studied such an object at the academy, but he knew they existed from stories and lore written by ancient Jedi who had encountered them.

Ben walked to the mechanic’s body, where blood congealed around him. Ben recalled the hazy memory of a man in black. He was dressed just like the people that attacked them last night. Could it be a coincidence or a particularly skilled bounty hunter with access to dark Sith artifacts? Was it possible a Coruscant mafia could have such a powerful object?

What would he do now? If Rey was dead, he would bring swift revenge to all involved. If she wasn’t dead, he would kill anyone who tried to stop him from getting her back. A terrible darkness filled Ben’s soul. Rey’s absence was like a vacuum of space. An empty existence. Empty of beauty, love, compassion, hope. The heart could still beat, the lungs could still breathe, but he was empty.

He would avenge Rey, and kill or torture whomever necessary to do so.

Chapter Text

Snoke paced aboard his ship, waiting for the Jedi girl’s arrival. He sighed, folding his hands together. 

It was a burden to always be patient, but patience had afforded him his status and wealth, and patience would reward him again soon. 

A large bird shrieked nearby. 

Snoke had decided to use his menagerie to keep the Jedi girl prisoner. Some of his most valuable possessions were kept here, so the security could easily accomodate an incapacitated girl. The bird called out again, the sound coming from above this time. Snoke looked up to see an enormous white bird with a wingspan of 10 feet boredly gliding around the dome-shaped room. 

The greenhouse was perched atop the ship, made with hexagonal windows looking out into the vast expanse of the universe. His personal zoo and greenhouse was twice the size of his throne room, but still relatively small for a ship that spanned the length of a city. The glass dome was filled with a tropical jungle of plants, trees, and flowers. Real, living plants grown from a careful manipulation of artificial environment settings. 

The bird in question had long since tired of the monotony of captivity. It was the same for all the animals here. The long-bodied bird perched on a tree with thick, twisting roots and branches, then settled into a pointed look of hostility directly at Snoke. 

When a pelyk bird was motionless, you could better see its mesmerizing colors. Its long and elegant beak was morphing from red, to pink, to yellow to blue to green. It was like an evolving geothermal map, a rainbow of colors, unlike the pure white feathers on the rest of its body. 

The pelyk was rare and valuable due to its ability to sense the Force. It could be a useful ally and friend to a Force wielder, if you gained its trust. A pelyk had a large enough body to carry a human in flight if you were bonded.

But this particular pelyk refused to comply. Snoke had never been able to use the bird for its intended purposes, but denied its release out of spite. 

 The other animals, though not force sensitive, were still rare and therefore very valuable. But the elusive pelyk was the crown jewel of them all. 

Snoke heard someone approaching, and turned to see Agent Sychez had arrived, with the Jedi girl in tow. Sychez knelt on one knee and bowed his head before speaking.

“My lord, we have captured the girl and placed a tracker on Solo. He is unaware of what happened to her, or himself,” he said quickly. 

So, the Shadowstone worked , he thought.

“Excellent,” Snoke murmured. “Where is Ben Solo now?” 

“He took the bait and is picking off Kerseff’s men.”

“Then Ben Solo is already working for the First Order,” Snoke sneered with delight. That would teach Kerseff a lesson for his failure to dispose of the Skywalkers on Koethra. 

“He has not attempted to contact his family,” Sychez added.

“Very good,” he said with praise in his tone. “Lock her up in the containment field.” He gestured behind him with one hand, and watched Sychez’s men carry the unconscious girl to her temporary home. 

Snoke considered his good fortune, his ability to adapt and maneuver the plan when necessary. He’d managed to finally corner Ben Solo, to create the opportunity to convert him to Snoke’s cause. 

Ben was alone by choice, pining for his lost love. He wasn’t asking his wretched uncle for help. If their relationship had indeed crumbled, this was his chance to strike.

And as for Luke, well, he felt certain Luke would find him when he solved the puzzle of why the galaxy had fallen back into empiric rule right under his nose. 

When the girl was safely locked within the containment field, he awoke her by waving a hand in front of her face. She stirred.

The girl’s eyes began to flutter, and opened wide with shock when she discovered her body was frozen and levitating a foot in the air. She grunted, trying to move her hands away from where they were bound at her sides. A blue static gripped her wrists and ankles, imprisoning her in midair. 

She gave the four men a look of terrible wrath. Her eyes narrowed, darting between everyone. She looked horrified and angry, as if she knew exactly what had been done to her. Her nostrils flared, her anger stretched out before her. She was like a young, wild mare. 

Snoke would enjoy breaking her. 

-- -- -- 

Rey’s head was pounding with blood. Partly from the splitting headache she was enduring, partly from the wrath she was feeling. As she came to, she took stock of her senses. She had no connection to the Force. It was as if a wire had been cut. She’d lost the source of her power. She was no better than a run down machine. A worthless spare part. She felt vulnerable, terrified. Out of control.  

“She’s awake at last,” said the man who was 8 feet tall and had deep scars across his skull and mouth. He murmured the words quietly, but Rey saw the gleeful spark in his eyes and the way his mouth twitched. He looked at her as if observing an animal in captivity, fascinated. 

“Where am I?” Rey’s voice trembled, but her tone was firm. “Who are you?”

He clapped his hands together, as if he’d been very rude not making proper introductions. 

“Welcome to the Supremacy. I am Namor Snoke. Allow me the pleasure of getting to know you," he said eerily.

He put out his hand, close to her forehead. 

Then, a searing pain in her mind, as if he was drilling a hole into her brain, to her deepest darkest memories. Rey screamed. She tried to look around for help, for something, but she could only see the blurry outlines of the three other silent men through her tears.

Then, a snap in her mind, like a rubber band that zinged her every neuron and set them on fire. He’d broken through. 

With her connection to the Force completely cut off, her mind was his to obliterate and torment, should he choose to. He could see her every thought, as if flipping through pages at the library. 

“What is your story?” he murmured to himself. 

Glimpses of her life in the desert of Jakku, the sensation of crippling loneliness, her insecurity, her self-loathing. Then he found Ben. The way she felt about him, every kiss, every intimate moment. Rey closed her eyes and grit her teeth, willing him to stop. No, not that. You can’t have that . But he took it all, a smile on his face. 

“My, my Rey, you have had quite a life. Abandoned by your own mother and father. No one loved you, until your hero Ben Solo,” he said, his eyes slightly glazed over as he infiltrated her mind, playing out the details. 

The friction of their bodies clashing together desperately, clumsily as they learned each other--” 

“Stop!” she begged, tears sliding down her cheeks. 

With a sick grin on his face, he moved on to other memories, like combat training, or studying in a classroom with Master Luke. Snoke's face twisted sourly at this image. 

Then he paused. He glimpsed something new that caught his attention. Rey squirmed, willing her mind to put up some sort of protection before--

“What’s this?” he asked quietly, stepping closer. 

Her bond with Ben. Her mental and physical connection to him, somehow, through the Force and the very fabric of time and space itself. Snoke saw Rey handing over her lightsaber to Ben when he'd been imprisoned on his mission with Luke in Koethra. 

“What is this?” the man demanded again more harshly. 

The phenomenon was either something he’d never seen before, or it frightened him. Perhaps both.

“I don’t know,” Rey said honestly, tears streaming freely down her cheeks. How could she possibly explain and unexplainable phenomenon?

What was worse, there was nothing left for him to take. 

Any secret, any advantage she might have had over him and already been discovered. He'd incapacitated her Force ability, then ravaged her for all her intel. 

“Young Rey,” he said, now knowing her name, knowing some parts of her better than she cared to examine herself.

His eyes closed to slits as he observed her carefully. “My, you are fascinating,” he looked pensive. “You will be of use to me. I thank you for your cooperation.” He grinned in a way that looked like a sneer. 

"Where is Ben," she said, desperate to know if he was alive.

"Ben Solo remains on Coruscant, looking for you,” Snoke said pleasantly. “Should everything go according to plan, you will be reunited soon enough, and this unpleasant snag will be over,” he said, interlocking his fingers and stepping forward. “Ben will come for you and you’ll be free to go wherever you like.” 

He looked directly at her with faux decency. “Please understand, I have no desire to harm either of you,” he said.

“What do you want from us?” Rey spit.

“Why, I want you to be happy! Prosperous!” Snoke looked hurt and shocked at Rey’s tone, which only made her more angry. 

“If you and Ben agree to work for me, you’ll be put up nicely. You’ll have all the money and toys you like. A castle to live in!” Snoke took a step forward, talking more softly, inches from her repulsed face. “Really, it’s a perfect arrangement. You’ll have your man, start a family, and you’ll never have to worry about going hungry again,” Snoke said, as if he was being kind with his quiet and sympathetic tone. 

“After all, without Ben Solo’s wealth and status, what would happen to you? What do you have?” he asked, his eyes wide in curiosity. “The way he’s swept you off your feet, why it’s the stuff of fairy tales! I’m very sympathetic to star-crossed young lovers. You can have all of that and more with just a little cooperation,” he said smoothly.

After a moment, he stepped back, and raised a hand.

“Take some time to ponder my proposal,” Snoke said. “Perhaps Sychez can explain to you how he knows I am a man of my word.” He turned and gestured to the oldest man of the three, who was staring at the ground, a statue. 

“Sychez, you will personally stand guard over her until further notice.” 

This caught the attention of the man called Sychez.

“Sir, the Chancellor’s inauguration--” he looked at Rey as if terrified of being left with her. 

“Hux’s safety is the least of my concerns. He will be sworn in with no objection from the opposite party, and there are plenty of First Order officers in attendance. A Jedi on the loose, however, would make for an irksome time, don’t you agree? Until Hux is in power, you will stay aboard the Supremacy. Is that clear?”

“Yes, my lord,” Sychez said, his face empty of emotion.

“This is a delicate situation, Agent Sychez,” Snoke hissed, stepping closer to the man who looked again carefully at the ground before him. 

“I am two days away from achieving my life’s work. Something I have been moving toward for decades. You will obey orders. Or, do you wish to be removed from your position?”

“No, my lord,” Sychez stammered. 

Snoke made to leave, but turned back again.

“The Shadowstone will protect you from her wrath as long as it stays around her neck.” Snoke’s eyes lingered on the obsidian pendant around her throat. 

Then his eyes flitted to the younger men. He raised a hand, and they fell to the ground, dead. “Dee20, clean those up,” he said to the droid. “I’m off to find Ben Solo,” he called as he walked away, leaving Rey and Sychez staring at each other in horror.

Chapter Text

Ben’s lightsaber hummed through the air as he made his way down long hallways, curling his body around door frames and investigating dark rooms. The Coruscant underworld was a labyrinth, a rat’s nest housing multiple families. 

He was eager to continue killing, to feel the slice of a body through his saber, to drink in the cold black nothing of the dark side. 

His chest struggled to get enough air. He felt like he was suffocating, like there would never be enough oxygen to fill up his lungs, to fill the hole in his chest that Rey left behind. 

It had been hours since she was taken. The sky was dark, not that he could see any light this far down anyway. 

He turned another corner and froze. He extinguished his saber. 

Though the room was pitch black, Ben’s Force sensibilities saw what his eyes couldn’t. The open space was full of people-- women and children. They slept in this communal room, mothers curling their bodies around their little ones, in a form of protection and comfort. Children with hungry bellies turned fitfully in their sleep. 

Ben would not kill them. He craved the dark side, craved the numbness. He thought killing others would make him feel a sense of relief, of control. But he couldn’t hurt innocent people, no matter his own pain. But more than that, Ben had a nagging suspicion that something wasn’t adding up. 

It had taken time to hunt down this location. After waking up from the attack, Ben searched for any clue of who’d done this, who had taken Rey. 

He combed through the dead mechanic’s pockets, finding a card embossed in red and black ink. A large bird in the center of a hexagonal sigil. 

With this piece of evidence in hand, he had immediately descended to the underground, where the black market was as busy as the tourist shopping several levels above. He tore through the minds of these people, desperate to catch a glimpse of the symbol from the card. He found a thin, young man in the market trying to sell rotting Eopie eyes, whose mind flashed with recognition when Ben showed him the card.

Ben latched onto the man’s mind, without care or mercy, finding the location of the gang’s residence before finally letting the trembling man walk away, stumbling and spluttering incoherent thoughts. His mind control had the potential to cause permanent damage to one's mind, but in his desperation for Rey, he found it difficult to care much at all about anyone or anything else.  

So, to level 1796 he went. Each level he descended the oxygen seemed to grow more scarce, and the smell had been atrocious for some time now. 

Four men guarded the entrance to a door in a dark corner of an otherwise deserted area. They aimed to shoot Ben, lifting blasters from their holsters. Ben raised one hand and held them all, gasping and choking by their throats with the Force. No one had any knowledge of Rey’s capture. Enraged, he clenched his fist and killed them all.

Breathing hard, he looked blankly at the pile of dead bodies before him. Embracing the darkness inside of him, embracing Kylo Ren, was like salve on a burn. It was emptiness, numbness, silence. It didn’t require emotions, just doing. It was the only way he could cope with Rey completely cut off from their Force bond.  

It was as much his fault, after all, that she’d been taken. He should have known there could be a target on his head. Rey had paid the price for his mistake.

Everything had led him here, to this room of impoverished, sleeping families. Mothers who sacrificed their own portions for their children. Babies who cried for more milk when there was none from their emaciated mothers.  

The hell these people lived in. Their poverty was crushing. 

And it didn’t make sense. 

Why would this gang kidnap Rey? If it was money they wanted, a robbery would have been easy work with a blaster and their strange black cloud. Why did they leave him alive, unharmed? Why leave behind valuable lightsabers? This wasn’t the work of petty criminals. It seemed unlikely that a powerful weapon like that black cloud could be owned by someone down here. 

He moved on from this room, unable to witness the emotional suffering they endured, even in their dreams.

He felt Kylo Ren's anger slipping away. The darkness oozing out of him. No, he couldn't lose this. He tried to well up with anger and fury again, to feel the dark side blanket him. To give him the ability to keep going. But it didn't work.  

This was a mistake. It must be. 

Then, he came upon a room that felt eerily familiar. He stepped inside, his eyes adjusting to the dim light of one lamp in the corner. 

The space was empty, save for the large cage in the corner of the room that was piled high with dark boxes. He stepped closer. No, not boxes… bricks. Of spice. Ben used the Force to bring one of the bricks to his outstretched hand. He wiped his finger alongside the seam of the wrapping, and smelled. It was the same spice from Koethra. The earthy, floral smell of that orange plant, the enerva spice that Derru’s sister had been drugged and controlled by.

“Hello,” a small voice said. Ben jumped, moving to ignite his saber until he saw that it was just a small boy, his stomach distended, but his limbs were painfully thin, his skin clinging to bone. He sat in the corner, one of the spice bricks in his hand. He looked to be about 6 or 7 years old. 

“Who are you?” the boy asked, devoid of fright. It was as if Ben’s intrusion was a pleasant surprise. When the boy talked, Ben saw the stains of the enerva spice on the boy’s teeth. He was propped in the corner as if he never planned to leave, only his head moving atop a neck so thin and fragile it looked as if it could snap if the boy tilted his head too much to one side. He was dying, and he knew it. It was why Ben hadn't registered his presence in the room. The child's Force signature was dim, flickering weakly. This spice he’d clearly been smuggling in the night was helping to make the transition more painless. 

Something broke apart inside of Ben. His own needs, his own anger and misery was fractured at the sight of this boy. What kind of life was this? Even worse than he’d possibly imagined. This was a gang after all, why didn’t they at least have food?  Weren’t they supposed to be freeloading off other people’s stolen credits?

“I’m Will,” the boy said when Ben didn’t answer. “I’m five. Do you have any food?” Ben shook his head minutely, still wondering if he should engage with the child, who could call for help and blow his cover at any moment. But the boy didn’t look interested in doing anything except sitting there, fragile and interested in a new friend.

“Hello, Will,” Ben said, his voice low and he hoped it sounded calm. “Have you seen this symbol before?” He withdrew the mechanic’s card again and showed the boy. He looked at it for a moment, but no recollection floated to the surface of his mind.

“I like birds,” Will said eventually. “I’ve never seen one before. Have you?”

“Yes, I have,” Ben said, crouching to sit on the floor with the boy. It looked as if he only had hours left. He was past the point of wanting food, of wanting to survive. The hunger wasn’t painful anymore, rather it was something to wait out, until it ended for good. 

“What are you doing here?” the boy asked, surprised, as if anyone who’d had the privilege of seeing something other than this would never bother venturing here.

“I- I’m looking for my friend. She was taken from me. I thought she was down here.” Ben leaned his head back against the cold, stone wall.

“No one comes down here,” Will said softly. “Some mommies and daddies go up to work and bring food down. But most of them go away and don’t come back. Like my mommy.”

“Your mommy is gone?” Ben asked. 

“She left a long time ago. No one wanted to take care of me. There was no food for me. But it’s okay.” The boy’s eyes flickered down to the spice brick sitting next to him. “This makes me feel better. I’m not even hungry.” Will said this proudly, as if he’d taken control. But Ben saw the images in Will’s head. The way his arms and legs grew thin so quickly. The way his bones hurt when he walked; he could no longer play with the other children. It had all come to this, and the boy knew it. In some way he understood this was the end. 

Ben recalled Cen Inorak’s explanation of the enerva’s ability to make the journey into the next life pain free. Leading one into a new existence, a reincarnation without suffering, the Daneb people believed. Ben’s throat felt like it was closing up as he struggled to swallow, to bury his grief for this innocent boy, who’d deserved none of this. 

It was no mistake he’d come here. Someone wanted him to find this place, to make the connection. 

Ben was about to ask Will another question when he heard footsteps coming from the opposite door he’d entered. He couldn’t sense their Force presence, but they were seconds from entering the room. Ben made to get to his feet, but he was too late. A man swept into the room, not looking remotely surprised at Ben’s presence here. He was even taller than Ben, towering over them with a grin on his distorted face. 

“Ben Solo. How wonderful to meet you and speak to you in person.”

The man was human in appearance, though his bodily proportions were larger than average. Ben saw the man’s giant hands, the pointed fingernails, almost like claws. He reached out a hand and said “Come.” 

Ben turned to look at Will, to shield him if this man should try to harm him. But he saw it instantly. Will was gone, his Force signature gone dark. His glassy eyes looked down at the floor, and Ben felt grief twist inside of him. 

May his journey be painless. Ben thought frantically, desperate not to send the boy off without a whisper to the very Force that made up everyone and everything. May he never know this kind of agony again.   

Ben held Will’s tiny, fragile hand for a brief moment. He took a deep breath before standing up to face the person who interrupted them. 

The man smiled. “Let’s take a walk.”

Ben followed him to the next door, the path forward through this maze, rather than the way he’d come. 

Ben left the room, part of him desperate for one more look at the small boy in the corner, but he couldn’t bear to see Will left behind unceremoniously. Silent tears welled in his eyes, but he blinked them back furiously, willing himself to focus on his surroundings, his new companion. 

Ben ignited his saber and followed the man to a long hallway. He was unafraid of Ben, or the saber, his back turned away and strolling casually. Ben could kill him, should kill him now. But he had no idea what lay ahead. What he might find in other rooms, the way this man might terrorize him or others. Cooperating was the only way to get answers.

They turned a corner into another large space, like the one before with sleeping people. But this room was piled high with trash and organic waste. Piled up and pushed to one wall with an arrow down to an incinerator symbol. This entire wall was a door that opened to a chute where everything was incinerated. The smell was putrid and foul. Ben wondered what the reason might be for them to stockpile their trash rather than push it down the chute. The chute door was likely controlled by the city, and the trash and waste from the elite and wealthy were probably the first priority for incineration. It looked as if these people were lucky if this room was cleared out once a month.    

The tall, humanoid man strolled with hands behind his back, completely unafraid of Ben. He chose a trash free area just inside the entrance and finally turned to look at Ben, his smile wider now. Ben stopped, his saber held carefully in front of him with both hands.

“I am Namor Snoke. I am the Founder and Supreme Leader of the First Order.” He gestured to Ben. “And you are Ben Solo. I admit I’ve always kept an eye on you. I’m delighted our paths have finally crossed.”

The spice mission on Koethra. Rey’s abduction. The card with the symbol. It had led Ben to this very moment like a game. Wrath curled around his Force signature, cloaking himself in darkness, which only seemed to delight Snoke more. 

“Where’s Rey?” Ben asked, his sneer growing more pronounced.  

“Ah, I just spoke with young Rey,” Snoke said cheerily. “She is in good health, and very eager to see you again.” 

Snoke’s candor surprised him. Though he couldn’t be certain it was the truth. This man had powerful mental shields in place. He was a Force user with protection against Jedi tactics, and Ben had no way to anticipate his next move. 

“I see you have already figured out my business here,” he gestured around them. “I am a wealthy businessman with a profitable spice trade, working with people all around the galaxy.”

“And why are all these people starving if you’re so successful?” Ben asked, his eyes narrowed. 

Snoke considered Ben’s question. “I have one simple rule. Join or die. These fine people know it is in their best interest to play nice. To be rewarded when the time is right. And their time is coming soon. The entire galaxy will change for the better,” he said confidently.

“Why do you need me to help you?” Ben asked. 

“Well, I do not need you,” he said thoughtfully. “But I do want you. Unlike your family.”

Ben’s breath hitched in his throat. 

Snoke looked at him carefully, speaking slowly. “Ben Solo. Son and nephew to the galaxy’s heroes. But you never felt like a hero, did you? You felt like a monster, an inconvenience, a problem to be dealt with.” 

“I know how that feels,” Snoke nodded to Ben, speaking low and fervent. “I know you feel lost-- how could you not? Worlds watch and wait to see you take up the mantle of Jedi Master. To be a hero to the galaxy. But you couldn’t do it, could you? Because you know the truth. You were never the hero. It can’t be easy to grow up with such a burden on your young shoulders. So you left it all behind. You wanted a new life--with her ,” he said softly. 

Ben’s face gave nothing away, his mental shields in place. But it didn’t matter. This man knew him, knew his every fear, his resentment, his desperation to break free. How could he know?

“But let’s be honest,” Snoke continued, “Your family’s reputation has taken a hit recently. So after your violent break from the academy, you didn’t have many options. Scrounge up enough money to buy a ship? Or keep stealing? Where could you live? I’m sure it was already occurring to you how foolhardy your plan was. No connections, no friends, no money. No way to make it through the world without help.”

Ben’s hold on his lightsaber slackened. It was true, all of it. He’d been irresponsible and stupid. They’d been playing house and pretending it would be fine. But the game was over. He’d lost, and Rey paid the price.

“You are a foolish child. I am offering you the opportunity to become a man.” 

He stretched out an open hand. 

“I want to help. I’m offering you a career, a path to wealth and success. Help me create a better, stronger galaxy. Support my cause and I will pay you handsomely. You can live in a castle or on a ship. Go anywhere, do anything. Your every wish fulfilled, your every need met. Rule with me, your princess by your side, and I will teach you to become the most powerful person in the galaxy.”

“Join or die,” said Ben. “That’s your rule. So, my choices are to work for you and obey your every whim... or you kill me?” Ben asked, his voice sour. 

“Or perhaps I’ll kill Rey,” Snoke shrugged. Ben’s stomach jolted. Snoke wanted him to believe there was only one path forward. Wanted to corner Ben into conceding.

“I want you to thrive. To be happy!” Snoke said. “This is an opportunity for your own success and wealth. You will be second in line to rule the galaxy. Your Force abilities will outgrow my own, and I will train you to wield power you never imagined.” 

“You know, threatening death isn’t the most efficient way to garner support for your cause,” Ben said sarcastically. 

But Snoke was not annoyed at Ben’s callousness, only smiled wider because of it. He laced his fingers together. 

“Come when I call, and everything in this galaxy is at your disposal. You will become more powerful than your master ever was.” 

“What do you know about Luke?” Ben asked suspiciously. 

The mention of his uncle’s first name caused Snoke’s eyes to flash and his mouth to twist unpleasantly. 

“Your uncle and I… have a history. Once we were friends, and now enemies. He refused to join me on this path. But my time will come, whether Skywalker believes it or not,” His teeth ground together at the name.

Luke knew this man? His uncle, the Jedi, had allowed this man to operate as a criminal for years without ever taking action? Ben didn’t know their history, but it didn’t matter. This man had hurt people, and planned to continue doing so. He even wanted his help to do it. Ben took a deep breath and cleared his mind.  

Ben took his shot. 

He moved to strike Snoke with his saber, but before he could even lift his arms to swing, he was thrown backwards, his back hitting the wall and knocking the air from his body. 

He crumpled to his left side, dropping his lightsaber, which flickered out, leaving the room in a sweeping darkness. With a flick of Snoke’s hand, Ben’s saber skittered across the room.

Ben tried to suck in air, but there was a sharp pain in his ribs that splintered more with every gasp.  

Then, an all-encompassing pain, burning through every nerve ending in his body. Snoke was in his mind, inflicting pain in his head that felt every bit as real as if he were being stabbed with a thousand sabers, as sharp as the cold water of a frozen lake he’d fallen into when out with his father on an adventure. It was ice picks in his heart, his fingertips, his spine, his brain. Ben noticed his own screaming and opened his eyes. He saw a kind of static lightning that spun into creation from Snoke’s fingers. His focus on Ben’s body, heaped on the floor among trash and rodents. His back seared, the pain rippling out from his spine into every cell in his body. Then, mercifully, the pain stopped. The burning, static lightning disappeared. 

Snoke approached him slowly. He bent at the waist to peer down at Ben, still struggling for breath, unable to lift his head from the icy floor. He was unsure if he would ever regain control of his limbs. It felt as if his entire body had seized up. He felt brittle, at risk of shattering into a thousand pieces.

“Try that again, and the girl will be murdered instantly.” Snoke breathed calmly.

“I know you’re smarter than that, Ben. You’re smarter than your family.”  

Ben lay silent for what felt to be several minutes. His ribs on fire, his breathing ragged. He felt drops of sweat slide across his forehead onto the floor. 

Snoke crouched down to speak softly to Ben. 

“Live in wealth and power, and I will never hold you back from achieving your true potential. You are Darth Vader’s grandson. You were meant for much greater things than being a runaway on some backwater planet.”

“Join me,” he urged, his voice growling.

Terrorize the galaxy, take what you want. Wealth and power, but forever beholden to the whims of a tyrant.

Do it or lose Rey. 

Lovely Rey. She persevered all that time in the Jakku desert, alone. She didn’t give up. She didn’t accept invitations from men who had tried to proposition her as a child. She was promised food, money, pretty dresses, fancy parties. She had refused it all because she knew it was no life at all. Just another prison, worse than scavenging in the desert for scraps of food. She’d endured her prison for ten years.

Rey was stronger than him, stronger than anyone he knew. She was better than he deserved. And yet she’d chosen him.  

If Ben chose Snoke, if he chose Kylo Ren and the dark side, he would lose Rey forever. She would see him become the monster his parents feared. He would be asked to do terrible things. And while he might keep Rey captive in a castle, she would still be out of reach forever. He would never be worthy of her adoration or respect or love ever again.

“Say yes, and my medic droid will be here in seconds to heal you,” Snoke offered. “Say yes, and I’ll take you to see Rey immediately.”

Ben lay unmoving, eyes closed. There had to be another way. He needed there to be another way.

Snoke stood up to his full height, lifted his foot, and brought it down hard on Ben’s left knee. Ben heard his kneecap shatter.

His broken ribs stabbed sharply with his sudden gasp of agony. Screaming was unbearable, breathing too. Walking would be unbearable. There was little hope for his survival now. He wanted it to end. He wanted a simple end, like Will had. 

He would not speak, would not breathe more than was necessary to stay conscious. 

Snoke lifted his foot from Ben’s knee and stepped back, folding his hands and fingers together, contemplative.

“You are a smart and capable man, Ben. So gifted at such a young age. I know you will make the right choice.”  

He lay something on the ground next to Ben’s face. 

“I’m giving you the coordinates to my ship. When you are ready to join Rey for your new life, you’ll know where to find us. You’ll be welcome aboard with open arms. All will be forgiven. Make the choice that will set you free.”

Snoke stepped back again and moved out of Ben’s sight. 

Then he was gone, leaving Ben alone in a jumble of broken parts.

He didn’t know how long he lay there. Perhaps five minutes, perhaps an hour. He begged himself to find the strength to move. Any moment now, he could be found and killed, or eaten by some ravenous creature lurking in the piles of waste and garbage. 

Embracing the dark side would allow desensitization from his pain, like a drug. But the cost was also the relief-- you embrace the dark, you feel nothing. You feel hopeless. Afraid. Isolated. Ben didn’t know if he had the strength to endure that. 

But then he thought of Rey. Of her light, her goodness. He imagined how it would feel to see her face again, to hold her safely in his arms.

Rey was a hundred times stronger than him when it came to enduring pain and hardship. She had an instinctive capability to survive. She was strong. So he decided to be strong like her.

It was one hand, then the other, then up on one knee. He got to his feet, grinding his teeth but keeping Rey’s face determinedly at the front of his mind. He’d slept so little in the last several days, and his body could no longer continue. But Rey could do this. She had spent countless nights trying to stay alive. She had told him the stories.

He stumbled forward clumsily, taking stock of his injuries. His ribs felt like they might puncture a hole in his lungs at any moment. He felt bone grinding on bone in his knee. He limped to find the back exit with a portal that would take him upward to a surface level. He scanned his credit chip to pay for passage, then leaned against the wall. He watched dully as thousands of levels flickered past him.

The portal slowed to a stop and he heaved himself out, wincing from his myriad pains. He limped along unfamiliar streets, empty but for a few individuals. It must be the middle of the night. 

He caught a glimpse of his reflection in a dark window. His hair damp and limp around his face. Dark purple bruises were forming along his cheekbone. His eyes were black, empty. 

He didn’t know what led him towards the towering building perched atop a veritable mountain of stairs, or why he decided to climb said stairs with a broken kneecap. 

But he did, and he roamed the rooms of the empty, abandoned building. He found a stretch of floor where he settled himself, catching his breath.

He intended to stay awake and make a plan for when sunlight came, but he fell asleep almost instantly, his head lolling to the side in a dreamless reprieve from his pain.

Chapter Text

Rey felt like bantha dung. Worse than bantha dung. She tried to jerk her hand from its place at her side, but discovered she couldn’t move her limbs at all. The cuffs around her hands and ankles in the containment field kept her limbs in a stasis. This was a strange place, unlike anything she’d seen. Beautiful but terrifying.

She felt her chest tightening, her heart pumping faster and faster. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to calm down, to remember her Jedi training.

But it was no use, she was panicking. 

Where am I?? Trapped. Trapped. I’m completely trapped.

Tears leaked and tickled her cheeks as they slid down, but she couldn’t wipe them away. It was excruciating, the claustrophobia of being unable to move.

This was not the first time she’d been imprisoned. Unkar Plutt used to lock her in a small, dark closet when she disobeyed him. Sometimes he’d leave her there for an entire day and night. Eventually, Plutt would open the door and Rey would crawl out, panting with dehydration. But even then, she had the Force within her. It was just a feeling, an instinct back then, but she could sense Plutt’s emotions, feel him soften up hour by hour, and could correctly guess when he would let her out. She always had hope; a sense of time ticking down. 

But this… She had no way of knowing when or how this would end. She had not yet prepared for this at the academy. Even so, she felt a fraud. Everything she’d ever learned-- how to fight, how to use the Force to sense danger-- it was rendered useless in an instant. When the enemy understood you so completely, you could become no threat at all.

They knew about me, my Force powers. 

Rey recognized the man guarding her. He was tall, older than she by a good ten years. It was frightening to think someone was keeping tabs on her, learning how to neutralize her. She’d always been a nobody, assumed she’d always be a nobody. But she was somebody to this Snoke. The man guarding her had been working for him. They tried to kill her once in the rain, and when that failed, they used this dark Force power against her. 

She felt deflated. Rey had never experienced a lack of the Force running through her. The absence was like a boulder pressing down and crushing her, making it impossible to draw breath. 

Because she couldn’t feel Ben . 

His Force signature grounded her. As long as she was bonded to him, life held joy and meaning. She was connected to him, to the Force, to the universe. Without the bond it felt like she had been cleaved in two and was bleeding out slowly from the inside. The jungle felt like it would swallow her up. And maybe it would.

She squeezed her eyes shut again.

Ben, where are you?  

-- -- --

Agent Sychez ordered away the two men assisting him. He would remain with the girl while the rest of security headed back to Chandrila to oversee Hux become Supreme Chancellor.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead; feeling the way his shoulders and back ached. He was drained, going on two days without sleep. There’d been so much to do even before Snoke piled on a highly complex kidnapping. 

But he was beyond relieved to be excused from the inauguration on Chandrila. Standing rigid in the heat, holding a blaster while Hux droned on and on during his speech. Hopefully, things would go smoothly everywhere. He might even get to go home for a day or two. How difficult could it be to monitor the girl when she was already so powerless?

Yet being around her made him uneasy. He couldn’t understand why, nor did he want to. He pushed the thought away. This was just another job. Just another payday. He bounced on his toes, chanting the idea in his head.

He took two deep breaths and walked into the jungle. Artificial sunshine sparkled on violet flowers. Giant philodendron leaves slowly dripped dew onto the mossy ground.

Despite the remarkable collection of rare plants and animals, it was all overshadowed by the view outside the domed windows. 

The ship hovered next to a nebula wider than the whole of The Supremacy ship. An ethereal cloud of cosmic dust and gas, its colors ranged from teal, green, pink, gold, and violet. 

Sychez tore his eyes away from the brilliant view above to the paved path through the menagerie’s bio-sections. He followed the path to the left, walking alongside the large pond of water in the center of the dome. Across the water was a grass patch, where two enormous buffaloes chewed on grass lazily. The bull raised his head, shaking his mane and grunting, huffing out air from nostrils the size of saucer plates.

Sychez came upon the bio-section with the prisoner. Her eyes were closed, face scrunched with exertion. Perhaps she was trying to break free. He was grateful both the containment field and the shadowstone stopped her. He was no match for a Jedi. 

Her face looked so pained, so full of misery. Sychez looked down again quickly, feeling a pit of guilt in his stomach. Avoid eye contact, he decided.

He picked a spot nearby and sat down, his body singing with gratitude for the rest. He looked everywhere but her direction. When he finally peeked a glance, she was wide-eyed and taking in as much of the room as she could see. She was a young adult, but there was a wide-eyed curiosity in her eyes that reminded him of his son.

“Hey,” she called, startling him when she caught him looking her way. “Do you know how this place works?” She asked.

Sychez cleared his throat hesitantly. “Uh, yeah.” 

“Well? How do you keep the power converters from burning out?” she asked. 

This was what she cared about? She seemed to have found some measure of calm in the last few moments as she squinted around, trying to unravel the mysteries of this tech.

“It doesn’t use power converters. Every bio-section’s got an individual power grid. A dozen mini ecosystems, seamlessly integrated by the grid underneath.”

“But how can you possibly route enough power to maintain this without constantly refueling?” she asked. 

“Look above, beyond the dome.” Her eyes raised up to see the sparkling dust cloud. “That nebula is made up of gas and debris that clumps together to create stars. It’s constantly pulling energy toward itself to feed the star nursery. The Supremacy ship has diverted the energy. Being stationed here is like plugging into an enormous battery pack.” 

The girl looked eager to know more. “And the animals? Why don’t they attack you? Or each other? What about water? Rain?” He could see the gears turning in her head as she tried to solve the puzzles before her. 

A distraction, one that Sychez happened to like talking about. 

He took off his badge and held it out for her to see. It was the size of a coin. He fixed it to his jacket and a sheen of invisible armor came over his body, then disappeared again, nearly invisible to the eye.

“The animals live in the bio-section that mimics their natural habitat, and there’s energy fields around every section to keep the animals contained to their rightful place. The badge is an extra precaution to guests, but mandatory for the staff that care for the animals.

She looked at him in a daze.

“Except the Pelyk,” Sychez added. “She’s the crown jewel of this place. She roams everywhere and doesn’t have a tag, so the energy fields don’t affect her.” 

“What’s a Pelyk?” Rey asked. 

“A huge bird. Her body is as big as the buffalo back there.” He nodded toward the beasts eating grass. “She’ll show herself eventually. She likes to watch newcomers before making an entrance.” 

What am I doing?? He asked himself. She was easy to talk to. So curious about everything, always asking questions like his son. But these were questions he could answer honestly. He didn’t have to pretend to be a hero here. 

“How do you know all of this?” she asked, confused. 

Before he could think better of it, the words flowed out.

“I helped Snoke build this place. That’s how I met him. I worked in animal control on Coruscant. Cleanups and exterminations. I got paid scraps, and I was lucky enough to be getting that. My wife was about to give birth to our first child. Occasionally, the job required us to handle dangerous, live animals for political events and fundraisers. We had to learn to accommodate the animal, keep it alive and happy. Once, there was a pitch in the senate for using intelligent animals in military warfare. The motion was voted down, but Snoke wanted to move forward with it, privately. He offered me a job for more money than I knew what to do with.”

His eyes moved around the room as he talked. 

“So I helped him build this. Snoke started to trust me. I’m covert and discreet, and my jobs don't usually go south. Snoke whispered into a few people’s ears and stuffed a pocket or two to make me captain of New Republic security. A double agent for the First Order,” he said, his voice toneless.

“And now?” the girl pressed. 

He looked down at his hands wringing together. 

“And now my family is taken care of,” he bristled, adjusting his position sitting on the ground. “My son has only known sunlight and a full belly every day.” 

The girl looked at him for a moment. There was no judgement in her eyes. More like she understood him. “What’s your son’s name?” She asked quietly.

“Finn,” he replied. “He’s ten.” 

Until recently, the work had been easy. Besides, where he came from, if someone offered you that kind of money, it didn’t matter what the job was. You said yes. Sychez was no stranger to killing-- it was a normal part of survival where he came from.

“My family has a beautiful home, clean clothes, toys, a tutor,” he trailed off. “He has everything.” 

“And how often do they have you?” the girl asked carefully. 

He looked away, to the pond where fish bobbed around, occasionally bubbling and splashing the surface of the water.

“I see them a few times a year,” he said carefully. “They don’t need me to be happy. They’re well taken care of.”

“Take it from someone who knows. It was never about having nice things. I just wanted to be loved.”

Sychez sighed. “He knows I love him. I give him anything he--”

“He probably wants you more than anything else,” she interrupted. “Don’t you care about seeing him grow up? Spending time with him?” Her eyes looked pained.

Sychez looked down. “I’m a criminal,” he said softly. “I don’t want to ruin him. I’ll mess him up. He needs to go to school, to do better than me. As long as they’re okay, I don’t care what happens.” 

“You should care,” the girl insisted. “I’m sure he’d be crushed if something happened to you.” The words slashed him across the heart.

“I don’t deserve them anymore,” he argued. “I’ve done terrible things. I’m a scoundrel.” Sychez insisted. 

“You may not see yourself as the hero, but your son does,” she persisted. “I’d rather have a scoundrel that cares about me than no father at all.”  

Sychez shot to his feet, his muscles protesting from the sudden jolt of adrenaline. He clenched his fists. “You have no idea where I come from, what I’ve seen.” Sychez said through gritted teeth, taking a step forward. 

“I know things aren’t a replacement for love ,” she said. Her eyes fixed on him without wavering. Sychez stared back at the girl, nostrils flared with anger. He would not harm her, per Snoke’s orders. 

She was a lousy teenager, what did she know?

And yet, he was unable to face the girl a moment more. He stormed out of the room feeling rage, fear, and resentment bubbling in him. He could feel her judgement following him on his way out.

Snoke had expressly ordered an in person guard round the clock. But surely he could monitor the girl at the control panel in the next room. She was bad for his head. Playing games with his mind. It was safer this way.

He brushed his fingertips against the keypad to gain access to the control room below the menagerie. He breathed in the sterile, cold air of the ship, trying to forget her words. He set motion captures on the girl and programmed an alarm if the power cycle of the containment field was disrupted. 

He just needed some fresh air. That was all. 

Just another job, just another job . 

He cricked his neck, heading to get a cup of caf and guard her from afar. 

Like a coward, said a small voice in his head.

-- -- -- 

Rey was in tears again, wishing she had the use of her hands to wipe them away. She hated crying. It showed her enemies that she was a vulnerable mess just under the surface. “Well I certainly can clear a room,” Rey muttered.

A loud squawk shocked her to attention. The bird Sychez had described revealed itself, soaring up into the air. 

It was so strange. It’s oversized beak glowed with colors that blurred and transformed. Rey strained to get a close look as the bird flew over her head. It did another circle around the dome, then another, and finally perched on a tall tree a short distance from Rey. It looked down at her curiously, its gaze strangely personal and direct. The Pelyk was watching her closely, learning about her. 

She wasn’t sure whether to look back at it or not. Would it feel challenged and attack her? She tried to look elsewhere while keeping the bird in her periphery. 

But nothing happened. Sometimes the bird would do a few circles around the domed ceiling and resume her seat on the tree, watching Rey. 

-- -- -- 

As time passed, the Shadowstone seemed to grow heavier and heavier around her neck, pushing onto her psyche and smothering her with darkness.

No, no, not here. Not here. I can’t do this here. Rey strained against the creeping darkness. But she was not in control. She could no longer stop the memories from surfacing. Lonely nights in the desert, crying herself to sleep, etching marks in the wall for parents she hoped would come back for her.

There was no distraction, no coping mechanism that didn’t include movement like combat training, running or climbing. 

“Rey, we’ve talked about this. The only way out is through. You must deal with the trauma of your past, to make peace with your pain. Feel it, deeply, and then let it go.”

Rey was on her knees, gasping with mental anguish and exhaustion. It was the day of her assessment for Jedi Knight placement. She wanted it so badly. Ben told her constantly that she was his equal, and to show Master Luke she deserved the advanced placement. But it had gone disastrously. She could put up a fight as good as anyone else, but she crumbled during the insight trial. 

Master Luke took her to a swampy forest planet and instructed her to go into a cave. She’d faced terrible visions, her darkest fears. Abandonment. Dying alone. No family, no friends. She began striking her lightsaber against the walls of the cave again and again, as if she could make the visions disappear. That would not be her future. It was just a picture in her head. But how could she be sure?

Luke found her on her knees, head hung, gasping with mental anguish and exhaustion. He crouched to one knee. 

“The only way out is through. Feel it, deeply, and then let it go.”

She had let it go, hadn’t she? Locked it and buried it deep in her mind. Why bother thinking about it? She couldn’t change the past.

-- -- --

She did her best to keep the memories at bay, counting in as many languages as she could remember, a trick she’d learned from an old woman on Jakku for when she was afraid.

After some time, Rey didn’t know how long, her eyes began to droop. She tried to stay awake-- she needed to stay awake. What if Sychez came back? She should be studying this room, gathering more information to escape. But the Shadowstone pressed upon her, smothering and eager to claim her. 

Rey couldn’t remember how to fight. She forgot the reasons why she shouldn’t give up. It was so much easier to let go.  

Her eyes closed and the dark swallowed her up.

Part of her brain was awake, restless, yelling at her to wake up. But that part felt so far away, so weak. She couldn’t control the nature of her thoughts, couldn’t pull the light to her, she couldn’t feel anything except the darkness lapping at her, whispering commands. 

Give in. Give in to the dark.  

“We could...sell her,” Rey’s mother said, hiccuping in the middle of the sentence.

“Are you out-yer-mind?” Her father slurred, eyes half-closed, head hanging off the sofa. 

“Unkar is grumpy and drunk, just like we are. She probably wouldn’t notice the difference.” They laughed cruelly. They were coming down from a three day binge and flat broke. Soon they’d be angry and hungry. 

Rey hid in a cupboard when they were like this. She curled into the tiny space, chewing through the neckline of her tunic. It tasted salty from sweating in it for countless months. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, ignoring her growling stomach that felt downright painful at this point. She took a deep breath. She imagined the t-shirt hem was a hot ronto roast in her mouth. She gnawed on the worn cotton, feeling the grit of sand between her teeth. She heard her parents argue viciously for what felt like hours. She plugged her ears and fell asleep to the muffled sound of their shouting.

The next day, a deal was made.

Rey fought and screamed, clinging to her mother. She refused to be left behind. She wouldn’t go with the mean, smelly man. They couldn’t leave her. 

But then her mother slapped her across the face. Rey fell down, sand sticking to her tear-streaked face. 

Her father helped her up, crouching to her height and grasped her shoulders. He studied her crying face, as if wanting to say something more, or to call off the deal. But he didn’t. He said nothing. He looked away and stood up, shoving her into Plutt’s sweaty hands. 

“No! No Daddy, please!” Rey screamed. 

Her father nodded to Plutt and turned to walk to his new ship. Rey’s mother had already boarded without a glance back. Rey kicked and screamed, but there was no escape from Plutt’s grip around her upper arm. 

“Come back!” She screamed.

Give in. Nobody loves you. You are alone.

“You’re nothing. You’re scum, a leech.” She was five years old. It was her first week under Unkar Plutt’s enslavement. 

“You leech off the trash in the desert and you leech off my generosity. No goods, no food.” 

It was her fifth day without eating. Rey begged for something, anything, even though she’d turned up empty handed at the end of the workday. She was scared and hungry, and not very good at identifying useful parts half buried in sand in the Jakku desert. She went to bed hungry again.

She collapsed from the heat the next afternoon. 

When she awoke, there was a boy giving her water. He was a bit older with black hair and dark eyes. 

“Oh good, you’re awake,” he said, looking relieved. He held her head in his lap. He had been putting drops of water into her open mouth. She felt a cool towel on her forehead. “How do you feel?” He asked her.

“Hungry,” she croaked. The answer came automatically, as her aching tummy was the only thing she’d thought about for days.

“I’ve got food. Hang on.” The boy said. He lay her head gently on the ground, leaving a canteen of water next to her. She reached for it and took a gulp, closing her eyes at the blissfully cool water running down her throat and settling in her belly. She didn’t know where she was, but it was shaded and there was a cool breeze. He came back a few minutes later, arms loaded with rations she didn’t recognize. 

He put the food in a sack and placed it in her arms. 

“Thank you,” she whispered faintly. 

She closed her eyes again, and when she awoke, she was alone in a star destroyer in the black of night. She looked around, shivering from the drop in temperature at night. She was still holding the bag of food and canteen of water.

She assumed the boy worked for Plutt and she would see him the next day at Niima Outpost. She wanted to thank him, to return his canteen. Maybe he could help her learn how to scavenge for the parts. Maybe they could be friends.

But when she arrived the next day, she couldn’t find the boy. 

She never stopped looking for him. When she was in the market, or someone new came to town, she always searched for a boy with hazel eyes and black hair. 

Time passed, and her memory of his face faded away. But the precious food and water he gave bought her time to learn how to do the job Plutt demanded. The next several weeks, Rey learned everything she could about scavenging and put in the work. Eventually Plutt took notice of her efficiency. The day she corrected him on the function of a binary motivator, he gave her a new job as his personal assistant. Instead of scavenging, she shadowed him, watching him work on the ships in his junkyard, tinkering and rebuilding. He sold refurbished ships to unlucky people who needed a replacement after an emergency landing at this, the only habitable planet around.

In the evenings, Plutt’s droid taught Rey how to read and write. He was an old KX series, decommissioned after the galactic civil war. Kayex wasn’t much for conversation, but he did teach Rey the binary language of other droids.

She enjoyed the company of the droid while she cleaned and repaired heaps of parts. She began studying any datapad within reach to learn about the mechanics of a ship. Rey worked on anything Plutt allowed her to.

One day, Kayex was gone. She discovered Plutt had sold him to repay a large debt. 

You are alone. Everyone leaves you. They always will. 

When Plutt trusted her enough to go to the market by herself, Rey had more freedom to wander, to practice fighting with her staff. That’s when she met Seyahat.

She was an elderly woman with countless wrinkles, her head always covered by a head scarf. Seyahat worked at the market selling head scarves and shawls to protect from the brutal sun. She taught Rey complicated math and they practiced solving large equations mentally. She taught her how to bargain, how to make a doll with fabric and stuffing. Rey learned to speak wookie and aurebesh. 

Seyahat told stories about her life traveling throughout the galaxy. When Rey asked why she would choose to live on Jakku, the old woman shrugged and said it was a place where she was needed. 

They talked nearly every day during a particularly hot summer. Plutt would make Rey do all his work while he sat around in his cool hut. 

Seyahat played a game of Hintaro when someone floated into town with the coin for it. One autumn night she was flush with cash, having swindled several wealthy young men who'd been stranded with nothing to do but gamble.   

Rich with credits, Seyahat bought a banquet of food at the market, and she cooked all her favorite meals. Together they feasted on Al Kabsa and hininy, a brown bread made with dates. After dinner, Seyahat surprised Rey with a gift-- new leather boots. She cried and hugged the old woman. Rey couldn’t remember receiving a gift from someone who didn’t ask for anything in return. She went home, her stomach bulging, and dreamt of asking Seyahat if they could live together, to become a family. 

Then winter came, and Seyahat got sick. In her elderly state, she was unable to fight the fever, and she died in her sleep. Rey went to work as usual, and no one had any idea that her world had crumbled beneath her.

You are alone. No one is coming for you. 

Rey awoke with a start, tears streaming down her face. It felt like her body was being crushed under the weight of the darkness, it was hard to breathe, to see, to feel anything other than despair. Tears fell in a steady stream, her heart beat in an unsteady rhythm, and her chest heaved with exertion to take in air.

The Shadowstone showed her terrible things, things she’d never wanted to remember again. Loss after loss. Rey tried to push back against this darkness, to open her eyes and beg, to scream for help. She felt like a lost child. 

She thought she was ready to become a Jedi Knight. 

Of course, that was before she was kidnapped in broad daylight and held prisoner on the eve of a political coup. She was in the big leagues now, and she was way in over her head.

She used to take care of herself, proudly. She knew how to fight, and what it felt like to make a choice that meant life or death. She’d done it regularly on Jakku, fighting poachers with her staff, or climbing heaps of space junk on slim ropes, fingers aching and feet slipping on tenuous holds. Even though being a Jedi meant fighting for life or death, it had become an abstract idea in many ways. 

The Jedi Academy was a happy home. A place where she wasn’t scrambling for food or money or a friend. She didn’t have to be on guard, to set booby traps before she went to sleep. People cared about her wellbeing. She’d grown soft in that exquisite safety, and now she felt like the smallest, dumbest creature. 

Luke had come for her. He tried to kill her in his office. She recalled the frightening look in his eyes, heading straight for her, lightsaber at the ready. Tears pricked her eyes again. Luke had promised her, the very first day they met, that she was safe with him. He promised she could trust him. But the Academy was no longer a safe place for her. 

Another loss, another lie.

She’d tried in the past two days to put it behind her, to start over again. 

She and Ben told each other they were better off now, even though it felt like a nosedive straight into an asteroid belt. 

Whatever future she'd hoped for had been squashed the minute they touched down on Coruscant. There was no denying the very real divide between them in a place like that.

Ben Solo was royalty-- a prince of Alderaan, a son and nephew to infamous heroes of the galaxy. These facts had never weighed on her when everyone at the academy dressed the same, ate the same food, slept in the same huts. 

So when Rey saw the level of wealth on Coruscant, and that worse yet, Ben belonged with those people, she was acutely aware of how different their upbringings had been, the prince and the pauper. No matter how much he claimed otherwise, she would never be his equal.

She was a child. Just a foolish child. She thought if Ben loved her, everything else would be okay. But it was all much more complicated than she’d assumed as a scrawny, hungry kid.

-- -- --

Rey didn’t notice it the first time, or the second. But the third time the Pelyk rose up to fly around the dome, she felt it. 

A whisper of the light side. A spark. 

Rey’s breath caught in her throat. It was the bird.

The Pelyk resumed its position on the tree. They stared at each other. 

Hello? Rey tried to ask in her mind. She closed her eyes, trying desperately to hang onto the invisible thread. She began to meditate, focusing on the dim glow of the Pelyk’s presence in an otherwise black landscape. With the Shadowstone, Rey couldn’t sense the other plants or animals. Only the Pelyk. 

Whatever connection brewed between them grew brighter. It was a beacon, a point of light and reason in the darkness.

Rey counted her breathing. In and out. The bird chirped a pleasant, melodic trill. There was a feeling, a kindred energy. Their connection became more tangible.  

Somehow this bird could push through the Shadowstone’s effect and reach her, like a single star in the dark galaxy of her mind. 

The Pelyk chirped again and descended gracefully from its high point in the trees. It landed a few steps in front of Rey and rose to her eye level. It was startling, seeing the bird’s size up close. The bird inched closer and closer, as if comforted by Rey’s presence in the Force. Still, their connection was muddled. 

Rey had studied Force-sensitive animals. It was rare to find a species with such a strong presence. All animals had a low level understanding of the Force, which was in essence the circle of life. The animals followed this mindfully. You come from the earth and you return to it again and again, as it is meant to be. But this Pelyk had capabilities that Rey had never read in any book. Perhaps it was the first of its kind to reveal just how powerful it was. 

The bird seemed to be irritated at their strained connection. It eyed her chest carefully, where the Shadowstone hung from her neck. 

Rey felt more uncomfortable than ever at her inability to move. She was made up of fight or flight response, and here she could do neither. She had no control over her own safety, and thanks to the stone her anxiety felt like it was reaching a fever pitch. She had lost Ben, her school and friends, and now she’d lost the ability to so much as scratch her own nose.

The bird sensed her distress, and took a tentative step forward. Part of Rey’s brain screamed to retreat, despite its seemingly gentle Force presence.

She was trapped in this machine, her breathing became erratic, her vision spotted. She heard the bird’s melodic trill again. 

Rey was gasping, her throat felt so dry and tight, like it was closing up. The bird moved incrementally forward, and her vision blurred through her tears of anxiety. The bird was inches from her face now, and the moving, blending colors of the Pelyk’s beak glowed luminescent, swarming her vision. 

It reminded her of the sign outside their hotel on Coruscant. The light illuminating their room in red, blue, purple, pink. She remembered Ben making love to her. It was a nice memory to recall, right before you died, she supposed. She didn’t know what the Pelyk was doing, but if it got too close and loped her head off with its beak, it would be better than torture and imprisonment. Rey squeezed her eyes shut. There was a snap, and Rey was sure the bird was feasting on her bones. 

But then, something changed. A trickle at first, then more and more until it was all-consuming.

Light was flooding back into Rey.

She opened her eyes and saw the bird standing back, observing her with a curiously happy expression.

Yes , she seemed to say. That’s much better.  

Rey looked down to see the Shadowstone shattered on the floor in several pieces. 

The Force was returning to her, filling up the hole in her chest, settling anew in her toes, legs, arms, to the very ends of each strand of her hair. 

And then, miracle of miracles, she felt her bond with Ben began to re-form.

Chapter Text

The black clouds in Rey’s mind receded. Her fingertips tingled pleasantly with the familiar hum of the Force, a warm blanket of life wrapped around her.

Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she thanked the bird. The Pelyk gave a short, trilling chirp. Rey laughed and tasted the saltwater of her tears on her tongue. The world was alive again. She was alive again. 

Instinctively she tried to reach out and manipulate the hazy purple vines, create a breeze through a patch of tall grass, anything to test her powers. But nothing happened. The containment field used energy against her, like forcing two wrong sides of a magnet together. The interference immobilized any abilities she had to break free on her own. 

But perhaps she could reach Ben.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

She needed to see him, to see his face, his body, to touch him. She grasped the edges of the newly re-formed bond and pushed forward to meet him. 

The connection was muffled though, like gears that didn’t quite fit and grated against one another. And yet, there was an opening. Like looking through a keyhole wherein she could sense him. A cloudy vision in a shadowed place. But it wasn’t what she saw that worried her. It was what she felt.

There was an overwhelming, excruciating pain . Physical and emotional, she saw Ben warring with himself as he slept feverishly, his forehead crumpled in distress. 

She called to him, yelled his name, but he couldn’t hear her. 

She sucked in a breath, her forehead dewing with sweat as she worked to maintain the bond. She sent up a quiet plea to the Force. Heal him, make him strong. Take away his pain. Send him aid. 

She holds on as long as she can, but a few moments more and her eyes grow too heavy, her strength drains. She released her grasp on the bond, and like a rubber band snapping into place she is alone again, exhausted. 

There was no telling if Ben would be okay, or if her plea to the Force had made any difference. 

She fell into a deep sleep, a kind of self-preservation for what little strength and sanity she had left.

-- -- --

Ben lay on the stone floor, his body and spirit broken. Wrapped in a nightmare, voices lured his mind to dark thoughts. With every shallow breath, his splintered rib cage left him in a constant state of pain through his night terrors. 

He’d heard these voices as a child.  The four year old who smashed all the glass in the house after a terrifying dream. The nightmares were frequent back then. He only recalls his shame, and his parents' dismay. 

When he was 10, they could no longer tolerate him. His screaming, the waves of darkness that hovered over their home, the rage and terror that twisted his mind. So they sent him to Luke. 

After years at the academy, the dreams did fade away. Ben assumed it was because Master Luke taught him how to better wield the Force, to suppress dark urges. 

After his first year away at the academy, Ben was so proud to visit Chandrila for a holiday. He would show them he was no longer a burden. No longer dangerous. He wanted to come home, to become a pilot, like his dad.

But the visit had not gone as planned. His parents were caught up in their own work, and Ben spent his holiday swimming at the beach alone.

The day before he went back, Han and Leia praised him over dinner on his improved health and maturity. They encouraged him to continue schooling with Luke and join the new Jedi Order.

Ben didn’t let them see how crushed he was. Rather, he immediately agreed. He wanted to make them proud more than anything. Even if they didn’t want him in their life, he could make them proud. He would carry on the family legacy, become a powerful Jedi and help the galaxy. He would take over for Master Luke and train the next generation of Jedi, when the time came. 

So he went back to the academy and trained harder than any other student. He became an honorable Jedi Knight, an expert in combat, history, language, and calligraphy. 

He’d pushed himself to the furthest edge so he could make his family proud. So he could abolish the dark, intrusive thoughts in his mind.

He thought he’d succeeded.

But the voices were back. Maybe they'd never left. Maybe they'd been waiting to resurface all this time. They whispered his name and horrible visions played in his mind. He saw himself, his face masked and his body cloaked in black. A red lightsaber with a crossguard hilt spit and hissed, crackling with every swipe as he cut down his father, his mother, his uncle. And then finally, Rey. 

Kill. Kill them all.

No, he thought desperately. That’s not me. Please. That’s not me.   

He wanted more than anything to wake up, but he was paralyzed in the purgatory between dreaming and restlessness, drowning in hopelessness. 

What was the point in fighting when it felt like he’d already lost so completely?

Suddenly, a nudge rippled the surface of his Force signature. Something was pushing towards him, an intensity, a build up of pressure, like the moment before your ears pop. The devious whispers slurred and grew faint. Finally, his mind quieted. 

His body began to heal. The shattered kneecap pieced itself together and became whole. Open cuts and burns on his body scabbed in seconds, then shrank in diameter until there was no trace of a scar. Rib shards in his diaphragm plucked themselves out one by one and sealed together, stronger than before. His chest expanded and he took in his first, deep breath. 

He awoke with a start, gasping with surprise and gulping in more lungfuls of oxygen, stunned at the lack of pain.  A sun was beginning to rise and the room had lightened infestimally. 

Ben looked down at himself, squinting in the dim light to see the shallow cut in his stomach was gone. He reached down and gently massaged his knee. No pain; he was healed. It wasn’t possible. How could he have fully recovered in the span of one night? He flexed his arms, felt the ribs on his left side. 

He was so consumed in the miracle of his recovery that he didn’t immediately notice the person that appeared in the room. 

“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better,” a voice said.  

Ben jumped to his feet instinctively, marveling at the absence of pain he’d felt just the night before. Then he froze, eyes wide when he saw what could only be a ghost.

A young man around Ben’s age, with wavy brown hair that gently touched his shoulders. He stood, hands folded in front of himself and a light smile on his face.

“W-who are you?” Ben asked. 

“I am Anakin Skywalker,” the man said. 

“My...grandfather?” Ben managed to say the unfamiliar word on his tongue. 

Standing in the presence of a ghost in the Force was no hologram message. An ethereal halo of light wrapped around Anakin, but otherwise he looked quite real. There was a buzz of energy in the air, a muting of the world around them.  

“You became Darth Vader,” Ben rasped. It was all he could think to say.  

“Yes,” the ghost answered somberly, but his face remained passive.

“How--why are you here?” Ben stuttered, his eyebrows furrowed in disbelief. 

“We have a lot in common, Ben. I want to help you. So first, let me say I’m sorry.”

Ben stared at the ghost blankly in a daze. 

“When I was your age, I fell in love with a beautiful woman.” A smirk appeared at the corners of Anakin’s mouth. “And as we know, love has the potential to make you do something wonderful, or something stupid. Sometimes both.” 

The smirk slid off his face as he continued.

“I was arrogant and foolish. They called me the chosen one, told me I’d bring balance to the Force.”

He looked down. 

“But I made every wrong choice. I fell for the lies. I thought I could save her by choosing power. But my choices are the very reason why she died. I am a ghost haunted by my own choices.”

Ben watched his grandfather’s demeanor change to one of longing and pain. His aura rippled as morning light began to stream into the room and through him. 

A ghost with an eternity to reflect on his life. Could history be destined to repeat itself? Would he lose Rey? Chills crept across his flesh. 

Anakin spoke again.

“My actions created a ripple through time, impacting my son and daughter, and even you.” He nodded at Ben. 

“I failed my children, and they failed you. I’m so sorry, Ben. I hope one day you can forgive me.”

He met Ben’s gaze again, a different kind of smile on his face now. 

“Luckily, you’ve already outshined me tenfold. You saw through Snoke’s lies. You resisted his power.”

“I’m not so sure anymore,” Ben whispered. He had been warring with himself all night about Snoke’s offer. 

“I can hear him calling to me,” he whispered, his voice strangled with pain and desperation. 

“I have to get to Rey,” he said, his eyes pleading. “What if I took Snoke’s offer? I could be second in command. I could help the galaxy if I was in power.” 

After all, there was so much pain in the world. 

Rey grew up a slave. Derru’s family watched the cartel rip apart their sacred land and steal away Seraa. And the sight of Will in the underground… What kind of Republic, what kind of people could let the galaxy endure such needless suffering? The worlds he’d been so eager to explore as a child were places where he saw only pain. 

“You can’t fight fire with fire,” Anakin said softly. “Snoke will use the galaxy for his own gain, and he will not care who or what he destroys along the way. He will discard you, too, when he’s finished with you.”

Ben knew he was right, but fury still roiled inside of him. 

“What’s the answer then!?” he asked angrily. “I don’t want this! This family legacy, this expectation for me to be a perfect hero and save the galaxy. I don’t want any of it. I’m not the Jedi I should be. I just want a life with Rey. Please, tell me why that’s too much to ask?”

“It’s not,” Anakin said simply. “I agree with you.” 

Ben staggered back a few steps. 

“You don’t have to be a Jedi to make a difference,” Anakin said, his palms open at his sides.

“Luke would beg to differ,” Ben sneered. His stomach twisted in fear at the memory of Luke approaching him, lightsaber extended, the green glow glinting off of Luke’s mad eyes. 

“Luke has also struggled with the dark,” Anakin nodded. “But that’s not my story to tell.” Ben looked curiously to the ghost, but Anakin moved on. 

“What I can tell you is Luke saved me.”

“What?” Ben asked. He’d read every bit of news directly after the war, when the HoloNet was interviewing his parents and Luke. But the story was always vague, a successful mission of infiltrating behind enemy lines, disabling shields, and blowing up a space station. Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader were counted among the casualties.  

“I tried to convince my son to join me in power,” Anakin explained. “I promised him the galaxy. But he refused. He believed I could be turned. My master attacked him, and Luke resigned himself to dying. He begged for help; called me father. Some part of me woke up. I remembered when he was just a baby in her belly. How excited I was to meet him. How proud Padme would be if she saw her son. I-- I couldn’t watch him die.” 

Anakin’s eyes were distant now, recalling the past.

“I killed my master. Luke brought me back to the light because he chose love.”

Ben and Anakin stood in silence as Ben wrapped his head around this new glimpse into his family’s history. His family’s legacy. 

“Luke has made many of the same mistakes I have,” Anakin conceded. “He saw you struggling and wanted to help you. But anger will always rise when we try to mask our true fears.” 

Ben’s eyebrows lifted-- what struggles was he talking about? What had happened to Luke that had caused him to lift his saber against his own nephew?     

“I can never truly be at peace for what I did,” Anakin said softly. “It will never stop haunting me. Choose a different path, Ben Solo. Every life has hardship. Make sure the life you are living is worth the hard parts. You are capable of compassion and goodness. Keep choosing empathy. You have a chance to break the cycle, to forge a new path.”

“How am I supposed to do any of that?!” Ben asked frustratedly. “I have no army, no ship, I--”

“The Force provides opportunities to create balance, always. It is up to you to choose which way to go,” Anakin interrupted. He winked and faded away. 

Ben was rooted to the spot, his head scrambled with thoughts. Seconds passed and then he heard footsteps. Once again he withdrew his saber in defense and-- 

Luke Skywalker entered the room.

Chapter Text

It was a different kind of sleep now.

She was wrapped in a cocoon stitched from the fibers of the universe itself. It was a coma. A remedial stasis. She pulled from the universe, taking what she needed to replenish her. Something had been taken from her, or perhaps it had been given freely, she didn’t know which. But she felt herself strengthening again, bit by bit, atom by atom. 

Her mind was suspended in a black void, a tunnel where she caught brief glimpses of familiar memories. The day she made her own lightsaber. When Tiya called her a friend. Winning her first duel in class. The memories moved by faster and faster, she was outside of all time and reason. She squeezed her eyes tightly against whatever came next. Then-- she felt the space around her change. She peeked one eye open.

Suddenly, she was no longer in the void. She blinked, aware that she was now standing in a dimly lit cave. Again, this memory from Dagobah. Her failure in the test to rank as a Jedi Knight.  

Master Luke warned her she would see many things in the cave that would not make sense immediately. Only with much time and meditation would they become clear. These visions foreshadowed the true challenge of your life. 

The visions played anew, like they had that day. She saw several different versions of herself. A weepy, middle-aged Rey. A young Rey that hissed, her eyes black with the dark side. Then an old, elderly Rey with paper thin skin, dying in bed.

One thing remained the same. She was alone. 

It made her confront every piece of herself. Every fear, every flaw. 

This time, it was not so difficult to look upon these visions. Something inside her-- she didn’t know if it was intuition or the universe or a higher power-- something told her to stop leading with fear and trepidation. To trust herself. 

Her self-worth must come from within, not from the validation of others.

No matter her insecurity, no matter her mistakes, she could simply choose to love herself. Her parents had not loved her as they should. Too bad, it was their loss. She didn’t need someone else to be proud of her. She was proud of herself . The relationship she had with herself was the one that mattered most. 

When you are good to yourself, a good life will come to you. 

A tear slipped down her cheek. She felt both happy and bitter. Wanting to keep that old anger close by, to let it fuel her. But it was only poisoning her. Dwelling on her resentment, her many losses, it had weakened her to carry that burden. Time to lay it to rest.

In the past, she doubted herself all the time, feeling undeserving of the good, and all too ready to accept the bad. She walked a tightrope, always waiting for someone to pull out the safety net from under her. 

Who would abandon her next?

And then Ben… Ben came and changed everything. 

She cared for him more than her own life. If he died… she shuddered and pushed the thought far away. To go back to a life without him would be unbearable. How could she be so foolish to let this happen? 

Loving other people, giving them pieces of your heart-- it made you vulnerable. When they left you, all you had to show for it was a hole carved from your heart where they used to be. Give away too many pieces of yourself and you’ll have nothing left. It was safer to be alone. 

But, she wasn’t alone. 

Ben’s connection superseded doubt or deception. They were entwined as one, body and soul. Somehow, Rey knew this to be true. How could they be so connected without effort? How could she feel his emotions like they were her own? How did they have the impossible ability to connect across time and space? 

Ben was home. 

She felt a sense of truth and rightness in this.

She recalled her last night with Seyahat. Sitting beside her bed, holding her hand. When they both knew she would not make it through another night with the fever. 

“Keep going. Get out of here and seek happiness wherever you can,” Seyahat murmured.

“I don’t want you to leave me,” Rey said tearfully. “Please.” 

“Sometimes the people we love can’t stay with us. But you must carry on.”

“I can’t, I can’t,” she cried. Tears slid down and dripped off the end of her nose.

“Yes you can,” Seyahat said, squeezing Rey’s hand with as much strength as she could muster. 

“Don’t lose yourself in grief, Rey. We all must die one day. I’ll be watching you, somewhere in the stars. I want to see you smiling, happy, loved. I want to see you enjoy this one precious life you have.” 

Rey longed for a family. It meant protection, safety. Someone who cared about what happened to you, about how you feel. Part of her had always burned in resentment for her lack. 

She couldn’t change the past, but she could talk to that small, burning part of her and put it to rest. This time when she closed her eyes, she saw her small, 5 year old self standing across from her. She crouched down, and took young Rey’s hands in her own, looking deeply into the child’s eyes. 

“ I’m never going to leave you,” she whispered. “You’re going to grow up to be strong and brave and capable.” She wrapped her arms around the child within her. “You are worthy.”

Her eyes opened. The black void, the visions, it was over. She looked upon her surroundings with new eyes. 

She had untangled a knot of some sort in her mind, like fixing a kinked hose in a compressor. She felt a flow of unobstructed power in her confidence, in her divine right to experience love, safety, happiness. 

There were no more doubts about the life she deserved to have. It was time to take charge of the direction of her life. Time for a new dream. 

And her only dream, currently, was breaking out of here and finding Ben.

Her eyes roamed the menagerie, alight with new fervor. She located the Pelyk who was drifting through the air above her. 

I’m ready , she thought.

The bird understood her intent. 

It turned mid stroke and dropped to Rey’s height, landing softly some feet from her, looking intently, ready and waiting. 

“Right, can you help me break out of this thing?” Rey asked aloud.

Chapter Text

Luke walked into the great room of the Coruscant temple.

“Hello Ben.”

His nephew seemed frozen in shock. “How did you know I was here?” Ben asked.

“Obi-wan Kenobi came to me and told me you’d be here. And you would need a ship. I’m here to offer an apology, and my help.” 

His shields were lowered so Ben could feel his sincerity through the Force.

Luke thought he saw a measure of relief in Ben’s eyes, but his face remained hard and impassive. 

As much as Luke wanted to implore Ben to listen, he knew it had to be on Ben’s terms from now on. He was no longer the teacher commanding the student. 

He stood before an equal, one that had the agency to turn him away, should he choose, and it was well within his right to do so. 

“You tried to attack us. You wanted to kill Rey and me. I want answers,” he demanded.

“Of course. I will tell you all of it,” Luke replied solemnly, closing his eyes. The stark choice of Ben’s words, the shame Luke felt made him sink to his knees in grief. Ben stepped back in surprise.

 Head down, Luke spoke the words carefully. “I was jealous of you.”

“I-- what?” Ben asked, surprised.

“Your grandfather lived here. He walked these halls, spoke in these rooms.” Luke looked up at the arched ceiling. “It was here that he struggled with his desire for love, and his desire for power. I, too, desired family, power, and control.

I fell in love when I was your age. The war was over and it seemed like there would be peace and prosperity. And I could settle down. But it was all so much more complicated than that. The government was in upheaval. The transition back to a democracy… it was a mess. 

But the New Republic had a hero! Luke Skywalker: the last Jedi! I had fame and glory, and everyone wanted to hear my story of how I helped save the galaxy.  

Leia was better equipped to deal with the politics, to make the speeches. She was raised to be a leader. But I was just a boy from a farm, suddenly in a very bright spotlight. I was trying to deal with the fact that the man I had fought and watched die-- was my father. 

In a moment where it seemed I was sure to be killed by the emperor, Darth Vader saved me. My father sacrificed himself in death so I could go on. To hold him in my arms-- this person I had imagined my whole life-- and then watch him die... I was devastated. 

But my grief, my pain, it all had to be put aside so I could play hero. I was pushed into traveling the galaxy to tell people of our ‘great victory!’ It boiled down to reading a script, waving my lightsaber, and telling people “May the Force be with you.” 

It was reductive, and I became numb.

Then I met someone that made me forget that numbness. I fell in love. That small sliver of happiness was mine and mine alone. No one could take it away.”

“What happened?” Ben asked. 

“I gave it up,” He answered tonelessly. 

“I was under pressure to build the next generation of Jedi to help stabilize the New Republic.” He rolled his eyes. “I felt a debt to my masters who had given me the knowledge to use my power. I felt the best way to honor them was by following in their footsteps and becoming a teacher. To continue the Jedi legacy.

But I failed. I failed everyday, but the day I tried to hurt you--” his voice broke. “I failed everyone, but especially you, Ben.” 

They sat in silence for some time until Luke composed himself enough to speak again. He spat the words bitterly. 

“All I did was continue the very ethos that turned my own father to the dark side.” 

He began to recite the Jedi code aloud, and Ben joined in, compelled by familiarity and habit since he was a young boy. 

There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

There is no death, there is the Force.

Luke’s hands balled into fists, his face hardening with each line. 

“Tell me, Ben. What person doesn’t feel emotion, passion, chaos? To deny these things is to deny the very natu re of who we are. I do not believe we were meant to suppress the very qualities that make us the complex, loving creatures we are. You taught me that, Ben. 

Anakin, my father, was taken from his mother at the age of 9, and the next time he saw her, she died in his arms. Imagine that, Ben. Put yourself in his place. Now imagine you return to your home. This very temple.” He gestured around him. “Your mentors, the people who have taught you everything you know, who shaped your entire worldview-- tell you that you should not feel pain or grief. In fact, you should rejoice. 

I can tell you now, when I tried to push away my own grief, all it did was bring more pain and suffering.” 

“What are you implying? There should be no Jedi?” Ben asked surprised. 

“The Jedi had the best of intentions, and yet the Order is inherently flawed.  In life there is emotion, and yet there can also be peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion and serenity. Chaos and harmony. Death, and the Force. Only by embracing both can we truly find balance.”

“What do the ghosts of Jedi past say about that?”

“All is as the Force wills it,” Luke said wryly.

They remained silent for some time. Eventually, Ben asked another question.

“Do you regret giving up love?”

“Yes and no. It was complicated. We had different ideas about what it meant to use one’s power. I couldn’t be with someone who wanted to destroy in order to dominate. It came to a head in a brutal fight. It was kill or be killed.” 

The memories and the emotions they evoked suddenly became too much. Solemn tears streamed down his face, but his voice remained clear. 

“I regret not trying harder to save them from that idealism. But I learned long ago I can’t save everybody. 

The day you told me you shared a connection with Rey that superseded the realm of possibility-- I was excited.” He looked at Ben in earnest. “I hadn’t felt that in years. I was eager to help you both, to learn what your connection meant. The way it changes how we understand the Force...And then--” Luke’s face crumpled. “That terrible morning came, and everything I had tried to protect you from--”

“You weren’t protecting me,” Ben interrupted harshly. “Only yourself.”

“Yes,” he finally admitted. “Your mother and I guarded that secret to protect our own reputations. I see we only delayed the consequences of the truth. 

You are justified in your anger. I lost myself and I lost your trust. I’m sorry Ben.

Let me help you, let me make this right, however I can.”

Luke didn’t know if it was one minute or ten, but eventually, Ben reached out a hand to him. He looked in Ben’s eyes and found resolve and determination. He reached out and Ben pulled his uncle to his feet.

“I have coordinates. Do you have a ship?” Ben asked. 

Luke smiled. “You could say that.”

***

They walked through city streets while Ben described Rey’s abduction, the strange darkness and repression of the Force that had made it impossible to take action. 

Ben turned the corner and looked up to see his father Han and Chewie standing in front of the Falcon, arguing over carbon scoring on the hull.

Ben stopped in his tracks. Han and Chewie noticed their arrival and promptly shut up. There was a beat, then Chewie ran forward grunting and growling, his arms wide to envelop Ben in a hug. The wookie crashed into him, knocking the wind out, but the gesture was very much appreciated. 

“Hi Chewie,” Ben said, his face smashed in fur. Chewie replied with several small whimpers. He released Ben, who was grateful to have access to oxygen once more.   

“What are you doing here?” Ben asked his father.

“Fastest ship in the galaxy, and you’ve got somewhere to be, right?” Han said while turning and walking up the ramp to the Falcon with Luke. Chewie and Ben shared a look and followed behind, walking the curved hallway to the cockpit. Chewie sat next to Han, who was busying himself with preparations for take off. 

“Chewie and I have been on the run,” Han said. “We did some digging to figure out where your mother is. She’s being held prisoner on Chandrila. She’ll be forced to attend the inauguration, and that’s our window to snag her, when she’s in a public space. 

So we’ll drop you, then blow up some stuff and get the girl,” Han said matter of factly. “What are your coordinates?” He turned to look at Ben expectantly.

Chewie yelled a stream of curses and reprimands at Han, who threw his hands into the air. “Alright, alright! I know, I just thought we were in a hurry.” 

He turned back to his son. “Look, Ben--” 

“Now is not the time,” Ben interrupted. “We are on a mission. If we happen to survive, then we’ll talk.” 

Han nodded.

Chewie stood up and offered his seat. Ben took the co-pilot seat next to his father, who nodded at Ben to take the lead.

Ben took a breath, and began maneuvering the ship into the sky. Luke and Chewie took seats behind Ben and Han and strapped in. 

They pulled up from Coruscant, leaving the atmosphere of the planet and into the dark recesses of space once more. 

Ben pulled out the card Snoke had given him with coordinates and read them aloud to Han, who input the data for lightspeed. 

“Can I see that card, Ben?” Luke asked. He handed the card back and resumed controls. When they entered into lightspeed, Ben looked back to see Luke’s face had gone ashen. “Is something wrong?” Ben asked. Luke was not studying the coordinates on the back, but rather the insignia of the First Order. 

“Did you get a name from the person who gave you this?” Luke asked in a near whisper. 

“Namor Snoke.” Ben answered. A flicker of recognition, then fear and horror flashed across his uncle’s face. Ben continued, “He said he knew you. That you had a history,” Ben said. 

“I fear I am... wholly responsible for this. All of this,” Luke breathed, eyes still fixed wide on the card in his hands. He traced a finger over the insignia. 

“Then help me end it,” Ben said, his voice low and fervent. Luke looked up, saw Ben’s eyes hard with determination, and gave a nod back.

Ben turned to his father. “What’s your plan?”

Luke excused himself from the cabin while Han spoke. 

Ben looked at the dash. The trip was mercifully short, another 20 minutes and they would be there. He gulped. He didn’t know where he was going or what he would find there. He only knew that Rey was where he needed to be. 

After putting Chewie in charge of the controls again, Ben found Luke in the small cabin he had slept in as a child, when he would go with his father on odd jobs. Luke sat on the bunk, staring fixedly on the ground. Ben leaned in the doorway. 

Luke looked up at him. “While we were apart I went to a planet called Vendaxa. There I found a place not unlike a temple, but a home. A home for people who knew the Force differently than you and I do. They prophesied about a dyad. 

A pair made of light and dark.

They are one in the Force. 

A power as strong as life itself

Across space and time 

A Dyad in the Force.

“Ben, I think you and Rey are the dyad. Two that are one, with powers that far surpass anything I know.” 

“A power as strong as life itself,” Ben murmured. He told Luke about his injuries, about how they disappeared the next morning when he woke up healed. 

“Rey might have been able to pass along her strength to you through your bond,” Luke said, eyes wide. 

“Does that mean she could be hurt?” Ben asked alarmed. 

“I don’t know,” Luke said, his eyes full of concern. “Can you feel your connection to her?” he asked. 

“Every time I try to push forward to see her, it’s like the connection fizzles out. But it feels different than when that darkness attacked us on Coruscant. When that happened I couldn’t tell if she was dead or alive or anything. She was gone, erased from the Force.” Recalling this made him weak in the knees, and he braced himself to steadiness against the wall. 

He closed his eyes and tried again to reach for her. He followed the path in his mind, the familiar path to her. But he was veered off course, again and again and again. He slammed his fist into the wall in frustration. 

“She’s alive, but there’s interference, like the radio frequency is wrong. 

“Energy in, energy out,” Luke muttered, thinking. “She could be captive in a holding cell that disrupts her equilibrium. She wouldn’t be able to move, much less use the Force.”

“Then we’ll find her and break her out,” Ben said, eyes narrowing. “And then we'll go after Snoke.” 

“How?” Luke asked.

“By giving him exactly what he wants.”

Chapter Text

“Do you see a connection to power?” Rey asked the Pelyk. 

The bird stepped out of Rey’s line of sight and shared her visual through a mental bond, that was not unlike her connection to Ben, but it was different, perhaps simpler. Rey could see the backside of her own body through its mind, then showed her the power cords threaded straight into the ground to the power grid below. Without access to the panel, there was no way to shut down the containment field safely.

The Pelyk posed a question to Rey in her mind-- if she could use her beak to cut the power supply. 

“We can’t risk it. There’s a good chance a failsafe is built in that kills the detainee.” The generator disks below her feet and above her head held her in stasis because she was the conduit. “The power runs through me. If we get this wrong, the current could cause irreversible damage.” 

Rey wracked her brain for solutions. The animals within the menagerie were trapped like her, unable to leave this space without disabling the force fields that kept them within their bio-sections. Rey thought back to Sychez’s explanation for the menagerie’s power grid. There were continuous systems woven together with so life support would continue in case of emergency. 

But, she thought, her prison had been temporarily placed here. There was a good chance it wasn’t threaded into the network.   

“If we can displace one of the generator disks, the power won’t be able to cycle and break the connection, shutting down the machine.”

The bird walked back to where Rey could see. “The safest way is to push the disk that’s above me off its port when one power cycle ends and before another begins. It’s a millisecond of time... and it needs to be precise.” 

The Pelyk chirped with a tone that lilted up. 

“I can feel it. I’ll give you the signal. On my mark, yeah?” Rey asked.

The bird dipped her head once and moved into position.

Rey closed her eyes and centered herself. Blocking out all noise except for her breathing. She could feel the crackle and spark of the energy around and within her. She felt the loop down one side of her and up the other. She counted the seconds and then the minutes. Her mind cleared. 

She felt the subtle shift within her when the blip occurred. The end of the power loop slithered up her body to the disk above and arched back down her other side. The next loop started up, but there was a lapse when the top disk held no power. 

“Now!” Rey screamed. The bird pushed its powerful beak into the disk, pushing up to unseat it from the port.

But the disk was heavy, made of an indomitable alloy. Rey felt the next charge of power surge up her thigh, racing to meet the disk above. She squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth for the implosion of pain or death to come. 

The disk clattered back onto the port not a second too soon. The containment field held, and the power continued, and Rey was still alive. 

She let out the breath she’d been holding, gasping. She felt the bird’s frustration and determination. The Pelyk gave a clipped squawk and situated itself again in a ready position to try again. 

Rey took a deep breath to calm herself and closed her eyes to focus once more. It would take several minutes before the break came again, and their time was precious. Any moment Agent Sychez could return and find them out. These fears distracted Rey. She once again centered herself, blocking out all other thoughts and feelings.

She counted again, thinking only of the energy moving through her. Not of the Pelyk’s connection to her, not of Ben, and not what she’d like to do to the people who had imprisoned her.

She breathed. She counted. She waited. 

“Now!” She cried again. The Pelyk pushed harder. The disk once more was uprooted and clattered down again in place. The next cycle began. Rey and the Pelyk both exclaimed a cry of frustration. 

Six minutes. That’s how long the power cycle was. Another six minutes. Rey breathed deeply through her nose. Next time. Next time. She said to her friend. You can do this.

They waited and waited and waited.

Counting. Breathing.

Four minutes. Five minutes. Five and a half… Rey’s body tensed. Three, two-- 

“Now!” She cried a third time. 

The Pelyk threw its full weight into the metal disk. 

It tipped up, up, and over, clattering onto the ground beside them. Rey dropped to the ground. 

She opened her eyes and felt the soft, mossy ground on her face. They’d done it. She was alive. 

Alarms blared. Rey heard a metal grinding high above them. She turned her head to look up at the dome of the menagerie. She saw half sphere doors closing over them, like an eye shutting. The menagerie was growing dark without the light of the Nebula. A lockdown procedure had been triggered, and soon they would be plunged into darkness, which would complicate their escape. 

Rey’s hands were still bound by magnetic cuffs, but she was able to get to her feet. Her Pelyk friend joined her and broke the connection of the cuffs in the middle. They fell off Rey’s wrists and dropped to the ground. She rubbed her wrists gratefully.

“Thank you,” she said, reaching out to the bird who nudged her hand, then looked up at the darkening sky above them. 

“Let’s get out of here,” Rey said, a fever pitch of single-minded resolve. 

***

Sychez was asleep when the alarm began. He tried to jump to his feet, but his body was still dazed and sleep deprived, and he fell from the chair where he’d been dozing. The alarm pounded into his brain, and with each passing second Sychez knew the full weight of his mistake. 

The Jedi girl.

Sychez scrambled up from the floor and ran to the window overseeing the menagerie. He looked down at the place where she should be, and saw her standing with the Pelyk, free and roaming about. 

She stopped, turned, and looked up directly at him, like she could sense him watching her. Her face snarled and she held up a hand. He was sent careening backwards like he’d been blasted, even though she was 60 feet from him, separated by walls of impervious glass. 

Sychez got up once more from the floor, his body trembling and ran to the computer. He set off emergency alarms in all areas of the ship, warning of a breach in security. 

Sychez typed in his badge code for authoritative control of emergency systems. 

How did she get free?  

The Pelyk , thought Sychez. The bird had been standing with her, as if they were working together. He was out of his depth. He understood cronies and half-wit criminals. But this… he had no knowledge of what could come next. 

He warred with himself about his next move. He was under orders not to harm her, but also was not to let her out of his sight. He’d directly disobeyed an order and Snoke would root out what happened by digging around in his skull. After that? He didn’t want to think about what Snoke might do to him or his family. It was his first, real slip up. And probably his last.  

His fingers hovered over the screen. He gulped, flipping through the sequence, looking at every base, every single thing that would come to ruin. He had only seconds to decide. He tried to contact Snoke for orders through his comm unit but there was no answer. 

He made another call while looking at systems control. The Jedi girl was well versed in machines and tech. It was only a matter of time before she found a way to unseal the lockdown, which was his only upper hand at the moment. 

“Phasma.” his comm spoke.

“Sychez. Send squadrons to the menagerie armed and ready to fire to stun should the doors open. Target is an 18 year old female.”

Phasma’s reply was scathing. “Well done, Sychez.”

“Send multiple squadrons. She is dangerous and will be difficult to subdue.”

“I will send one team while the rest of us are dealing with a situation that is of much more consequence than yours. Your idiocy will not go unpunished,” she hissed.

Sychez was about to ask for more information but he heard blasters firing and Phasma calling out orders before her comm silenced. 

Could this be a coordinated attack? How? And who was Phasma dealing with that was a bigger threat than a Jedi who could throw people across the room with the wave of her hand? 

The girl was trained in combat and plenty capable of overpowering a single team, especially with an entire jungle where she could hide and take cover. She would pick them off easily, like she did that night on Coruscant and then she’d be free. 

If she was working with whomever Phasma was shooting at, could they take over the ship and possibly stop the coup?

He had only minutes before she would break out. He tried to comm Snoke directly again and still he didn’t answer. Whatever was happening was bad. He swallowed hard. 

There was a contingency plan for an event such as this. The absolute last resort. 

He could type in a set of codes that would cause a chain of explosions, obliterating every underground base across the galaxy. This ship would self-destruct soon after, effectively wiping away any trace of the First Order and its crimes. 

He unlocked the protocol after inputting a series of passwords. His eyes skimmed  through bases and codes when he came across a base he’d never heard of. Then another, and another. Scattered throughout the outer rim, records stated tens of thousands of lives inhabited these bases. 

“Project Resurrection,” Sychez whispered the name aloud. His brow furrowed as he examined the files more closely. 

Overseen by: Jinata Security (J-Sec)

Objective: Should the mission be compromised, execute contingency Order X19 for destruction of all life and technology within and around the compound. 

Sychez searched his holo pad for Project Resurrection. The number at the bottom of the screen indicated hundreds of thousands of documents, but the search results were empty. He tried a new search for the word: “resurrect.”

There was one file with a single paragraph. 

Objective: Resurrect the Stormtrooper army of the Empire with indoctr i nation of conscripted minors. Survivors of rigorous training and reprogramming will progress to the army of the First Order. Failure will be executed.

He read it three times, each pass more incredulous. 

“Children?” Sychez whispered. “They’re… brainwashing children to become soldiers,” he said gruffly. How many other secrets were like this one?

A sickness started inside him, bile rising to his throat. He turned his head and threw up what little was in his stomach. The acidity from the several cups of caf burned his throat.

He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and took a shaky breath. 

“FN-2187 to Sychez,” a voice sounded. The squadron.  

“Sychez here,” he replied, his voice emotionless. He’d gotten control of his voice, but his hand shook as he held up the wrist comm to his face. 

“We are in position, sir.” 

“Standby for orders,” Sychez commanded.  

He sat with his head buried in his hands for several minutes. The stormtroopers were hostages to the First Order, enduring brutal training until they were unquestioningly loyal. He let himself imagine it fully. Screaming, wailing babes and toddlers, locked in rooms. Forced to comply. Living underground until they emerged a soldier with no sense of identity, unafraid to die because they were never taught how to live. 

He imagined his boy, Finn, wearing the uniform. His eyes cold and glassy. No hint of the smile he knew so well. He watched his son put on the helmet and became another faceless drone for a war he had no part in. 

Sychez felt his face and body grow hot. He lost sight of the cool, careless demeanor he usually fronted. He felt the rage build inside until he saw red. 

“Sychez to FN-2187. Evacuate ship immediately, spread the word to all crews on all decks.”

“Sir?”

“That’s a direct order. Get away from here.”

“Yes sir,” the voice answered, surprised but collected.

Sychez turned back to his computer screen and sent an order for immediate evacuation from the outer rim compounds, as well as all bases with active Stormtroopers. Then he set the codes for the proton bombs built within the heart of each base to self-destruct in half an hour's time. 

Lastly, he switched back to control of the menagerie. He turned off all bio-section restrictions and deactivated the security panel of the exit door.

He stood up, pulled his blaster, and headed for the Throne room. 

“Good luck, Jedi girl,” he murmured.

***

The eye of the dome closed over them, leaving Rey and the Pelyk in dim, grey light, except for the swirling rainbow of colors that illuminated the Pelyk’s beak.  

“That’s useful,” Rey said kindly. “Come with me, let’s see if we can find a way out of here.”

She felt someone watching her and looked up to see Sychez staring down in horror. She growled and jutted her arm out, watching with pleasure as he was thrown backwards from the window. They only had seconds before he was sure to call for reinforcements.

Rey planned to ask the bird a question, when she felt a sudden shift in her bond with Ben. She took in a shuddering gasp, feeling the bridge that connected her to him forming once again, this time fully unimpeded.

It felt the same as it always had, she thought with relief. She was mentally racing through a tunnel straight to him. A tunnel that defied all logic or probability, nonetheless, it was theirs to share.

He was close now. She could feel him, his emotions a mirror of her own exultation. 

There he was. 

Their minds crashed together like two freight trains, eager for collision.

“Ben!”

“Rey?” 

She ran and jumped into his arms as if he was standing before her. He held her to him, as if there were no distance, no manipulation of time or space that still parted them.

“My cyar’ika,” Ben whimpered. He kissed her neck, her face, her mouth. She kissed him back, fiercely through her tears. When he remembered himself he pulled back and looked at her. 

“I’m here, Rey. I’m on the ship. Where are you?” 

“What?” She asked surprised. He set her down and took her hands, looking into her eyes. 

“What part of the ship are you in?” He asked.

“I-- hang on.” She closed her eyes and focused on reaching out around her, sensing the life forces all around. She was smack dab in the middle of the Supremacy ship. The menagerie was the magnum opus, and under that was the hyperdrive of the entire ship. She spread her senses wide, grasping the enormity; over a million souls aboard. She shared it all with him.

Their bond was once again intact and in full form. Their energy, the very starstuff they were made of wrapped and braided into one another, stronger than ever before. It was as if their hearts, minds and souls were inextricably linked in this moment of crisis.   

“We’re in a security lockdown,” Rey started to say. But she was interrupted by the sound of the metal dome above her opening once more. Light flooded into the space she inhabited, while Ben remained in shadow. She looked around and heard the zap! of bio-sections cutting power. 

The enormous buffalo across the pond huffed, rocking his great head atop his body back and forth. He took a step forward, unrestrained from the usual force fields. 

How...? She thought. She looked up to the glass outlook where Sychez had stood. 

Rey looked back to Ben who was crouched, taking cover and looking around an invisible corner to shoot his blaster. 

“Get out of there.” Rey said. “I’ll show you where to meet me!” 

Their bond flickered out, and she turned to run the other way to the exit of the menagerie.  

Other animals began tentatively stepping forward, making curious sounds as they tested their lack of boundaries. Rey pushed through vines until she found the clearing where a huge metal door was retracting to open wide. 

The Pelyk chirped behind her and she turned to meet its gaze.             

“Is there a way to get the other animals off the ship?” Rey asked. 

The Pelyk showed her a memory of the transport pod. 

“Can you help the rest of them understand?” She asked. 

The Pelyk took flight above the canopy of trees and gave a long, resounding call. 

Rey felt the ground beneath her begin to shudder. 

She jumped back against the wall in time for the great beasts to charge past, ripping through the door and down the corridor.

Rey set off at a run behind the animals, the Pelyk following nearby. 

They were free.

Chapter Text

“Three, two, one. Exiting lightspeed,” Han said, pulling back the lever. Ben was by his side, gripping the controls of the Falcon in anticipation for what would come next.

They were dropped into immediate turbulence, and Ben maneuvered them through it as best he could. It was not an asteroid field or other anomaly. It was the fact that they’d arrived at a giant nebula that spanned a city, and were currently bouncing around the cosmic gas and dust clouds that no doubt protected and concealed their true destination. 

“Comms are jammed, there’s too much interference,” Han said, frowning.  

They pressed forward, still on route for the coordinates Ben had been given. After another minute of shaking and warning alarms ringing, the ship settled when they entered into a clearing, where up ahead, they saw a ship bigger than any other they’d ever seen. 

R2-D2 whistled low. 

“You can say that again,” Han said. “Comms are back, but they’re not hailing us.” 

They drifted toward the black behemoth, wings spread out long and the body curving downward like a bat in flight.

Ben suddenly felt a searing pain in his head, like flames licking and scorching his mind, whispering to him. “Aghh,” he moaned, shutting his eyes.  

“What is it?” Luke asked.

“It’s Snoke. I can feel him in my head. Like the voices I heard when I was little.” Han and Luke's eyes darted to each other.

“He says he’s been expecting me. He welcomes me… and you,” Ben looked up at his uncle. “He knows you’re with me.”  

They stared at each other for a beat.

Snoke had been playing the long con, it seemed. He’d used Ben like a pawn. To torture, radicalize, and seek revenge on his true enemy, Luke Skywalker. To bring Luke to Snoke's doorstep, and Ben had followed his plan to perfection. 

Han and Ben maneuvered the ship together into the docking bay. A row of armed stormtroopers waited for them to deboard. Han stood and hugged his son goodbye, handing him his blaster. “I’m gonna send help. Be on the lookout,” Han said. 

“Go save mom,” Ben said, hugging him back briefly. 

“They’re going to make you surrender the ship,” Luke warned Han. 

“I have no intention of following their orders,” Han said, sitting back down in the pilot seat. “We’ll get out of here, don’t worry about us,” Han said with a devious smirk that lifted one corner of his mouth. 

Luke, Ben, and R2-D2 deboarded and met a stormtrooper captain with a chrome suit and a cape draped over one shoulder. 

“I am Captain Phasma of the First Order,” a voice said from the helmet. “You will surrender your ship for a thorough search and give up any weapons or help you may be stowing onboard.” 

Another trooper approached with stun cuffs for both of them. But Phasma was interrupted by the ship’s door closing again and preparing for takeoff. 

“Seize the ship!”  

But the Falcon was already lifting off the ground and spinning around to leave. 

“Fire on that ship!” Phasma commanded her line of troopers. 

Ben saw the exhaust of the Falcon begin to burn blue. His father was going to make a messy exit, an old smuggler’s trick for a deal gone bad. But it was also a distraction that would allow him and Luke to break from the custody of the guard. “He's gonna blast them with radiation exhaust. We need to move!” he yelled to Luke over the Falcon’s roaring engine. 

While the captain was occupied giving orders, Ben and Luke unsheathed their sabers, incapacitating immediate enemies and made a quick run for the door. Ben blocked blaster shots with his saber while they sprinted up a ramp and through a doorway, keeping it open long enough for R2-D2 to make it through. The Falcon ramped up its power and shot out of the docking bay, blowing back the troopers and disorienting all within the docking bay. 

Luke and Ben, meanwhile, made their way down a dark hallway.

“Artoo, can you send out a distress signal, find us a way outta here, and, I don’t know, hack their systems to turn off shields?” Luke asked.

R2-D2 buzzed and whirred a short reply. 

“Alright, I’m sorry. I know you’re not a magician. Do what you can, okay?” Luke told his old friend. 

The party split in two, going different directions on the ship. Luke and Ben found an alcove to take cover while troops ran past, searching for them. Ben closed his eyes, spreading out his spatial awareness of the Force, searching for her. Trying to feel her, to find her.  

He didn’t expect their force bond to connect again. She’d been out of reach all this time, but this was it, he was sure of the sensation happening within him. 

He felt her coming. His heart nearly beat out of his chest with anticipation.

She materialized out of the corner of his eye, and he turned to see her. 

“Ben!” she called.

“Rey?” He said, bewildered.

She was a blur of color running at him and jumping into his embrace. Light and color and warmth flowed into him, inside his skin, his blood, his mind. Hoping he would see her again had been too much, something he couldn’t count on when there were so many unknown variables standing in the way. Or so he’d thought. But here she was, free and unencumbered by darkness or Force suppression. He didn’t much care how that was the case, only that she was in his arms and alive and real.

“My cyar’ika,” he choked out through tears, his face buried in her neck. He placed kisses anywhere he could reach, moving up her neck to her jaw and her lips. 

He pulled back to look at her and noticed his uncle standing adjacent, his mouth hanging open dumbfounded at the sight of his nephew kissing the air in front of him.

He focused on Rey’s face again. “I’m here, Rey. I’m on the ship. Where are you?”

“What?” she looked in a daze. 

How long had it been since she’d had food or water or sleep? His heart ached at the thought. She’d been dragged into all of this and it was all his fault. His family’s fault. 

He put her down and wrapped her hands inside his. He looked carefully in her eyes.

“What part of the ship are you in?” He shared the feeling of urgency of the immediate danger they both faced on a hostile ship where they were severely outnumbered. 

“I-- hang on,” she said, closing her eyes to focus. 

Ben was interrupted by Luke tugging him down, saving him from blaster shots that barely missed his head. He took cover like Luke was and pulled the blaster from his belt that Han had pushed into his hands. He hit two of the seven guards before taking cover again. 

It felt wrong to have Rey standing above him without a shield from the blasters, but Ben reminded himself she was elsewhere in body. She was sharing her mind with him, showing what she could see. He opened his mind to it, receiving images of a room full of plants and animals. Beyond it, endless hallways and chambers and equipment and guns. The ship was enormous.

“We’re in a security lockdown--” Rey said, her head falling back to look up.

Something was happening in her own space. Ben could see glimpses of it when he was shooting his blaster. Something was changing for Rey. “How...?” he heard her whisper to herself. She looked down to see him shooting and ducking for cover.

“Get out of there,” she said. “I’ll show you where to meet me!”

Their visual connection ended, but her mind was still linked to his. He saw a glimpse of double doors and a hallway near the center of the ship. 

“Let’s go,” Ben said, taking final shots to cover them as they skittered down another hallway at a run. Ben shot behind him without looking and hit his mark. They made it into a lift and rammed the door shut as new legions of stormtroopers crowded the space they’d just left behind. The lift shot upward. 

They breathed heavily together, gearing up for the shootout that was sure to come the moment the doors opened again.

“We need to stop Snoke,” Luke said. “We have to find him and end this today.” 

Ben only nodded, feeling resentment curl inside him. We… Rey and I have to clean up the mess you made and hope we live through it. His fingers twitched with adrenaline. Snoke's voice of fire and flame licked his mind again with tendrils of darkness. Ben's jaw clenched as he tried to suppress it.

The lift doors opened. 

There was no one in the direct vicinity, but the moment they stepped out of the doors, a trooper with a party of twenty spotted them. 

“There they are! Fire!”

Luke and Ben took refuge in another large alcove with large doors. They quickly incapacitated the two guards who stood watch over this entrance. They tried to open the doors to no avail. Stormtroopers were coming at them from both sides. They were trapped. 

A thunderous, booming rumbling began to shake the ground beneath them. They looked around, panicked. The sound drew nearer, heading towards them. There was roaring and huffing, shouts and screams of terror and pain. Ben stood up from his crouch and dared a peek around the corner. 

A stampede of wild animals was barreling down the hallway. Ben recognized water buffalo plowing through stormtroopers. He turned to see the troopers at the other end of the hallway scatter and dive for safety to escape the war path. When he turned back to watch the animals pass them by, he saw Rey flowing down the hallway behind the stampede. 

Rey.

Time seemed to slow down at the sight of her. Her linen wraps billowed behind her with each sure stride, her chin erect, her face triumphant. 

I’m gonna marry that girl, Ben thought in a daze.

You better , she answered cheekily. 

Her eyes met his and Ben was lost in her. He didn’t notice the herd of dangerous, wild animals running past him. He didn’t feel the ground quaking beneath him. He only saw her.  

The hallway was now clear, and Ben stepped forward toward his goddess. She reached out a hand and he took it. He felt the warmth of her flesh-- her real flesh. 

They pressed their foreheads to one another. 

They were home. 

The double doors that had been locked previously opened inward, revealing a narrow pathway of black, reflective tile into a grand room several stories tall, draped in blood red colors. At the center of the room sat Snoke on a throne, surrounded by Praetorian guards. 

Luke, Rey, and Ben turned to face the entrance, weapons in hand. 

“Welcome, friends,” Snoke said, beckoning them forward. 

Chapter Text

Opera music was playing in the throne room where Snoke sat. The music was a symphony of complex harmonies in a trilling vibrato that reverberated against the rounded walls. It would have been pleasant to hear at any other time than one as dire as this. The pitch soared higher and higher, and with it, Rey’s anxiety.  She followed Ben across the threshold, stepping into a wide but bare space, save for the seat upon which Snoke was perched, a smug look on his face. 

Blood red tapestries lined the walls, as well as a dozen men wearing red armor. The design of the armor gave Rey pause. Could these be praetorian guards?

Yes, Ben whispered grimly in her head, glancing briefly at her.

Their mental link maintained itself in this prolonged threat of danger. Everything she saw and interpreted, he comprehended by proxy, and vice versa. This was a new level of immersion for them. Whatever this power, this bond between them, it was still changing and evolving without their understanding of how or why. But the mental link didn’t feel painful or unnatural. Rather, it felt like a lifeline. A tool to survive whatever happened next. 

Rey was vaguely aware that Luke wasn’t behind her. She turned to see him in a daze and following at a much slower pace. His face was ashen. 

Snoke’s gaze locked on Luke. The man’s twisted face barely moved a fraction, and yet Rey could see the waves of loathing running through his expression. There was a hardness in his eyes, in the set of his jaw, in the furrow between his brows. He was angry at Luke. He hated Luke.   

“Welcome to the day of my ascendancy,” Snoke said, his face half sneer, half smile. 

Rey might have put in a tart word if this was Jakku and a matter of portions. But it was not. This was bigger than that impossibly wide, open desert that tried to claim her life time and again. What happened here would impact much more than a lonely orphan in the sand dunes. 

Ben was mapping the room and sizing up the guards that surrounded them while appearing nonchalant and Rey tried to steer her thoughts towards practicality instead of fear. 

“I love the Gaedian opera, don’t you?” Snoke said. He swirled a dial on the dais of his chair and the music receded away. “The Gaedie people have four voice boxes and eight vocal cords. They make the most exquisite harmonies.” He folded his hands in his lap, intertwining his fingers. “I’m so happy you could join me to celebrate.” 

Snoke took his time observing each of them. “The galaxy’s last hope standing here with me. It’s really quite an accomplishment to have gotten you here. And don’t be so sure your father and his pet will make it to Chandrila,” he said to Ben, who’s jaw flexed, but he remained silent. “Once the Skywalkers are taken care of, no one will stand in my way.”

“There will always be someone fighting against you,” Rey said angrily, unable to hold back any longer. 

“There’s not been a hero to keep me in check for the last twenty years,” he said, gaze lingering on Luke. “Now I am too powerful to fail. Tell me, why is that? Who let me slip through the cracks?” 

His eyes settled on Luke between them. 

“What light could rise up and defeat my darkness?” Head cocked to the side, his expression hardened. “It would seem the light flickered out and died.”

Luke’s bottom lip trembled, his face fighting the urge to crumple.   

Ben watched Luke from the corner of his eye. Snoke’s words on Coruscant, along with Luke’s horrified face when he learned the name Snoke... He shared his observations with Rey through their bond.

“Your uncle and I… have a history. Once we were friends, and now enemies. He refused to join me on this path. But my time will come, whether Skywalker believes it or not.”

Rey’s eyes widened. Luke… Luke had known Snoke before he became this. 

Snoke caught her shocked expression. 

“Ah, you didn’t tell anyone about our love affair, did you Luke?” He asked. 

“No, you were busy trying to forget all about me. Seeking investors to fund your Jedi school. And look how well you trained Ben and Rey. They are formidable! No doubt you wanted students like these to take your place; to clean up the mess you made.” 

He leaned forward, his eyes burning into Luke’s. “So, tell them now. Tell them what happened.”

Luke’s features shifted, his forehead creasing. He looked down, his words quiet.

“I met you in a village where your people were dying,” he began. “I offered Republic aid, but everyone told me to leave. They didn’t believe in intervention. Believed this must be the way of their people, what they were destined for.”

“But I believe destiny can be changed,” Snoke said. “I left and escaped the illness that was killing my people. Now they’re dead and gone. Too stupid to evolve; to become stronger.”

“Your name was Roman.” Luke continued, his eyes faraway in the memory. “You could sense the Force. I offered to teach you what little I knew.”

“But then I started to hunger for more,” Snoke said. “I wanted money, power. Things I’d never had in that backwater dump. I had some ideas about how to run things. I started to see the potential for what could be. But Luke didn’t want any of that. He was a lost little boy, sad that his daddy died in his arms.” 

“I was broken,” Luke scoffed. “I killed countless people in that war. I wanted to do something good . I wanted to build instead of destroy.”    

“So you mutilated me? Nearly killed me? Well done, Luke.” Snoke seethed. “Tell me, what were you building then?” 

“You wanted to rule over people you could dominate. You wanted everyone else to be inferior and suffer your cruelty. I could not allow it,” Luke said, his voice raising. 

Snoke’s face became sour. He turned to Ben and Rey. “Your dear master came to me and told me he did not love me anymore. Used his powers to crush me. My head split open. My skin burned and melted off.” 

“I didn’t know!” Luke interrupted, his distress heightening. “I thought I killed you. I never wanted you to suffer--”

“And yet you never bothered to make sure,” Snoke said coolly.

Tears toppled down Luke’s cheeks. It was true, all of it, much as he might try to lie to himself. “That night… a darkness rose up inside of me that I didn’t recognize.” Luke tried to choose his words carefully, tried to capture his grief, his terror. “I summoned a kind of power that far exceeded anything I’d ever known. I could change the natural laws of the universe. I could seize the very oxygen in the room!” He held up a hand and made a fist. “So I did, and everything collapsed. Roman and the house we’d built—all of it.” 

Tears fell and Luke shuddered from the memory. That horrific, destructive power. Where did it come from and why had it come for him? Luke had one explanation— love. His love for Roman caused some kind of feral darkness to be unleashed. He’d been running from that feeling ever since. Forbid himself from getting close to someone ever again. Forbid his Jedi students from having personal relationships.

He assumed Roman was dead; that it was all behind him. He threw himself into his school and tried to forget that horrifying, uncontrollable power that swallowed him and that little house and every bit of happiness he’d felt with Roman. 

“The funny thing is, I never hid from you,” Snoke said. “I inverted my name. I waited for you to discover me. But after years, I realized you were never going to do that because you didn’t want to remember me.” His eyes sparked with anger. “You chose to keep a blindspot. Told yourself every incident was isolated. And in the meantime, my power grew unchecked.” 

Master Luke was breathing hard, his lips pressed tightly together. 

“When I realized you were too cowardly to do much else but stay in your Jedi school, I had to get you to come to me. And I realized Ben could be the way to make that happen.”

Rey looked over at Ben, who was suddenly rooted to the spot, eyes hard. 

Snoke continued. “I started to whisper ideas in his head. Showed him horrible pictures while he slept. He was a very troubled child indeed.” 

Rey saw a whirlwind of Ben’s memories, stitched together with this new piece of the puzzle that made up his life. The sickening anxiety he felt for years when the sky grew dark. Staying up as late as he could, praying nightly for an absence of dreams. But every night they came all the same--images of death, and destruction. Of snow wet with blood. A little boy, certain he was going mad. That he was destined to be a monster.  

Rey felt sick.  

Snoke smiled. “Now, I know you came here to save the galaxy, and I have every intention of fulfilling your wish to try.” Snoke said, like he was indulging them. He waved the praetorian guards forward. They stepped forward and took a fighting stance. “You can wear yourselves out on my guards. And then I will kill you myself.”

Snoke picked up Rey’s saber that he’d confiscated when she was captured. He pushed it forward to her and it sailed through the air to her open hand. She caught it and looked to Ben who was so forlorn it was as if he’d already been defeated. They were hopelessly outnumbered, and Ben was still reeling from this new information that shaped his entire worldview.

Ben.  

His eyes locked onto hers and she encouraged him. Clear your mind. Prepare to fight. I need you.

He nodded once. 

“Do it,” Snoke motioned to his guards and they stepped forward slowly, weapons raised. Snoke folded his long fingers together and sat back in his chair to watch.

Chapter Text

Han and Chewie took off from the nebula and into lightspeed again, heading straight for Chandrila’s capital city. 

Leia had been taken hostage days ago, but Han couldn’t come for her, not right away at least. Not with a warrant out for his own arrest. He had spent his first day on the run tracking down Maz Kanata for help to infiltrate the capital. 

“You want to rescue your girl, eh, Solo?” Maz had said, crawling on top of the table where they’d been sharing a drink. She clicked her goggles and her eyes magnified. “It’s time you make things right with her,” Maz blinked a smile of approval and leaned back off the table. “And take this one with you, while you’re at it. He needs to make a pit stop at Coruscant.” 

Maz yanked her thumb behind her right shoulder to Han’s own brother-in-law, Luke Skywalker, who was eyeing their table guiltily. Maz continued talking. 

“I’ll get you in touch with a staffer I know. It’ll cost you, but you can use his credential codes to enter the capital as staff. The rest of it, you’re on your own.” 

“Deal,” Han answered immediately. 

“Oh, and I want a date with Chewie,” she said, looking over to the Wookie sitting next to Han. 

“You got those codes from Maz, right? Han asked. 

Chewie trilled a yes. 

Han took a deep breath and said, “Let’s pray this works.”

When they exited lightspeed, they were immediately hailed by the New Republic Security Force.

“Corellian YT ship-- state your business.”

Han breathed a sigh of relief they weren’t immediately shot down on sight. The Falcon wasn’t as famously known here as it was in the outer rim, and Han had worked hard to keep it that way; especially when he lived here with Leia years ago. 

“Mitaka 319, here. Staff. Passcode Alpha Delta 2669.”

A pause, and then, “Permission granted. Landing mark Foxtrot 431.”

“Copy that.” Han replied, his heart bursting with relief. One step at a time. One step at a time. Why did it seem like the next step was always harder than the last? Now they needed to both get in, unnoticed. 

They docked and only Han exited via the ramp. Chewie silently climbed out the top hatch and waited for the traffic controller to move on. 

Han walked stiffly to the doors, aware of his every movement, feeling like a hundred eyes were on him, but really it was just a standard day on the staffer side. Most of the security was up front where diplomats from far and wide were gathering for the ceremony that would soon begin. 

Chewie caught up with Han at the door after dodging behind parked ships on the lot. They slipped into the staff entrance, walking quickly to the changing rooms where Han put on a navy jumpsuit, a matching hat, and glasses. And Chewie… well Chewie couldn’t get the suit past his knees. He stomped out of it and grunted, throwing his hands in the air. 

“Don’t be dramatic, we’ll think of something,” Han said, eyes darting around the room. 

A service cart was against the back wall. Han pointed to it. 

“Can you fit in that?”

Chewie screeched in protest. 

“Wookies stand out in the crowd! Have you got any better ideas?” Han retorted. 

Han pushed Chewie in the cart through hallways and entered the lift, pushing in the code for Leia’s office and stepping back. Another man jumped into the lift just before the doors began to close. Han’s mouth went stiff in his apprehension. Chewie couldn’t make a sound. It would be too noticeable in these close quarters. 

“Ah, we’re going to the same place,” he said cheerily, seeing the code Han had already entered.

The young man stood tall, wearing a uniform with badges. A decorated senator, but young, in his thirties. Just as Han was oogling him from behind, the man turned and gave him a warm smile. Han recognized him… which meant he could perhaps recognize Han. 

“Hello,” the man outheld his hand. “I don’t believe I’ve met you. Are you new? I’m Senator Poe Dameron.”

“Yessnno,” Han murmured. He realized his mistake too late, the confused look on Dameron’s face. “Yes, I’m new. My name is Yezzno.” The man bit his bottom lip but nodded, turning slowly again to face the doors. 

Han took shallow breaths.

“It’s funny, you look like someone I know,” Dameron said. Suddenly there was a “bonggg” sound from the cart. Han and Poe drew their blasters on each other. They both froze, staring each other down. 

“Han?” Poe eventually asked.

“Poe.” Han nodded. 

“It is you! Why didn’t you say so? Are you here to…?”

Could Han trust him? Leia had been good friends with his father before him, and although Poe and Leia argued endlessly in politics, he seemed a good guy. But that was three years ago. Han didn’t know who was safe. 

Poe spoke urgently, apparently deciding to trust Han first. “I know she’s locked in her office and there’s only two guards.” 

“You--you’d help me?” Han asked. 

“I was heading there to do it myself,” Poe said, lowering his blaster and belting it. “Something’s got to be done.There’s been too many unexplained changes recently. And you know nothing ever changes, so it was a bit noticeable.” Han shrugged in agreement. “Imprisoning and withholding rights from a fellow senator… I couldn’t stand by and watch that any longer.”

Han breathed out in relief and lowered his blaster. He flipped back the cart lid to reveal a very squished Wookie looking up at them. “You gotta be more quiet,” Han scolded Chewie.

The lift shuddered to a stop and Han hurried to shut the lid again. The doors parted and four NRSF agents were standing in wait, blasters raised. 

“What’s the meaning of this?” Poe tried to ask with authority. 

“This man here,” one of them dipped their blaster at Han, “he’s not Dopheld Mitaka. He is an intruder.” 

In synchronized motion, Poe and Han pulled their blasters and shot one agent each, then took cover in opposite corners of the lift. Blasts from the NRSF bounced off the cart. Poe turned and returned fire, giving time for Chewie to pop out of the cart, surprising the two agents before the Wookie smashed together their heads. Knocked out, they slumped to the ground. 

“I guess it’s good to have you here,” Han conceded to Poe. He grinned, and they hurried to exit the lift. Chewie wedged out of the cart ungraciously. When all three of them were back on their feet and armed, they nodded and headed down the hallway to Leia’s office, guarding front and back and moving at a quick and steady pace. When they came to the corner they paused and saw the two guards standing in front of Leia’s office. 

“There’s not more of them?” Han asked surprised. “They assume very little about her talents.”

Poe raised an eyebrow at him. “They said no one would come for her.” 

Han looked at him and said, “I’m glad we both did.”

Maybe behind that door they were keeping her tied up, or tortured, or worse, Han thought. He was sure if she wanted to escape, she could have. There must be something terrible holding her back.

They shot down the two NRSF agents and crept forward, destroying surveillance cameras of the hallway. They had only minutes before they were discovered. 

Han blasted open the door and stepped inside. 

It looked the same as ever. No torture devices that he could see. Just the huge office, or small apartment, they sometimes called it. The furniture and tables and art hung just as it always had. 

And there she was. 

Han walked down three steps into the space and watched his wife stare blankly out the window at the zooming city in the valley below. 

Han gently touched her. 

“Hey kid.”

A tear trickled down her face.

“Everything I’ve done…” she started slowly, finding the words. “Everything I’ve done. It was supposed to mean something. I was supposed to help people, to change the future. A prosperous democracy for free people. And it’s all come to this.” She shook her head. 

“What a failure.” 

She breathed in deeply. She turned her head to finally meet his gaze. 

“And look at us. We failed at our own marriage. We failed our son.” She huffed a humorless laugh.

“What haven’t I failed?” All the harm she’d been complicit in one way or another felt irreversible now. There was no magic solution. No easy way to make right all that she’d made wrong. 

Han took her in his arms and held her to his chest.

“It’s true we did fail,” he said slowly, cradling her head against him. “But it’s never too late to change.”

He explained his journey with Ben and Luke. She looked up surprised, her eyes filled with tears that spilled over onto her cheeks and down her face. 

Han squeezed her hand. “Our baby boy is fighting out there, Leia. Let’s help him.”

Ben. She closed her eyes and pictured him, a little boy of two years, running through a field of wildflowers. His long, curly black hair that she couldn’t bear to cut was flowing in the breeze, the pink tips of his ears just poking out. She realized she didn’t quite know the face he had now. Couldn’t recall every dimple or crooked tooth. And suddenly she wanted nothing more than to see his face again. To keep fighting for him.  

She met Han’s gaze and they shared a tender look, something between sweet and regretful for the years they’d lost. Leia nodded, and wiped her face. Her focus sharpened. “Is there a way we can stop Hux?” she asked. 

“I’m up for it if you are,” Han answered.

Leia turned to see Chewie envelope her in and Han in a hug, waxing poetic about it being like the old days again. 

Poe was guarding the door and fidgeting with worry. “So, maybe we can pool our knowledge and come up with a semi-decent plan? And quickly? While we’re on the run from, you know, everyone?”

She was surprised to see the young senator here. He had been elected two years ago from Yavin 4. And while they were always butting heads about the way to go about things, they did agree on philosophy, and shared a vision for a better New Republic. Leia was deeply touched to see him here.

She took charge now, looking over at Han. “Do you have bombs?” 

“I always have bombs,” Han answered promptly. 

“Drag those guards in here and set off a bomb in this room. They’ll be distracted trying to investigate and identify the bodies. It should buy us some time,” Leia said.

They followed her lead while she retrieved something from her desk and from the leafy plant against the back wall. They ran down the hall and Han pushed the remote detonator when they were a safe distance away. The resulting boom shook their feet while they jumped into a lift that mercifully still accepted Poe’s codes. 

“Senator Rose Tico and her sister Paige are working with me,” Poe said, pulling a comm from his pocket. “Paige works in the broadcast room and Rose is supposed to introduce Hux to begin the ceremony.”

“Which has already begun,” Han said grimly, looking at the HoloNet screen in the corner of the lift. It was custom for the current Chancellor to speak at length about their own contributions to the New Republic, recounting their legacy before introducing their successor.

“The broadcast room,” Leia’s eyes lit up. “Can Paige interrupt the ceremony with a galactic-wide message showing proof of Hux’s plan to coup?” 

“Yes, but how could we get the proof?” Poe asked. 

“I already have it,” Leia said, pulling a minute data stick from the sleeve of her gown. 

“What?! How?!” Poe exclaimed. 

“Maz Kanata,” Leia answered, shrugging her shoulders as if that was enough of an explanation. “She knows how to get anything for anyone. Like the tech for an untraceable camera. You know. Just in case.”

Poe grinned. “We’re gonna do this.” 

Leia smiled back and for the first time, she felt a little bit of hope.

Poe punched in the code to take them to the broadcast floor. When the doors opened, an orange and white spherical droid was waiting for them, squealing with joy at their arrival. 

“BB-8!” Poe said excitedly, scratching the droid’s tummy. And then they were off, walking like the most conspicuous crowd down a series of hallways. They were several floors lower now, where everything looked a little less grand than the offices like Leia’s at the top. There was significantly more security roaming the halls, but otherwise the floor was empty of people. 

“How come no one’s in here? This place is usually bustling with people,” Han said.

“Hux made it mandatory attendance this year,” Poe said over his shoulder, blaster poised forward while Han covered the rear with BB-8.

They stopped to check around a corner and waited for agents down the hall to pass by while Poe offered a plan in hushed tones.

“Security already knows there’s trouble afoot, so we split up. One group plants bombs on the east side, detonate in two phases. First phase are duds that don’t cause disruption, but will split up security and cause chaos. Hux will be desperate to complete the transfer of power and won’t call it off or postpone if the explosions turn out to be non-threatening. Meanwhile the route to the broadcast room is clear.” 

“And the second phase of bombs?” Leia asked in a whisper. 

“Is for emergency,” Han said grimly, nodding at Poe.

“Let’s hope we don’t need them,” Poe said. 

Han hitched a large blaster over his shoulder that he’d nicked from one of the guards.

Leia stepped forward and kissed him lightly. She could still remember the feeling of their first kiss. The way it felt to kiss someone in a time of war. When you could die moment to moment. Not knowing which kiss might be your last. 

He gave her a brief, lopsided smile. “I’ll do the explosives with Chewie. You go with Poe. You too, ball,” he looked down at the droid, who gave a disgruntled beep.

“Hey, no slander,” Poe said to Han. “A droid might just save your life someday.” He checked around the corner again. "All clear. Let’s go.”

Han and Chewie stayed behind, kneeling down to program and divide the explosives. Leia took one last look at her family before following Poe and raising her blaster at the ready. 

They walked cautiously down corridors. They just missed a collision with a squadron monitoring the hall. From far down the hall, they heard the first bomb go off. The squadron were suddenly alert, running together down the hallway and out of their path. 

“Who would have guessed we’d have a better chance by making a lot of noise than being covert?” Poe chuckled.   

“Different enemies require different strategies,” Leia said. “Plus, making noise is more fun.”

They were close to the production rooms. Poe held up his comm to alert Paige, when they heard an unmistakable voice very close by. Leia and Poe froze, eyes wide. It was Hux. They heard him walking this way with what sounded like the footfalls of a handful of agents.

He would pass them in seconds and no doubt they’d be spotted. Poe took the data stick in his pocket and handed it to BB-8, who tucked it away inside himself. 

“Go,” Poe instructed the little droid, who immediately swiveled away and rounded the corner. 

Leia and Poe turned in time to see Hux arrive with six armed guards. A smile curled on his face. 

“Nice to see you out and about, Leia. And where are you going?” 

“I wanted to see your inauguration in person,” Leia said, her tone biting. 

“And Senator Dameron helped you escape your solitary confinement?”

Leia looked over at Poe. “Who, him? No, we just bumped into each other.”

They all heard another echoing boom from somewhere far off. 

Hux bared his teeth with a sneer on his face. “Liar.” 

With a wave of his hand, NRSF agents crowded around Leia and Poe and put their wrists in binders. 

“Well, you’ll get your wish,” Hux said. “You will accompany me and watch from backstage. And then I’ll make an example of you as my first act as Chancellor. It’s a nice day for an execution, don’t you think?”

Chapter Text

Rey took her time baiting the enemy, letting them approach closer and closer until one was near enough to engage in combat. A growl ripped from her throat. She bared her teeth, digging into a fight with the nearest praetorian. The force of their blows! The first clash against her lightsaber rattled her teeth and nearly knocked her off balance. She used the Force to steady her feet and hold strong against those who were taller or stronger. Though she was at a disadvantage without armor, her edge would be speed and range of motion.  

Ben angled his body behind hers, and they fought back to back. In their collective consciousness, they shared a near 360-degree view of the room. 

They blocked and thrashed against eight of the praetorians while Luke defended their north side. They formed a loose triangle, allowing all parties to shield their backs with an ally. It was a common strategy Rey knew well from her training and allowed them to plan a methodical approach to eliminating the enemy. 

Their bracers are saber-proof, Ben’s thought echoed through her mind. 

The armor has a magnetic shield, Rey said, recognizing the tech from the containment field she’d been imprisoned in. Use shallow slashes or direct penetration.  

They both shifted slightly as they acquired this information and used it to inform their fighting styles. Ben carved through a guard who’s left side was open while Rey lined up her stride with his and used Ben as leverage to kick off an enemy.  

The trick was knowing when to abandon this formation before it became a hindrance. Rey dipped low, sliding on the ground between guards, slashing one at the ankles. She drew two praetorians away to the perimeter wall.  

Luke moved backwards now. He was taking heavy hits from a guard wielding a vibro-ax. Another guard approached from the side, but Luke held out his other hand and the guard sailed away, smashing against the wall and falling to a heap on the ground. 

Ben heaved his broad form with a pursuit of surefire destruction. 

His eyes burned. He was full of rage, grief, and betrayal. 

Snoke had targeted him because of his connection to Luke. He had suffered years of anguish, tormented by the notion that he was a monster. Just to discover he was another blameless victim in a grudge against one man that had created a ripple effect across the entire galaxy. It pushed him into darkness that he didn’t fight. He welcomed the fuel to the fire burning inside him. Felt the heat ripple throughout his veins, pulsing in his ears. 

He punched a guard in the face, then kicked them backward. They toppled into one of their own and both guards fell to the floor. It left Ben with a clear path to catch the one with the vibro-ax besting Luke. He stabbed directly into the side and they crumpled, their raised arms dropping with thuds to the ground. 

Luke nodded his thanks at Ben and pivoted, trying to make a direct path for Snoke but was blocked by yet another guard twirling a vibro-sword.

Meanwhile Ben’s attackers were rounding on him again. One carried a flail with a vibro chain and a ball with spikes. The other had a Lochaber ax and was charging straight for him. Ben’s saber crashed to meet him and he parried mercilessly against his attacker. Then he felt Rey in his head. 

Don’t lose yourself, she said. 

She could feel his rage. He took in a deep breath and exhaled. The room quieted. 

She was his reason to grow beyond his pain, to move past the point where it could swallow him whole. Ben shuddered to think where he’d be if she hadn’t come into his life three years ago. It would have been all too easy to succumb to the dark. 

But she did, and he wanted to be a person worthy of her. He’d never really deserve her. But he would always try. For her. 

He took a deep breath, feinted to the right, then turned his back to stand in front of the guard. He threw his elbow back into the helmet, which flew off the guard’s head. Not a moment too soon, Ben saw spikes flying toward his face. He ducked, and with a sickening crunch, the flail met a bare faced man standing in praetorian armor. He clunked to the ground, dead instantly from the head trauma. The other guard froze just long enough for Ben to kill him without a struggle. 

Rey had one more to go. The guard twisted the middle of his polearm, and it broke apart into two electromagnetic daggers. An elegant weapon, Rey mused. Quick-footed and light, she jumped out of the guard’s advances every time. They huffed and grew increasingly frustrated every time she managed to be within reach one second, and then three paces behind the next. Rey bided her time, playing with the guard’s lack of peripheral vision from the helmet. She was building tension, waiting for the guard’s composure to break. For strategy to fold in favor of rage. 

When it finally happened, the guard broke form and stopped shielding his right side. She twirled away and drove her saber hard into the armor. 

The daggers clattered to the floor in a satisfying way. Rey was breathing hard, satisfied. She picked up one of the daggers, testing the weight of it in her left hand. She liked it. She turned to see Ben smiling at her. They’d done it. 

Luke was pulling his green saber from the final praetorian. He extinguished his weapon. His chest heaved from exertion, but he straightened himself and looked at Snoke. “Stop this. Call off the Chancellor coup.”

“No.” Snoke’s voice crackled with fury. He finally stood from his throne. 

Before Luke could say another word, Snoke held up a hand, freezing all three of them with the Force. 

Ben felt his feet become like leaden weights on the floor. His body quivered from straining against the power that froze him. 

Then he heard Rey’s panic in his mind. 

She was being lifted into the air, her arms flat against her sides like she was bound by invisible rope. She lost grip of her weapons. The dagger and saber fell from her hands and clattered to the floor below her. Rising up, up, up, her body was upside down, hanging by her feet. She grunted and growled in her desperation to move.

Luke didn’t fight, however. He meditated, his eyes fixed carefully on Snoke. Gathering his strength, he focused and waited for the moment when Snoke would eventually break his hold.

Rey rose to the top of the chamber, twenty feet above them, her body now laying against the ceiling, like gravity was reversed for her alone. Tears fell down, so far down below. Ben felt her terror. 

I’ll catch you, he promised her.

It was like Snoke heard him say the words aloud. He knocked down Ben flat to the ground, mirroring Rey’s form above him. Ben pushed harder, exerting his own resistance in the force to challenge and strain Snoke’s hold on him.

“Fight us, you coward!” he managed to shout. 

Snoke’s eyes narrowed. “I’d rather tear you apart.” 

Lightning shot forth from Snoke’s fingertips to both their restrained bodies. 

It was unlike any other pain. It was electric, macabre by definition because of the way it destroyed you slowly from the inside. They felt themselves being ripped apart. Not just muscle and organ and bone, but deeper, on a molecular level. Cells were ripping into pieces, DNA shredding like tissue paper. 

The pain seized them so fully, magnified by their hive mind. There was nothing more than the throbbing, unrelenting, demanding pain.

Then it simply stopped. 

Luke had broken free and was charging on Snoke. In order to defend himself, Snoke released them both—and dropped Rey. 

She screamed.

Ben shot up a hand to catch her within the embrace of the Force. But then he saw a flash of white, and then Rey was gone from the space above him.

Rey had an awareness of feathers in her hands. She opened her eyes and saw she had not fallen twenty feet. She had fallen ten feet onto the back of a Pelyk bird. She was flying. 

Snoke was cursing in a language she didn’t understand while blocking Luke with his own red saber.

The bird swooped low and deposited Rey on the ground next to Ben before taking off to help attack Snoke.

It was kind of her, really, to let Rey die next to her lover. 

They lay together, their bodies broken and failing. There was still screeching pain, the body was shocked to have been violated in such a core way. Ben used his remaining strength to reach for her. His fingertips snaked into her palm, then enveloped her small hand in his. 

They stared at one another and shared the pain, awaiting the slow, steady march of death. But it was okay, somehow, because she was looking into his eyes and he was holding her hand and she wasn’t alone. 

And then, darkness enveloped them both.

Chapter Text

Chancellor-elect Armitage Hux looked at the time on his wrist and huffed a sigh. His stomach was in a knot and his back ached from standing stiffly. Waiting offstage for Rose Tico to introduce him. Senators Organa and Dameron were in cuffs behind him, along with two guards. 

He watched Rose fumble with her datapad. She swallowed hard, looking nervous. He’d be replacing her as Speaker of the Republic as soon as he was Chancellor. She’d pack in her office by the end of today. His brain hummed at the promise of his to do list once he ruled over them all. His foot tapped impatiently. 

Rose reached for the glass of water at the podium and took several slow sips.  Perhaps she was stalling. But he’d already detained Leia. His agents were actively searching for her associates, and Rose could only stall for so long. He would become Chancellor in a matter of minutes. 

There was a crash, and Hux’s eyes focused on the reality before him. He saw Rose’s datapad and her glass of water, shattered on the floor before her. 

His jaw clenched and a growl ripped from his throat.

“Enough nonsense,” he barked. 

But just then, a loud, crackling came from the speakers. The screen above the stage began projecting a holovid. Clips and fragments, all from Leia’s office. His face projected across the screen. His stomach dropped. 

“ After I become Chancellor, I will take it upon myself to begin a new order. The First Order .” 

“A coup is no simple thing to arrange, but I have had help over the years. A wealthy backer, alliances with crime syndicates. Recruiting like-minded people to join the Security Force. The propaganda on the HoloNet has already begun.”

“I have most of the NRSF at my command. Not to mention the other Centrist senators in the capital. When the time is right, I will become Supreme Leader of the First Order, ruler of the galaxy. And I will have the power to eliminate anyone that stands against me, even you,”

And finally, the last clip started with Leia speaking. 

“I can think of several planets ready to strike up a rebellion again.”  

“I’m not planning on giving them a chance to. Those planets will be the first to go.”

Hux felt his cheeks burst into flame. His hands grasped at nothing by his sides. His mind scrambled for a way to reverse this, to cut it down, to call it a lie. 

And then it started playing again.

He made an involuntary noise of distress and whirled around to face his prisoners. Poe and Leia looked smug and triumphant. Hux cursed and held his wrist comm to his mouth, shrieking orders for the live broadcast to stop.  Then he jolted out to the stage, in front of the cameras, in front of the eyes of the entire galaxy. His legs both had different ideas about whether to run or walk, and his panic stricken face probably wasn’t helping. But here he was. He attempted to smooth back his hair and straighten his jacket. 

He stepped to the podium. 

“I would like to denou—” he heard himself speak, but no one else did. The microphone was off. 

He would assert control. He would be Chancellor. He would succeed. He looked around wildly for something to distract everyone from looking at the very thing that they were watching for a third time over. 

Soon people would have every bit of this incriminating evidence memorized. 

They would laugh at him forever. 

“This,” he gestured to the screen behind him, “is sabotage! This is defamation of character and blatantly false! My opposition has fabricated this in an attempt to obstruct my taking office as Chancellor!”

That’s when he felt two iron grips from his elbows. 

Leia’s voice said, “Cuff him.” 

“I will cuff him.” One agent replied. Two men flanked and pulled him back from the podium and down onto his knees. Hux looked up to see who it was. The two agents who were supposed to be guarding his prisoners. 

“Whoa, was that some Jedi mind stuff?” Poe Dameron asked with glee, his smile wide.

Leia smirked. “A little bit.”

They cuffed Hux and pushed him into an empty chair before the crowd. He raised his voice and shouted for control. To win. He had to win. At all costs.  

Leia stepped up to the podium and cleared her throat. The sound of it verberated across the speakers. 

“Oh, now the microphone works,” Hux seethed.  He failed. He was failing, right now, in front of everyone. 

“Should have brought stormtroopers,” he muttered to himself. 

But Snoke had forbidden it. His reason being it would raise too many questions, set off alarms in people’s minds. 

“Why don’t we shoot everyone down and take it by force? The old fashioned way?” he’d suggested some days ago. 

Snoke withered in his seat, as if debasing his intelligence to explain to a foolish child. “ We want people to be trusting and confused.”  

The projection on the screen ended, but this time it did not start again. 

He looked around at the other senators in the wake of the deafening silence left behind. 

Leia began to speak. 

“Almost twenty four years ago, the Rebellion won the war against the Empire.” She spoke slowly, but with great weight to each syllable. “We formed the New Republic and introduced democracy to a new generation.” Leia closed her eyes for a moment and saw a black haired little boy running in an open field. 

“We hoped to give our children every opportunity. But we haven’t.” She looked around at the colleagues whose faces were so familiar to her. “Perhaps it’s no surprise after 40 years of Empirical rule, that we are not experts in creating a functional democracy. Most of us have only known the oppression of dictatorship. We tried our best, but… well.” She gestured to Hux, who was held down in his seat. 

“There are supposed to be checks and balances for this. And if they are not working, then the entire system isn’t working. Look at us. We could have been moments away from collapsing again.” 

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“What we built was flawed. We will crumble and fall unless we build something better. We need something new. Those ideas can only come from the people who will outlive me.” She looked over at Poe, who stood up a little straighter. “I call for a majority vote to halt any transfer of power. I also call for a majority vote to re-write our democratic constitution.” Leia’s eyes swept the room, looking at all the many faces before her. “If you believe in these ideals, stand with me in a vote of no confidence against Chancellor-elect, Armitage Hux.”

A vast majority of diplomats leapt to their feet, clapping and shouting their votes of no confidence. Others murmured and looked around speculatively.

The vote for a redraft of the constitution also passed with an overwhelming majority.

Eventually, more senators stood up, preferring to be with the majority, while a small portion sat with unrestrained distaste on their faces. 

Leia looked across the expanse, her face set with hope. 

“It’s time to build something new,” she declared. 

Hux was scowling. His hands were balled into fists, his nails cutting into his palms. He breathed heavily in and out. In and out. Snoke would be watching. He would send his troops and rain fire on them all. He would take it by force, like they always should have. He simply had to wait.

***

Han and Chewie stood back to back in the hallway as agents closed in from opposite sides, blasters ready to stun. Han and Chewie both lifted their hands, surrendering cautiously. 

“Drop the remote!” One agent yelled at Han, nodding at the black device in his palm. Han did nothing. He breathed and waited tensely for the right moment. 

“Now!” He yelled to Chewie.

They pushed the remotes at the same time, and they blasted out the floor beneath their feet. They dropped just as the agents began firing. But without a target between the two groups, they shot each other. 

Chewie and Han managed to stay upright. They found their footing and kicked some debris from their feet, then pushed the other button on the remote. The second floor collapsed underneath them. Now they were at a level with access to the docking bay.  Han was hellbent on getting back to his ship to get a bird’s eye view of the ceremony. He wanted to find his wife and, if need be, he could offer fire power against a potential attack. 

After the second fall, Chewie straightened up and cricked his neck. He growled a complaint. 

“We needed an elevator, so I made one!” Han retorted. “Now let’s get out of here.”

Then Han caught a glimpse of a disturbance down another hallway. A young woman was being harassed by an agent. He glanced back at Chewie and waved him forward. As he got closer, he saw a young woman, shoulders curled inward. The agent was hovering over her, shouting in her face.

Han didn’t bother to intervene with words. He shot the man.

The woman flinched with surprise, then relief when she saw Han put his blaster away. 

“Was he bothering you?” Han asked.

She laughed shakily. 

She observed him for a moment, took a few steps forward and raised a brow curiously.

“Are you?” she started.

“Are you ?” Han squinted his eyes.

“Yeah.” She said simply.

“Do you need a ride? Han asked. 

“Yep,” she nodded. “I’m Paige.” 

“Han,” he pointed to himself. “Chewie,” he pointed behind him. “Let’s go.”

The three of them got three steps before another door opened. They raised their blasters, but only a droid emerged, white and orange and round. 

“Ball!” Han called, nearly cheerful. “The mission was a success. Let's regroup.” 

BB-8 whistled his delight and Han chuckled. 

“Something went well for once, huh?” he said to Chewie while they walked. 

Chewbacca voiced concern for their next priority.  

“We need to evacuate everyone in case of violence or attack.” Han translated to BB-8 and Paige. 

“I can make that happen,” Paige said, pulling out her datapad and tapping at the screen. 

She followed behind Chewie and Han who found the Millenium Falcon right where they’d parked it. It had been spared from seizure or inspection, thankfully. 

The four of them boarded the ship and Han and Chewie eased it out of the hangar. Han considered all the other things that could go wrong. 

The enemy in the stars. Now their success depended on Luke, Ben, and the girl Rey. 

Come on, Ben , he thought.

Chapter Text

Phasma stared at the screen. At Leia Organa speaking to the galaxy. She saw Hux, sitting off to the side, looking like a punished child. “I knew you were worthless,” she murmured. She turned to address her lieutenant.  

“Send all troops ready to fight. Prepare to attack Chandrila.” She pointed to Leia on the screen. “Kill her,” she instructed.

Stormtroopers began to load into transport shuttles. Others climbed into tie fighters and waited for orders to launch. They would arrive in a matter of minutes, raining fire down on the citizens of the capital. 

An alarm began blaring. The computer system announced core engine failure. The ship needed to be evacuated for safety purposes immediately. The alarm boomed in her ears again and again, harsh and unrelenting. 

“No! Belay that order! We attack Chandrila! She called out, but her voice was drowned out by the alarm. The protocol for evacuation meant the crew would separate to various bases in the galaxy, regroup until further orders were given. There would be widespread confusion, possibly desertion. Now was the moment to act. 

But already she saw people abandoning their posts and readying escape pods. 

She tried to comm Snoke again for the umpteenth time. No answer. Phasma couldn’t be certain what the real reason was for the alarm. Was it sabotage or was it real? Was the instability of the ship the reason Snoke could not be reached? 

Phasma made her way to the lift. She would find Snoke, or the source of the problem. She would discover whatever or whoever was attempting to thwart her destiny. The lift doors opened, and Sychez was waiting with his blaster. He shot first.  

****

Ben and Rey were unaware of anything else except each other.

Space and stars stretched before them everywhere. But the sensation they both recognized was the other’s hand in their own. 

Rey didn’t know if this was the afterlife, but she did know she was not alone. Her mind was still wrapped up with Ben’s. She felt his curiosity and wonder. His relief that they were together. 

She looked to him, and there he stood, his body intact. Healthy, glowing even. She looked down at herself. She was the same. Ben studied the space around them. The expanse of stars stretched before them in all directions. They took a step forward, hands still clasped. There was no ground, no floor below them that they could see. And yet, when they stepped forward, a ripple of light bounced under their weight. 

There was no sense of pain. Just… existence. Just peace. 

Ahead of them, an archway appeared, made of the same glowing light from their footsteps. There were ancient markings around the arch, a doorway of sorts. They walked toward it together. 

Rey pondered why she didn’t feel fear or uneasiness in this space. There was nothing here. And yet, because there was nothing physical, there was nothing painful either. She didn’t feel anxious, like her feet would lose the invisible ground at any moment. 

Ben shared her sentiment. He had an innate sense that the Force had put them here for a reason, and it was not to be feared, but explored. 

They stopped before the arch, observing its markings. Ben recognized some of the patterns and runes, but only as drawings from books, written by other Jedi who had described a place such as this. The arch was a looking glass to another window of time. They could see dark figures moving. Shadows that they could not see clearly.

Rey looked to the right, and before where there was only emptiness, she now saw what appeared to be an endless row of arches with windows into other places. She looked left at the same time as Ben. The arches stretched on and on and on forever. 

Because Rey did not feel a sense of fear, she reached out her hand to touch the looking glass in the arch in front of them. When her fingers met the surface, they did not meet a hard surface. The barrier was more fluid, like the surface tension of water. 

The opaque wall now became a clear window. A doorway to a different universe.

Rey could see herself, but she looked different. Everything was different. There were machines and objects she did not recognize. Her hair was long and hanging around her face, gently curling at the ends. And then she could see Ben, and he looked the same yet different too. Those versions of themselves smiled and kissed each other. They looked happy. 

She wanted to inspect all the arches. Were they dreams? Were they real? She let go of Ben’s hand, and ran to the next arch while he followed behind. She touched the fluid glass, just like she’d done with the last, and looked inside. She saw herself standing in a lush, green forest. And across from her was a man dressed all in black. He wore a mask of black and silver, and he held a crackling, red lightsaber.

“Ben?” she whispered. “Is that you?”  

She turned around and met the eyes of her Ben. He was watching the two people inside. They saw the man in black hold up the saber to Rey’s face. 

“What is this?” Ben asked. 

“A glimpse into another life,” a voice said.

Ben and Rey whirled around to see a glowing being. It was luminous and difficult to look at directly because of its brightness. 

“Who are you?” Rey asked, shielding her eyes with one hand and finding Ben’s hand with the other. She gripped tightly. 

“I have been. I am. I will be,” the voice responded. 

Then the glowing body transformed into what appeared to be a humanoid man. They did not recognize him. His soft brown hair was long, the top half pulled back. He wore robes the color of sandstone, and his beard was etched with grays and browns. 

“Hello,” he smiled. “My name is Qui-Gon Jinn.”

The name sparked a memory of Ben’s, but he couldn’t place how or where he recognized it. 

“I was once like you, a mortal being in the plane of the Living Force. Now, I am one with the Cosmic Force.”

He looked at Ben. 

“I discovered your grandfather, Anakin Skywalker, as a child slave on a desert planet. It would appear you have followed a similar path,” he nodded once towards Rey, a smile playing at the edges of his mouth. 

“Are you, um, in charge here?” Rey asked. “Can you tell us where we are, and why?”

Qui-Gon smiled again. “I am not in charge. But I do have an understanding of the answers you seek. You could think of me as a guide. I help people such as yourselves, to navigate this…world between all worlds.” He said, looking around and gesturing with his arms.

“These portals show you the many lives you live throughout time and space.” 

Ben shook his head, bewildered. “I’m sorry, what?” 

Qui-Gon stepped forward and gestured to the portal behind them, where the man in the mask carried Rey in his arms up the ramp of a ship. 

“Every life is different. Sometimes you begin as friends, sometimes you begin as enemies. But always you come together. To create a Dyad in the Force. Two that are one.”

The words echoed with truth and clarity. Rey skittered through memories. The first time they kissed, the boom of their sabers clashing, the day she journeyed into an ice cave for a kyber crystal and experienced a vision she had never been able to explain or articulate. 

A pair made of light and dark.

They are one in the Force. 

A power as strong as life itself

Across space and time 

A Dyad in the Force.  

Pieces of a puzzle. Pieces of her that now fell into place. She saw the big picture of her life, her many lives. She had never been alone, never truly alone. 

“Together, you have the ability to both give and destroy life. The darkness and light work together. Destruction and creation. Life and death. Balance.”

“How does it work?” Ben asked. 

“You have the capability to heal each other. Take from the universe what you need. Above all, listen to the Force. Heal and restore what should be, and destroy what must be. Together, you are protectors of the universe.” 

Ben looked back at the man in the portal. Tall and lean, wearing all black, that silver and pewter helmet so foreboding, so closed off to human connection. In another life where he did not find Rey at a young age— was that what he became? A villain? He shuddered. 

“So we are tools… pawns that exist to do the will of the Force?” He pushed back.

“No,” Qui-Gon said softly. “You can make a choice to embrace the connection and power of the Dyad. How that comes to be, how you choose to wield that power… is entirely up to you. But the Force— it chose you both for a reason.”

There was something more he was saying. 

Throughout time, no matter the circumstance, Ben and Rey had always decided to do the right thing, without interference or pressure from outside sources. And that was precisely why they’d been chosen. Ben knew there was darkness within him. A darkness that could only be balanced by Rey’s love and light. And perhaps within her, that same tug of war. But together, a true balance, achieved through love. The rightness of it, the surety of this truth rippled through him. 

“What’s next?” asked Rey. 

Ben could see her thoughts, images of Snoke’s twisted face loomed in her mind. 

“We have to go back,” Ben said, her eyes meeting his. There was apprehension at first, but a determination bloomed in her eyes. A look he knew well after their years of lightsaber training together at the academy. That world, that place where they’d fallen in love, seemed like a lifetime away. Rey squeezed his hand.   

They looked to Qui-Gon Jinn, who waited patiently with his hands folded in front of him. 

“We’re ready,” Rey said. 

“I wish you well,” Qui-Gon said, smiling kindly. “May the Force be with you.”

The paths and portals around them shrank away, and Darkness once again swallowed them up.

Chapter Text

Sweat dripped from Luke’s brow, stinging his eyes. He moved his shoulder across his face to wipe it away, holding his lightsaber defensively with both hands in front of him. 

Snoke had gained enormous power in the years since their last meeting, but he did not move to strike at Luke’s pause. In fact, he had not been striking to kill, only blocking Luke’s tactical moves. What was he playing at? Was he apprehensive to kill now, in this moment that could shape the galaxy’s future?  

“It’s no good, Skywalker,” Snoke breathed. “I have grown more powerful than you could have imagined. I will conquer the stars you swore to protect.”  

“Then kill me and be done with it,” Luke challenged, planting his feet more firmly in a crouched fighting stance. “What’s stopping you?” 

Snoke’s face curdled. “You know why,” he seethed.

“Really? I don’t know. If your power is so unstoppable, what’s prevented you from visiting my Jedi temple?”

Luke’s eyes flitted to the side where Rey and Ben lay unconscious. He sensed their life forms. They were not empty, but not within. He didn’t know what the strange hollowness meant from their energy signatures, only that it might be up to him to stop Snoke, and the way to do that was not a fight of strength but a fight of the mind. 

He knew what this meant. To open himself to his most deeply painful memories of a life before the Jedi path, before his students. When it was just he and Roman, a handsome young man from a withering planet. 

“Something haunts you, deep down. Tell me what it is,” Luke goaded. Snoke’s scarred lips pursed, and Luke saw the first tell, the first chink in Roman’s armor. “We could always speak freely with one another,” Luke continued gently. They orbited around each other, eyes locked. 

“I have waited for this day for a long time,” Snoke began. “I have more wealth and power than you could ever dream of. Because unlike you, I was unafraid to take it.”

“If you define success as the power to oppress, to dominate, then you are truly lost,” Luke said solemnly. “And this is why we parted ways, Roman.” 

Snoke flinched at the sound of his old name. 

“Life is not for the pursuit of selfish endeavors. It is a lesson in loving and helping others. I loved you. I helped you. I wish we could have created a life together.” 

Snoke grit his teeth in a scowl, but his eyes betrayed the depth of his pain. 

“You lie!” Snoke shrieked. 

“Use your great power, “Luke challenged. “You will sense no deception.”

Snoke stopped circling, his face torn. “You left me. You raised your saber against me.”

“Because you gave me no choice,” Luke spoke somberly. 

Something else shifted out of the corner of Luke’s eye. He glanced past Snoke to Ben and Rey. Their energy signatures were present and whole again. He masked his relief from his opponent. 

“It isn’t too late,” Luke begged. “Stop this chase for power. There is nothing but emptiness and loneliness ahead.” 

“Come back to me,” Snoke urged. “Join me. Let us share what we once had.”

Luke desperately wished he could make the promise Roman asked of him. He wished he could say anything necessary to neutralize him. But this truth could not be concealed behind his mental shields. This was a promise Luke could not make. 

His sorrow bled out from him and onto his face. “I’m sorry, Roman. I dearly wish we could go back and choose a different path. But you must know that I cannot join you now. I loved you, but…” 

“It never passed. Not for me.” Snoke whispered.  

When Luke didn’t reply, the last strain of hope in Snoke’s eyes flickered out. 

“Then there is nothing left to be said.” Snoke rasped. His eyes hardened once more with malice and deranged anger. He raised his red lightsaber and began to fight Luke in earnest. Luke was outmatched, only able to block the onslaught of strikes. Snoke attacked hard and fast, pushing Luke back to the wall. 

“Your anger makes you weaker, not stronger,” Luke panted. “You will never win as long as your emotions dictate the fight.”

“You cannot sway me with your Jedi nonsense,” Snoke hissed between strikes. “You have no idea the powers I have acquired in the corners you thought too dark to look. I cannot be killed by your weapon. I have been remade into something far stronger.”

Luke stepped backward and stumbled on a fallen praetorian guard. His split second loss of concentration was enough for Snoke. He raised his saber to strike a killing blow. 

The Pelyk bird swooped down at that moment and plunged its beak into Snoke’s eye. His scream of rage echoed throughout the chamber. He fell to his knees, one hand clutching the empty, bleeding socket. 

Luke righted himself and swung his saber to sever Snoke’s fighting hand. But it was like trying to cut Beskar. Snoke’s skin was unyielding, solid. Luke’s eyes widened in shock. 

Snoke looked up at him with malicious revenge. With a bellowing scream, he charged, swiping his saber across Luke’s stomach. Luke crumpled to the ground. The bird made to charge him again but Snoke waved his lightsaber overhead, warding off the bird’s attack.  

Rey opened her eyes. She was lying on the obsidian floor of Snoke’s throne room, Ben’s hand still locked with hers. Her eyes shone with wonder and fiery intent. Their strength was restored.

They jumped to their feet and approached Snoke, who was looking with his remaining eye at the bird above him. They outstretched their arms toward the enemy. It was instinctual, their ability to sense and feel the Force in their palms, in the very tips of their fingers. 

Together, they used their power to create an orb of energy around Snoke’s form. He looked around wildly as his body was lifted into the air. He beat against the walls of his newly formed prison. Within the orb, the Dyad created a contained space to destroy life. Rey and Ben could feel each and every atom within. Some pieces were no more than flesh, but some were made up of evil incarnate. 

Together, they pulled Snoke apart. 

It was difficult work, ripping up every atom, every electron, every piece of energy that fought to remain.

Snoke’s body dissipated until there was nothing but a collection of near invisible matter floating within the orb, neutralized. 

It’s time. Break it, Ben panted mentally. Every second they held on, the weight of the task became heavier. 

Tears blurred Rey’s eyes but she finally pushed away her grasp on the intangible orb at the same time as Ben. 

It burst like a flash of lightning. The sheer force of it blew them back. The particles within reached out in all directions around the universe, jetting off into the ether. The essence of evil could not be eviscerated, only broken up and separated. 

Rey opened her eyes timidly and saw Ben crash into her, cradling her in his arms. She wound her arms around him for a brief moment. Then the alarms began with ship-wide system failures.

Their attention turned to Luke, who was holding his ruined body, barely conscious. They kneeled beside him and took his hands in their own. The Pelyk landed nearby and squawked softly. 

Luke’s stomach was a charred, bloody ruin, but he smiled weakly at them. “I–I’m sorry I failed you,” he said to Ben. “I should have told you everything.” He gasped in pain, but continued to speak. “I’m so proud of you both,” he said faintly. His eyes were barely open. “You are far better Jedi than I could have.... It’s been an honor being your uncle and teacher.” 

Luke waited for death, which was surely just a few breaths away. One, two, three.

But it didn’t come. In fact, he felt his lungs fill more deeply, his pain trickling away. He lifted his head to look at his ruined body. But it was not dissolving into the Force. His wounds were repairing themselves. Muscles reattached, the burned and charred flesh dissolved into new skin. 

His shocked face looked up to see Ben and Rey smiling at each other. 

“You?” He asked them incredulously. “The Dyad…”

“A power as strong as life itself,” Ben answered. 

A new and much louder alarm began to blare out. 

“Time to go,” Rey said. She and Ben pulled Luke to his feet. 

“Good as new,” Luke said, hands running over his stomach, still in disbelief. 

They walked quickly out of the throne room and ran straight into a man. 

“Sychez!” Rey said with surprise.

He huffed a sigh of relief at the sight of them, along with the Pelyk bird following behind. 

“I’m glad I found you. Come on, we have to get out of here. There was an explosion that disrupted the core’s stabilization. We’re gonna get cooked if we don’t make it out of here.”

The four of them jogged down empty hallways, the bird following close behind, but unable to take flight as its wingspan was wider than the corridors. 

“Where is everyone?” Rey asked. 

“I set off an emergency evacuation. I’ve been rounding up the last of the animals from the menagerie. They have their own transport.” He led them to a deserted docking area where a large ship waited. They stepped inside to see animals tucked away into personal stables. The Pelyk retreated to the back of the ship and Sychez tapped a code into the datapad in his hand, which sealed the bird in a safe environment for space travel, then walked up the ship to the cockpit and began to fire up the engines.  

“Each animal is tagged, so I tracked the Pelyk’s location to find you. I figured she’d be with you. You seemed to get on alright,” he said to Rey, who sat in the open seat next to him to assist piloting. 

Their transport rumbled to life and lifted off the ground. 

“Are we going to be able to put enough distance between us before it blows?” Ben asked concernedly, looking out the side window at the massive ship. The power flickered out, and an unsettling groan of ripping metal could be heard, even at this distance.  

“Lightspeed in 5, 4, 3, 2—,” Sychez pushed the gear forward and the split second before their ship entered the safety of the blue vortex of lightspeed, they watched from the side as the Supremacy ship imploded with a blinding flash. Then they were gone. 

“The most loyal First Order outliers will retreat somewhere far away,” Sychez said, breaking the silence after a minute or two. “The men who lost fortunes, the ones counting on Snoke’s success. They’ll need to be dealt with. But we’ve cut them down in a big way. They’re financially ruined and will find little pity in the galaxy, after what they saw today at the capital.”

“What happened at the capital?” Ben and Rey asked at the same time. 

“I didn’t catch much, but dissenters stopped the ceremony with proof of the coup. They arrested Senator Hux. Captain Phasma was in the process of exporting troops to take the capital by force. I stopped that with the evacuation alarm. When they find out Snoke is dead, they’ll have nothing left to stand on. I also gained some intel that can help the New Republic find the displaced troops. Locations of bases with prisoners that still need help.” 

“Then we’ve got a good head start on them, despite everything,” Luke said. 

They eased out of lightspeed and before them, saw Chandrila, whole and unharmed. No plumes of smoke, no raging fires. 

“We did it,” Ben said incredulously. He and Rey smiled at each other.