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Chapter Text

In front of Jaina Solo was a bright, red, and crackly lightsaber, ready to strike at her in a moment’s call. The man towered in front of her with his all black robes; this wasn’t the brother she knew. This wasn’t her twin that she knew every thought, every feeling, and every idea in his head. The snow on Illum crumbled down faster and harder as Jaina’s purple lightsaber struck and clashed with the red saber. But we will not start here, reader, we’ll start from the start—the start of Ben Solo’s fall from the light, from the warmth of his family, and from the grace he was brought up to have. 

Jaina Solo’s ship flew up into the sky, dodging asteroids and nearby Core planets. On her control system, she viewed a map of what was behind her. There, she got a glimpse of her twin brother, Ben Solo, and his ship. 

“Shoot, we gotta get faster, he’s gonna catch up.”

“On it,” Zekk her best friend and fellow Jedi knight said, sitting in the copilot seat. She gave him a light smile and came back to viewing the stars in front of her. Quickly, the two got closer to the ship.

A call came through to her communication control center. 

“Take over,” she said, flicking the call up and adjusting her mic. 

“Jaina, when are you getting back?” said Han Solo, his voice slightly annoyed but curious. She hated when her parents asked her about her whereabouts—by then, she was nineteen, and believed she could do what she wanted, when she wanted.

“Soon.” Jaina looked over at Zekk and snapped at him, trying to tell him to go faster.

“Alright, well, make it quick, kid. Your mother is worried sick. She has that thing, or speech or something tomorrow, I don’t know.”

“What?” 

“It’s that thing, with the…with the Republic. She won’t sleep until she knows you guys are home.”

“I know, we’ll be there soon.” Jaina hung up the call and turned her ship downwards.

“Hey!” Zekk said, gripping the steering device.

In her headset, she heard her younger brother’s voice yell. “You can’t go off the route! You’re out, Jaina. Ben, watch out, I’m coming for you.”

Ben chuckled. “It’s gonna take a little bit more of that to kick her out, Ani, and you know that.”

Jaina came swooping in from the side of Ben’s ship. She looked over at him with a smirk, and swerved her ship closer to him. Eventually, Anakin caught up and put his ship in the middle of the twins, causing them to swerve over. 

“Alright, I’m getting dizzy,” Zekk said, taking his hands off the steer. He laid his head back on his seat. 

“You know that’s not fair!” Anakin whined, crossing his arms as his ship slowed down and went on autopilot. They all inched a little closer to Coruscant, the city-lit and purple planet becoming visible. 

“What’s not fair?” Jaina said, looking over at him.

“You have Zekk helping you!”

“He has a point,” Ben said. 

“Oh, but Zekk isn’t a good pilot,” Jaina said with a giggle.

“Hey!” 

Anakin huffed over his headset. He looked down at the control system, getting a call from their mother, Princess Leia. “It’s mom. Should I answer?”

“Yeah, put it on speaker, I wanna hear her,” Jaina said, flicking the switch to go on autopilot.

“How far out are you?” she asked, her voice shaky. “I’m worried.”

“I’m fine, Mom…” Anakin said. “We’re on our way back.”

“Alright. Stay safe, please.”

Anakin shut the call and looked over at Ben. “Race you home,” he said, putting his hands on the steer.

“No…” he said with a slight smile. “Let’s race Jaina and Zekk. They won’t have a chance.”

“I like your way of thinking!” Anakin sped off first, with Ben swerving his ship in front of Jaina to block her for a few seconds. 

“Oh, this is war,” Jaina said with a smirk, flying the ship to be neck and neck to her twin brother. 

“You started it,” said Ben, zooming off faster to catch up with Anakin.

“Oh no,” Zekk cried out, “I’m gonna get sick.”

“Stop your whining, you’re such a manchild.”

Jaina quickened her speed, and instead of flying on the same altitude as her two brothers, she shifted the ship up for more control. Now, the ship was turned vertical as the visions of space and the stars began to collide.

“What is she doing?” Ben asked, looking behind her.

Jaina, suddenly, shifted the ship downwards in Ben’s direction. Confused but aware of this sneaky tactic, Ben swerved his ship to the left, allowing Jaina to get the high ground and beat him. She pushed a button on her control system, seeing Anakin’s ship a little ahead of her. The Solo sister clicked another button to cut Anakin off from the call.

“We’re letting him win this time, right?” she asked, seeing Anakin inch up to Coruscant’s atmosphere.

“You read my mind.”

“Yup,” she responded. 

The twins slowed down their ships, watching Anakin enter the planet. They slowly followed him back to the direction of their house.

“Woooo, let's go Fiver!” Anakin yelled to his droid, a small R7 unit he built as a young teen. “We won!”

The twins laughed.

“Good job, kiddo,” Zekk said on the call.

“Thanks!” he said, flying his ship over to the main part of the planet. 

 “Alright, I gotta drop Zekk off,” she said to Ben and Ani, swerving in the opposite direction. “See you later.”

“Alright, see you,” he said. With that, the twins went their separate ways. 

“Bye Zekk! Bye Jaina!” Anakin excitedly said. “Race you to the house, Ben!”

“Oh, you bet.”

Once the pair got to lower-Coruscant, Zekk hopped out of the ship, dizzy and nauseous. “I hate flying with you,” he said, coughing.

Jaina giggled, taking her helmet off and throwing it in her ship. She adjusted her pilot gear and looked over at Zekk. She stood on her toes, and playfully patted his dark and short hair.

“You’ll be fine.” 

His face grew red as she patted his head. He straightened his spine, and looked down at her, smiling. “Come stay with me,” he said, gazing into his eyes.

“I shouldn’t…” 

“Come on,” Zekk pleaded, running a hand through her long and dark hair. “It’s getting late. We can relax. Just me and you.”

A part of her wanted to stay with him—to enjoy his company and the quiet of his apartment building. The two, ever since they met, had grown close—closer than anyone Jaina had ever met in the past. Not even her past partner, Jagged Fel; who, at the time, she thought she absolutely adored.

“We can watch the stars,” Zekk continued, “…have some drinks…watch the sunset. Whatever you want.” Slowly, he brought his hand to her cheek. The light of the moon and city lights lit up his sharp face and dark hair.

“Zekk…” She tilted her head away from him. 

“Come on. Don’t tell me you’d rather go home and not spend the night with me.”

She uncrossed her arms as her face grew warm. Gosh, this man didn’t ever give up, did he? 

“You are a mess.” Jaina said with a slight laugh. She walked towards her ship, but he blocked the door, crossing his arms. 

Zekk adjusted his leather jacket. “I don’t want to do this anymore, Jaina.

“Do what?” she asked, squinting up at him. He was so much taller than her.

“This back and forth.” Jaina clenched her jaw and opened her mouth to speak, but closed it. “We’re together, we’re something, boyfriend-girlfriend, partners, whatever it is; please tell me we’re at least something, Jaina,” he whispered, his eyes narrowing down on her.

Jaina bit her lip and rubbed her cheek, still feeling his touch. She was hesitant. And it wasn’t the fact that she didn’t like him—she did, she more than liked him. It was the fact that he could be gone in an instant—the fact that she could lose him, and it’d hurt  much more if they were partners.

“Please,” he said, taking a step closer.

“You are a real pain in the neck,” Jaina said, crossing her arms. “Do you know that?”

He lifted his hand back up and massaged her neck. “Better?”

Zekk gently put a hand on her cheek with his other hand, leaning down to kiss her. Jaina’s heart grew warm, and she kissed him back, feeling herself melt into his body.

The light of the sun from Zekk’s floor to ceiling windows burned her eyes. She rolled her body out of the bed, looking for Zekk. But he wasn’t there. She held her head down and swung her legs over the bed. 

Jaina slid on one of Zekk’s t-shirts and her pants from the previous day and wobbled out of the room. Outside of the hallway, Zekk was at the table, reading a book. She looked over beside him, seeing his lightsaber on the counter. The hilt was simple yet detailed, with a curved and sharp design. 

“Like it?” he asked, putting the book down.

“Yeah, I’ve never really seen it from this close,” she said, twirling it around. 

He stood up, wrapped his arms around her from behind, and kissed her neck. Jaina blushed, holding his hands. 

“You didn’t wake me up for the sunset.”

“I know…” He mumbled, kissing her neck more. “You were so peaceful.”

Jaina turned around and smiled, walking away from him. “I need to get going. My mother has her inauguration today—for the Chancellor. It’s a big thing. I need to be there.”

Zekk stepped closer and picked her up, swinging her around. He ran around in his apartment, and playfully threw her on his bed. 

“Zekk,” she playfully yelled with a giggle.

“You look good with my shirt on,” he said, giving her another kiss as he leaned over her. 

She blushed and slightly force-pushed him. “Why, thank you. But I need to go. My mom will kill me if I’m not there.”

Zekk watched her stand up and roam around the room, picking up her belongings. “Yeah, I get that. I’ll meet you there?” he asked, still staring at her.

“Of course.”

Jaina made her way out of his apartment building and onto her ship, a smile accompanying her face.

As she made it into her penthouse, Ben Solo was standing at the door, like an angry father. 

“Sheesh,” she said, “you nearly scared me.”

“Nice shirt, by the way. I can’t quite put my finger on where it came from…” He said with a smile.

“Oh, shut up.”

She walked straight past him and moved to go up the stairs, but Ben quickly followed her up the stairs, wearing his formal black Jedi robes.

“Where’d you go last night?”

“Just to Zekk’s,” she said, her heart melting with joy. She walked up the stairs with a sense of urgency, needing to get dressed before the ceremony. The presence of her twin followed her. 

“Yeah, we figured.”

“Who is we?” she pointlessly asked, knowing why they thought that. Her whole family thought they were together and dating—for years, at this point.

“Mom. Dad. Me.” 

Her brother stood by her side as they walked over to Jaina’s room. Ben stood by the door frame and leaned his head against the wall. Jaina went into her room, and shut the door with the force, rummaging through her closet.

“Where is everyone?” she asked, changing her clothes. 

“Already there at the ceremony. You better hurry before Dad calls me. Dammit. Anakin is calling.” 

Jaina got dressed, used the Force to open the door, and sat in her vanity. Ben walked in and awkwardly sat on the bench seat beside her vanity. A holographic image lit up.

“Are you on your way?” he asked, the image of him looking impatient and already annoyed. But that was normal for a sixteen year old, especially for Ani. “Dad told me to call you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Jaina just got here. We’re heading out soon.”

“Good. Hurry up, I promised my friends we’d go racing when this ends. We’re waiting on you two!”

The hologram faded out. Jaina hurried up and brushed her hair. The two then rushed out of the house and made the walk towards the Republic’s headquarters, both in their Jedi knight robes.

“So you and Zekk are a thing now?” he asked, looking down at her for an answer.

“Yeah.”

“Finally,” he said, stuffing his hands in his pocket. “I knew it’d happen someday.”

“Of course you did.”

The twins walked up the steps to the grand double doors. “Zekk and I would go to bars and chat. Just to catch up,” he said, nudging her in the shoulder. “He told me he liked you.”

“When was that?” she asked, slightly gasping. 

The door was opened by the twins, and they smiled and nodded their heads at them, walking into the senate building.

“A little over two years ago.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. 

She nudged him back. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“He told me not to tell you. I keep my secrets.”

“Fine, that's fair.” She tried to switch subjects. “Well, how are you doing with Tenel? Have you talked to her lately?” she asked, her voice softening. 

Tenel Ka was a young childhood friend they both had—a young Princess that they did Jedi training with. But when Tenel left the New Jedi Order to take over her royal duties on the planet Hapes, she and Ben broke up. Anything regarding Tenel was a sensitive subject—their relationship, even at their best, was rocky.

“Yeah, she was over here for a diplomacy meeting the other day. Nothing but some simple greetings and stuff. She’s doing fine.”

They made it into the old Senate hearing building, stepping into their floating pod with the rest of their family. The twins sat beside each other, and Anakin and Han sat on the other side of them. 

“You’re late,” Anakin said. 

“So?” Jaina retorted.

“Don’t do that, Anakin.” Han looked down at his son and shook his head in disappointment.

“It’s not fair!”

“They’re adults.”

“I’m almost one!”

“One key word: almost,” Han said, patting the kids back. Anakin shrugged his shoulders. The lights in the room began to dim, and with that, the ceremony started.

Slowly after the ceremony ended, then, the family all met up with each other. Chancellor Leia was dressed in long white garbs, not too different from her usual formal attire, and her hair twirled up in a large bun. 

Han softly smiled at her, hugging and kissing her. Behind their backs, Anakin made a gagging gesture with his finger, and shook his head.

“Gross,” he whispered to the twins.

Their father stepped away, holding Leia’s waist. “I am so proud of you,” he said, staring at her. 

“Thank you,” she said with a bright smile—one that reminded Han of their adventures in their youth. She turned towards her children. “Thank you for being here,” she said, looking at her family. “It means so much.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Ben said with a soft smile. He kissed the side  of his mother’s cheek. 

Jaina held her mother’s hands, and Anakin hugged her from the side. “Congratulations!” she said with a smile. 

A swarm of senators and politicians walked over to Leia, greeting her and providing the new Chancellor of the New Republic their gratitude.

Slowly, however, Zekk approached the Solo family. 

“Zekk,” Han said with a welcoming smile. “How are you?”

“Good,” he said, stealing a glance from Jaina beside him, then back at Han. “How are you, Mr. Solo?” 

“Great.”

The two had bonded over being scavengers and of hopping from planet to planet in their youth, trying to make the best of their lives without a close family. For that, Han knew the pain Zekk endured at such a young age. So he tried to bring him into the family as much as he could. And when he felt Jaina and Zekk grow closer the older they grew, he was glad that his daughter found somebody who was caring. 

Playfully, Ben nudged Jaina’s shoulder and smirked. Embarrassed, Jaina nudged him back and frowned.

Leia turned around back to her family. “Oh, Zekk. What a pleasure it is to see you.”

“As to you, Chancellor Organa,” he said, giving her a slight bow.

Leia shook her head. “No need for such formalities.” 

Anakin rocked back and forth, tired of standing and fake smiling at everyone. So, instead, he twirled his padawan braid around his finger. 

Han held Leia’s hand. “We’re going out to dinner,” he said to Zekk. “You are more than welcome to join.”

Jaina looked over at Zekk, waiting for his answer. Instead, he shook his head and put his hands in his pocket. “I do not want to intrude. This is a special day for the Solo’s.”

“You’re not intruding,” Ben said. “I’m sure someone will be more than happy for you to join.”

Jaina rolled her eyes as her face flushed. Everyone in her family turned over to her.

“Alright,” Leia said with a slight smile. “We know about you two. We've known for ages. Zekk, you’ll join us. It is already planned.”

Jaina’s heart pumped faster. They knew, somehow, but they’d only started dating—at least officially—as of the day before. She was oblivious, of course. And maybe he was too. 

Anakin found amusement out of this, and leaned closer to Jaina. “Yeah, I knew as soon as you didn’t come home yesterday. And brought Zekk to our flying competitions. It’s like you can’t live without him.”

“Okay,” Ben said, patting Anakin’s shoulder. “That’s enough, now.”

The family all smiled. “Shall we?” Leia said, looking over at the door. The family walked out, with Leia and Han hand in hand. Ben and Anakin followed closely behind them, and so did Jaina and Zekk. 

Zekk, nervously, moved his hand over to Jaina’s hand, softly holding it. Anakin turned over, giving the twins heart hands and mocking them holding their hands. Ben peaked over, shook his head in annoyance, and playfully pushed his little brother. 

Chapter Text

The Solo siblings—and Zekk, of course, all called Luke Skywalker on their communication system. They were all in Ben’s ship, heading towards the icy and snowy planet Illum for a mission. A hologram appeared of Luke, dressed in his tan Jedi robes, with a small yet soft smile.

“The whole crew is here,” said Luke, gazing at his niece and nephews. “Great, this mission is going to take all of you.” 

On the other side of Luke, another hologram of the map appeared. Jaina leaned against the table, trying to get a closer view of the map. Zekk stayed close beside her, gently putting his hand on her back. 

Ben and Anakin stood on the other side of the hologram, squinting at what Luke was showing. For a while, though, Anakin stopped paying attention, and stuck his tongue out at Jaina. 

“There’s been reports of ex-stormtroopers trying to build up military bases,” Luke said, crossing his arms. 

“What?” Jaina asked, confused.

“How is that even possible?” Her twin questioned.

“Good question.” Luke zoomed in on the map to show the edge of Illum. 

It showed a small building and the cave where the kyber crystals rested. Stormtroopers, now dressed in all black garbs, and oddly shaped masks built a lightsaber hilt, and burned their kyber crystals to a light red. 

“They’re creating a rebellion of some sorts, and trying to rebuild what the Empire started. Whatever it is, I want it shut down,” Luke mentioned. “Do you think you guys can handle it?”

“Yeah, of course,” the twins said at the same time. Ben slid on his vest and saber belt. 

“Anakin? Zekk?” Luke asked, looking at the two of them.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be fun!” Anakin left the room, presumably getting ready. 

Zekk stepped aside from the table. “I’m ready,” Zekk said.

“Great. May the Force be with you.”

With that, the hologram of Luke faded. Jaina looked at the map, which now dimmed down to a heat sensor map, showing red dots as to where the stormtroopers were. 

“Looks like there’s three groups of them scattered along that lower quadrant.” Jaina moved over to stand next to Ben, tapping her foot on the ground. “If we all split up, we can do this.”

He nodded his head. Zekk sat on the bench, crossing his arms and throwing a ball. Jaina took a deep breath. “I would say we can do pairs. Me and you, Anakin and Zekk, but—”

“Too risky,” said Ben, finishing his sister’s thought process. Anakin came running in the main room, and sat beside Zekk. “We need to balance out our skill sets.”

“That’s what I was thinking.”

“I know.” Ben zoomed in on the map and slid down a marker of their ship on one side. “If you and Anakin drop Zekk and me here…” He then put down two blue markers on the hologram. “Then we can get these guys on foot, and you and Ani can go to this side.” Ben put another two markers on the other side. 

“Okay. Then leave the ship there, and we all go get that main group in the middle together.”

“Right on.” 

Ben clicked the button off and deactivated the holograms. He walked over to Zekk and Ani and clapped his hands back and forth. Jaina followed, sitting down next to Zekk. 

“Alright, alright, here’s the plan,” Ben said. He recited the plan to them, and it was go time. 

Anakin and Jaina Solo docked the ship on the snow, somewhat far from the group of ex-stormtroopers. These men, however, were nothing like she saw on the map from Luke. They had snow gear and guns. No lightsabers. No black garbs. The siblings walked out of the ship, carefully walking through the tough snow.

“It’s so cold!” Anakin softly said, his voice creating a fog-like circle in the air. He adjusted his snow goggles, and put a hand on his hilt.

Jaina held on to her blaster in front of her. “You’re telling me.”

The siblings walked over to a nearby mountain, and kneeled down. Anakin stood up and peaked, trying to get a look at these mysterious soldiers. Jaina pulled him aside, closer to the mountain.

“We gotta be careful,” she said, putting more ammo in her blaster.

“I don’t understand. We should just go for it. Why couldn’t I get paired with Ben? Wouldn’t that have been perfect; so you could kiss your boyfriend on the battlefield?” he asked with a laugh.

Quickly, Jaina used the Force to throw a pile of snow at Anakin’s face. His face turned bright red as he wiped it off. 

“Here’s what we’re going to do.” Jaina stood up, and held her blaster with two hands. “I’ll walk straight on to them,” she said, peeking at them. They all stood in a circle, talking to one another. “I’ll get as much as I can. Then you climb up on that mountain, get high ground, and help out.”

Anakin nodded his head. Jaina extended her hand out to him, helping him up. The siblings did their secret handshake, giving a smile to one another. She walked out into the snow, her Jedi capes and robes flowing in the wind. Despite it being freezing, the sun still glared on her. She looked up, saw Anakin climbing up the mountain, and used the Force to blast a trooper without even looking.

The soldiers started to fire at her, to which she used her saber to deflect the blasters. At one point, she used the Force to stop a blaster, and pushed it straight into the soldier’s chest. Anakin came jumping from the mountain, his saber out, slashing another stormtrooper. She smiled in joy—she had taught him that. The siblings stood back to back, deflecting blaster shots.

Once they got to the last one, Jaina kicked him to the ground, and held her saber at him.

“Who do you serve?” she asked, putting the purple blade closer to his neck.

The soldier grunted in pain, trying to look around for help. He didn’t say anything.

“Can’t talk?” she asked, squinting at him. Jaina inched the saber closer.

“Long live the Empire!” he shouted.

With no hesitation, Jaina stuck the saber into his chest, and pulled it out. Anakin turned around and retracted his saber. 

“Good work,” Jaina said, putting her saber in her belt. She put her hand up to her wrist and called Zekk. “Zekk,” she said with a smile, happy to see him and Ben side by side. “You got the first group?”

“Yup. On our way to the middle.”

Ben nodded his head. “They didn’t give us much of a fight.”

“Same here.” 

Anakin ran over to the device and looked at his older brother. “I jumped off the mountain and slashed this one guy! It was sick.”

Surprised and caught off guard, both Ben and Zekk’s face lit up. “A bit aggressive, don’t you think? I thought that wasn’t the Jedi way.”

“Yeah, it isn’t,” Ben said, tapping his shoulder. “We don’t go by those books anymore.”

“Then why did Master Luke make me read it?” 

“No clue,” Anakin said. “Jaina taught me it a while back.”

“Alright, guys, let’s head over to those coordinates,” Jaina intervened. “I marked it on the map, but it’s up North. See you there.”

Jaina shut the device off, and the two siblings ran over to the next checkpoint.

Once the crew got back together, naturally, Zekk and Jaina stood side by side—this, anyway, was how it usually went on their missions and on their battlefields. But an obstacle faced its way in front of them; a large river ran through the building they needed to go in. 

“We gotta swim…” Anakin said.

“Are you crazy?” Zekk sarcastically asked. “We should go back to the ship and fly to the otherside.”

“No, it’ll cause too much air traffic. I already see some old TIE fighters docked up ahead,” Jaina said, looking through her binoculars.

“She’s right.” Ben cleared his throat and looked around, trying to find a bridge or even a tree they could use. But there was nothing—just snow and ice. A memory of when they were little, though, simultaneously flashed through the twins’ heads.

When the twins were young teenagers, they would go to Corellia for winter, where there would be space to run around and play in the snow. One night, they came across a large river, hindering their plans to ice skate around the small city they resided in. 

Ben and Jaina tapped their feet on the ground, trying to think a way through this.

“We could use the Force,” he said, unsure on how they could do that. He read about the midi-cholorians, and the idea that they could be manipulated, moved around, and played with if the Force user tried hard enough. 

Jaina put her hand to her lip and observed the ice path. “How?” The twins thought about how they could do such a thing. Impatiently, Jaina held her hand up to the ice, and tried to think about it freezing over. But it didn’t work, and it only made the water flow around.

“The midi-cholorians…if we try and think about moving them, maybe, it might work.”

Jaina nodded her head, and did exactly that. She closed her eyes, thinking about the individual follicles, molecules, atoms, and other small living organisms moving through the water. Slowly and barely, the water started to freeze over. 

“You’re doing it,” Ben whispered.

Jaina opened her eyes, seeing some of the water start to freeze over. Ben joined in, putting his hand over the water, and thinking about the midi-cholorians. Together, the water froze over, allowing them to successfully cross over. 

“Good idea,” Jaina said, reaching both hands out over the water. Ben stood beside her and did the same thing, watching the water turn into ice. 

“How is that possible?” Anakin asked. “I wanna learn!”

“Me too, kid,” Zekk said, staring at the twins in fascination. “It's all those midi-chlorians in their cells.”

This lake, however, was much bigger than the one from when the twins were younger. So it took more strain—more power—more effort to freeze all of the water in a timely manner. The twins felt the breath getting kicked out of them, and felt every movement of the midi-cholorians straining and stretching to become ice. 

Finally, most of the water froze over to become a walkable path. Jaina retracted her hands and caught up with her breath. Ben, too, stepped away and took a deep breath, walking over the ice. Anakin followed him, but quickly ran over to the other side, passing Ben,

Zekk rushed over to Jaina and held her waist. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. Come on, let’s go.”

The couple walked down the ice, closely following Ben. After being drained from messing with all of those midi-cholorians (which, of course, weren’t supposed to be messed with in the first place), Anakin and Zekk took on the frontlines, beginning to deflect blaster shots from the stormtroopers. After they knocked down the guards facing the building, it was clear to enter.

It was a large, blue and grey, and tall grand building, almost resembling an abandoned Jedi temple. The crew walked in, their senses heightened and on guard for any other soldiers they might come across. 

There were still old lightsaber hilts, books, and boxes tucked away in the halls.

“There’s no way the Jedi abandoned all of this stuff,” Zekk said, his voice echoing. He ignited his green lightsaber to fill the room with light. 

“Except they did.” Ben groaned, looking around the room, his blue saber dragging beside him.

Before they made it very far into the temple, the Solo siblings' senses all went off at the same time. Zekk’s soon went off, and the group circled around each other, their backs facing one another. 

Anakin gripped his saber tighter, and tried to guide himself to where the mysterious people were. From the top floors, a group of men in all black garbs and chunky black and silver masks came running down.

“About time you guys showed up,” one said, approaching the Jedi. He circled around them. This one, though, was different. He wore a grey mask with a red symbol in the middle, resembling a circle with spikes. 

“This isn’t your temple,” Zekk said as he stared at the guy with a mask. 

The mysterious man shook his head and walked around, staring at Jaina. “Wow. The Jedi take everyone now, do they? Kids,” he said, looking at Anakin. 

“I’m not a kid!” Anakin shouted, lunging his saber at him. But the man was too quick, wielding a red saber and blocking the shot. These were the men she saw in the map from Luke.

“Who the hell are you?” Jaina asked, stepping away from the circle to face him.

“Ren. These are my knights.” 

Jaina looked around to see the men circle the group. Zekk used the Force to collapse some of them, fending them off for a bit. Anakin joined in, slashing a few with his saber. The twins, however, stayed put, assessing this situation. Ren took his mask off, and chuckled at him. His knights went to approach Zekk, but Ren put a hand up. 

“I like you.” Ren leaned down, his bright blue eyes piercing through Anakin’s innocent soul. His grey hair lit up to a shade of light red from his saber. “You don’t have to go down this Jedi path, you know.”

Anakin tried to hit him, but Ren aggressively hit his saber, sending Anakin off balance.

Quickly, Ben pushed him out of the way and punched him. “Don’t you touch him!”

Retaliating, Anakin spit on Ren’s boot and tried to kick him. “I’m never joining you, you piece of shit!”

Jaina followed suit, and held onto Anakin. “You gotta go. Go to the ship—”

Anakin shoved his sister off. “I can fight just as good as you. Stop babying me.”

Ren ignited his saber and lunged towards Ben. Jaina, Anakin, and Zekk stood side by side, watching the other Knights of Ren make their way towards the three of them. Jaina took the first swing, delicately but aggressively hitting one knights’ staff with the saber, causing it to break in half. That, however, didn’t stop the knight, and it made him use both staffs to swing a hit at her.

Meanwhile, Zekk helped Anakin take down one knight who nearly choked the young Solo with his staff.

“You good, kid?” he softly asked, taking a deep breath. 

Jaina knocked down a few, and tried to get a glimpse of Zekk. He was doing fine, aiding Anakin in combat. So she ran to the other side of the dark building where Ben was, but she couldn’t find him.

“Ben!” she shouted. Jaina craned her neck to look up at the top level. He was up there. “Come on, guys, we gotta go get Ben and take down Ren.”

Ben blocked the shots off of Ren and backed him into a corner. He slashed a piece of that stone mask off, causing it to fall to the depths of the bottom floor. His sister was fighting off the knights below, and he had no doubt in her, Zekk, and Anakin’s ability to fend them off.

Ren pushed his own saber deeper into Ben’s, causing him to back away from the corner. Carelessly, Ben aggressively hit the saber into the building’s walls while trying to get a shot from Ren.

“So much courage,” Ren said, panting and holding his saber over his body.

Ben grunted, watching the rocks and pieces of the wall fall down in the temple. “You can’t be here. This is sacred ground!” he said, slashing his saber onto Ren’s arm. Ren winced, but drew back, and wiped his bloody mouth.

“What do you care about ‘sacred’ places? You enjoy that Jedi stuff, anyway? It’s nothing but an outdated cult.”

He was trying to get into his head, and Ben wasn’t having it. He backed him away into the corner of the floor, watching as the concrete began to shake and crumble and fall behind them.

“Ben!” Anakin and Jaina yelled, supposedly looking for him.

He peaked down from under him, seeing three figures with sabers in their hands. But he didn’t listen. He had to finish it.

“Join me,” Ren said, “My knights are highly trained assassins.”

“I don’t think so. They can’t even beat Jedi.”

“But they will be able to, if you’re here. You’ll answer to no one. No Jedi text. No pointless crew in pathetic robes and doctrines. No pointless Republic to fall back on. Just me.”

Ben kicked Ren’s feet, knocking him off balance. But the floor Ben stood on began to crumble and shake, causing him to fall. He dropped his saber and held on to the remaining concrete with his hands as best he could. Ren used all of his might to kick Ben off the floor, causing him to tumble down a few stories. He rolled down the rubble, using his powers and strength to pick himself back up. 

Jaina used the Force to grab Ben’s lightsaber. Quickly, more knights came nudging over to them.

“Go,” she said to Anakin and Zekk. Using both lightsabers, she fought two of them, and backed away closer to the door. “Go!” she yelled to her brother and Zekk. 

“I’m not leaving you.” Zekk held onto her arm, hitting a few knights with sabers.

Anakin stood in front of the two, looking up at Ben on the third floor above them. Ben climbed down the fallen rubble, finally making it a safe distance from where he can jump. Jaina threw his saber back at him, and the crew all escaped out of the crumbling building. Jaina was able to get a few shots out of her blaster to the knights, and ran out of the building, and into the snow. 

“It’s too much open air,” Ben said, shooting knights from behind him. Anakin ran backwards, deflecting all of the shots. “We need to find a better spot to run.”

“Cut through the woods,” Jaina sat, pointing at a forestry hill.

“Good thinking—” Zekk said, using the force to throw some knights into each other. 

The crew ran into the forest together, trying to find their way out to the ship. “Keep going Northeast.”

“We should split up again,” Ani said, putting his saber in his belt. “That way they can’t get all of us at once.” By then, the sun started to slowly come down, and it was getting dark in the forest. 

“One group should get up on that mountain.”

“I can,” Ben said.

“I’ll join. You two, scope out the forest and make it to the ship. You’ll get there faster.”

The twins ran over to the mountain beside them, and began making the climb upwards. It was a hike, sure, but it was the best chance of them making it out. 

“Be careful. There’s a lot of sharp rocks.”

Jaina took her brother’s advice, and walked up the snow a bit slower. Ben got a head start, nearly making it to the top of the mountain. Her heart began to race as she looked to the side, to see a sniper on the top of the mountain adjacent to them. 

“Snipers, four o’clock,” Jaina said into her communication device. “Stay covered.”

Her and Ben shifted a bit to take cover by the mountain and large rocks. But, for a moment, a harsh compulsion flew through her head. A vision of a night sky, snow falling on the ground, and a red lightsaber grew closer. She roamed through the forest, no longer on the mountain.

“Ben?” she screamed, trying to find him. 

Before she could ever reach out to him via the Force, a few breaths came pounding in her head. It was vaguely familiar—yet new—breaths that sounded like mechanical “woosh,” something that could only be mistaken as the passing of the wind or a puff of smoke from a factory machine. 

Her hands began to shake, and she reached for her saber, but someone behind her used the force to grab it. 

“Jaina…” the person called out. She looked behind her, only to see a figure in a mask that resembled Darth Vader, but at the same time, it didn’t—it took on a semi-original design, with the mask crooked and blurry. 

“Join me,” the voice said, the sound distorted, winded, and desperate. 

The distinct red saber came glowing toward her. She backed away in the snow, falling off a cliff, and woke back up. 

She was back on the mountain, with Ben holding onto her hand to pull her up. His eyes widened and his heart quickened. He pulled her up to the top of the mountain, and she slowly stood up, coughing. 

“You nearly fell.”

“I know…” she rubbed her head, confused as to what that vision was. She rarely got ones like that. It seemed like a nightmare.

The sniper aimed the gun towards them, and Ben shot his hand out with the force, blocking the shot to go right over his shoulder. 

“Come on.” He held on to her hand, and slid off the side of the mountain, getting a view of Zekk and Anakin making a run towards the ship. Jaina used her blaster to shoot a stormtrooper running towards them.

The crew made its way to the ship, and Anakin zoomed off, leaving no room for the troopers to fight back or get in the old TIE fighters. They all stood in the cockpit, arms crossed, and looked out the window of the ship.

“So who’s telling Luke we messed this one up?” Zekk asked, his face pointed downwards, looking over to Jaina for reassurance. 

Ben clenched his jaw, and turned out of the room, presumably disappointed in himself. 

Chapter Text

That night, Ben paced back and forth in his room, analyzing the battle with Ren. He could’ve finished it, then and there, with one slash of the saber—but he didn’t. A part of him wanted to know more about the ‘Knights of Ren’ and what they did and why they were on Illum. It made no sense as to why they were there in the first place, and why ex-stormtroopers were policing the area. Whatever it was, he needed to put a stop to it. And if he couldn’t, he needed to learn about it. During the battle, while he was making his way off the top floor to be with his siblings, thoughts and dreams and memories and visions rushed through his head. They were odd—vibrant—vivid—cold—distant; he felt as if he was there. He was placed in a dark throne room, with a mysterious man in front of him. He almost resembled Ren, but he was older, darker, and his face was more narrow. Ben wanted to talk to someone about it—someone who would understand. But Luke was on the planet Ossus at the Jedi academy. Jaina was with Zekk. 

He made his way downstairs to see his parents sitting at the table, handing out cards to each other. It was their family tradition every night after dinner. But Anakin wasn’t there. Nor was Jaina. 

Han threw a card in the middle. “Can’t come back from that one,” he said with a smile. 

Leia shook her head and looked through her cards. She looked over at Ben, gave him a soft smile, and motioned him over to the table.“Come join,” Han said, “We can team up against her.”

She gave them a small smirk. 

Ben shook his head, and only grabbed a glass of water on the table from where he usually sat. The dining room was brightly lit, with gold tablecloth, candles, and flowers as centerpieces.

“No,” he said, sipping his water. “You two have fun. I’m heading to bed.”

“Goodnight, kid,” Han said, putting his hand on his chin as he assessed the game.

“Goodnight. Love you,” Leia said.

“Love you too,” Ben softly said, walking up the stairs.

As he made his way upstairs, he knocked on Anakin’s door. When he didn’t answer, Ben walked into the room anyway, seeing him sitting on the floor, and talking to someone. Even though he didn’t see the hologram, he sensed it was Ani’s best friend, Tahiri. Anakin turned around, wiped his face, and ended the call. 

“What’s wrong?” Ben asked, shutting the door behind him. 

Anakin stood up and leaned against the wall. He didn’t say anything, and instead pouted his lips, and motioned his brother towards his desk. 

“Something weird is happening,” he said, his voice shaking. 

“I know. Something has been off since Illum.” Ben crossed his arms, and looked over at Anakin’s desk, seeing a drawing of someone familiar. He took a better look at it. It was a sketch of the knights of Ren, Ren himself, and that mysterious guy he saw in his vision. “Hey, did you see this guy on Illum?” he asked, pointing to the person.

“Yeah…can you get Jaina over here?” Ani asked, wiping his eyes. “She’ll know what to do.”

Ben nodded his head, slid the door open to Anakin’s balcony, and shut his eyes, reaching out with the Force to his sister.

Zekk sat beside Jaina on his couch, his arms wrapped around her. She put her head on his chest, trying not to think about the battle, but it came rushing back to her. Jaina clung onto Zekk’s shirt and tried her hardest to fall asleep.

“Stop thinking about it,” he whispered, planting a kiss on her head. “Luke wasn’t mad when Anakin called. We did all that we could.”

Jaina shut her eyes, and let the tears flow. Gently, Zekk took his arm off her, and stood up. He leaned over, planting one more kiss on her forehead. “I’ll make some tea.”

She sat up on the couch, held her head down, and watched him go into the kitchen. The wind from the open windows flowed through the apartment building, causing her to grow chilly. She stood up to walk towards the window, and her brother’s voice came crawling in her head. She focused her eyes on the room, seeing an image of Ben leaning over Anakin’s balcony, with a concerned frown. The twins were now connected with the Force.

“Is everything alright?” he asked her, leaning his hands on the fence.

“You’re asking me?” she said, feeling the wind from the upper side of Coruscant wave through her hair. 

“You look sick.”

“You look scared.”

Ben took a step back from the railing and walked into Anakin’s room, sitting at his desk. She couldn’t quite see her other brother, but felt him there in the room. Her twin picked up a piece of paper on Ani’s desk. Unaware of her own surroundings, she followed Ben, standing beside him.

“What’s that?”

“It’s one of Anakin’s drawings. He said he made it as soon as they got back”

Jaina turned around to see her little brother on the edge of the bed, nervously playing and twisting around his hands. She looked down at the drawing, to see a figure of a tall man; it was the man she saw on Illum, wearing a long robe.

“I recognize that—I had visions back on that mountain. When I fell.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “We did too.” 

“Jaina? Where’d you go?” She heard Zekk call out.

“Go ask Zekk if he had any,” Ben said. “Come  back home so we can talk about all this.”

The connection went out. Unaware, Jaina was in the hallway of Zekk’s apartment due to all of the walking she did when she was talking to Ben. 

“I’m over here.” Jaina yelled out, walking out of the hall. 

Zekk handed her a cup of tea, and put his hands on his hip, looking down at her. He put his hand on her forehead and neck, and pouted at her.

“You need to get some rest.”

“I know. I need to go home.”

“I’ll fly you over,” he said. “Drink the tea.”

“Thanks.”

On their way to Jaina’s place, she curled up in his jacket in the copilot seat. “Zekk?”

“Mhm.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Anything.”

She crossed her arms across her chest. “Did you have any weird visions while you were on Illum? Like…of the future or the past…I don’t know—”

“No…?” He looked over at Jaina. “Did you?”

“Yeah, just one.” Jaina took a deep breath.

“Oh.” A moment of awkward silence came between them. “What was it about?”

“It doesn’t really matter.”

“Come on, you can tell me anything, y’know.” He rested a hand on her thigh. “Whatever you saw, it wasn’t real. Just remember that.”

“I know. It was just weird. I don’t remember it all.” That was a huge lie, of course. “Just glimpses of things. I saw Ren and he wanted me to join him? I don’t know. It’s blurry.”

“He was just trying to get in your head, hon, it’s okay.” 

Jaina took a deep breath and shut her eyes, watching the ship take course. 

The halls of her house were comforting. Baby pictures, ancient Jedi texts, Old Republic artifacts, and keepsakes decorated the walls and bookshelves. She parsed through the walls in her rose colored nightgown, and walked up the stairs. 

“Jaina?” her mother called out from behind her. She turned around, seeing her mother with her hair down—which was already a rare sight. 

“Hi, Mom,” she softly said, stopping in the middle of the stairs. 

“I thought you were at Zekk’s.” 

“I was. I just wanted to be here.”

Carefully, Leia walked over the stairs and looked at Jaina. She put her hand on her back and led her upstairs. The two were never quite close when she was younger—it was always Jaina and Han, Ben and Leia. But as she grew older, she grew to regret the idea that she never really confided in her mother. 

“I’m happy for you and Zekk, you know,” she said with a smile as they walked up the steps. 

“Thanks. He’s a great guy.”

“I know. Infinitely better than your father.”

Jaina laughed slightly. “Mom!”

“Don’t tell him I said that.”

Her mother led her to their small reading room, and they both sat down on the couch, overlooking the balcony of their penthouse.

“Luke told me about the people on Illum.”

With that, the visions came rushing towards her. Leia, in a quick second, sensed something was wrong. She placed a delicate hand on her daughter’s hand. 

“It isn’t your fault,” she said, leaning her head back on the couch. “I’ll alert the Senate tomorrow. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Jaina put a hand on her heart, feeling a stabbing sensation in her chest. “It’s more than that,” she said, putting her hands on her knees. 

Presumably, Leia felt it too. Her face reddened, and she hugged Jaina. 

“Something is coming…” she said, “I just don’t know what,” Jaina whispered. 

Leia squeezed her tighter, confused at her daughter’s feelings. Whatever was happening, then, was something that their family could fight off. They were stronger together. 

Jaina walked into Anakin’s room, seeing him sketching something at his desk. By the time she walked in and shut the door behind her, loose and crumbled papers filled his star-decorated rug. Ben stood beside Anakin, his hand on his hip, his other pointing at something. 

“What is going on?” she asked. Her brothers turned around to face her. 

“Trying to figure out what the hell is going on Illum,” Anakin said. “What took you so long?”

She ignored the question and stood on the other side of Anakin, looking down at the drawings. A whole map was spread out on the desk. To someone who didn’t know better, it looked like her brothers were going into some odd spiritual or creative psychosis. The paper at the top had a drawing of the woods. Anakin, of course, had always been a talented artist, but this looked a mess. She looked over at the left, where there were mountains. 

Anakin picked up a marker from his drawer. “This is me.” He drew a dot on top of the mountain to the left of the map. “And, this is you guys,” he said, placing another marker on the mountains to the right of the map. 

“I don’t get it.”

“Sh,” Ben said, crossing his arms and folding his eyes at her. “Trust his process, sis.” She rolled her eyes and looked down.  

“We all had visions on the mountains. Zekk was the only one who didn’t go on them in the entire trip. Did he have visions?”

“No,” Jaina said, crossing her arms.

“That’s my only explanation.” Anakin tapped his marker on the desk. “I’ve had this feeling in my body—something isn’t right.”

“I know.” Jaina tapped her foot and paced the room. “Ani, what’d you see?”

The young Solo explained every single detail back to his siblings. 

Anakin walked up the mountain, keeping an eye on Jaina slashing through stormtroopers. Something hard hit his head, though, and he rubbed his forehead, trying to see what it was. But nothing was there.

Slowly, the mountain turned dark, and a man stood behind him. 

“My child,” the voice said, slowly inching his way towards Anakin. This old man had a cane, light pale skin, greying hair, and a large scar scraped against his forehead. “You seem scared.”

Anakin ignited his lightsaber in front of him. Taking a peek down the mountain, Jaina was nowhere to be seen. The man wobbled the cane over to Anakin, with a small smirk on his face. In a quick movement, Anakin looked into the man’s eyes, seeing a harsh red and yellow haze in his pupil. Without hesitating, Anakin slashed the saber through the man’s chest—but nothing happened. 

The old man smirked and stepped closer. What was this? A hologram? A nightmare? 

“Ani!” Jaina screamed out. Anakin, rather frantically, looked around his shoulders and in front of him for his sister. He shut his eyes and tried to slash through the man in front of him once again, but the voices of his sibling only grew louder. “Anakin! Come on, wake up! Come on…!” she yelled.

He tried to open his eyes wider, but nothing else was working—this guy only inched closer and closer and closer. So in a pinch, Anakin ran off the mountain, finally getting out of this cursed vision, and back to the planet Illum. 

Jaina frowned, and crossed his arms. Anakin looked down and spun around in his chair. 

“What was yours?” she asked, looking towards Ben. Her twin leaned against the wall, and began retelling the story. 

“It was vague. Not as vivid as yours,” he said, looking at his younger brother. “I saw fire, and those Knights were surrounding me.”

Ben shut his eyes, and focused back to the vision he saw. 

He stood on top of the mountain, his blue saber fitted in his hand. The knights all stood in a circle around him, and in from the distance, rose a tall creature, pink skin, a scar on his forehead, and a yellow robe.

The man came walking towards Ben with a sinister smile. Oddly, Ben didn't feel the urge to fight—he only wanted to observe. 

“Very good,” the man said, approaching him. “Ben Solo.”

Ben aimed his saber at him and stepped a little to the side, trying to look at this mysterious man. The old man used the force to take the saber completely, and lifted Ben into the sky with no effort.

“Let go!” he demanded, staring down at him. Suddenly, Ben's neck started to squeeze in, his head pounded, and his ears rang. A stream of voices and thoughts entered his mind—but at the same time, his mind turned blank, unable to move or think. A single name echoed through his head. Snoke. That was who this odd man was.

Snoke flung Ben onto the snow. “You're one vulnerable Skywalker, Solo,” he said with a laugh. Snoke aimed the saber down at him. “You want more than this life, don't you? I can show you. I can show you this.”

He reached his other hand out to Ben. Ben grunted in the snow, and used the Force to push Snoke back, but it did nothing. He looked around, seeing the knights surrounding him more.

An image of a large building with red flags and stormtroopers flashed through his mind. The stormtroopers marched through a small village with large guns. Citizens were barred off by a fence, forced to watch them march through their streets. 

“No,” Ben yelled out, trying to get rid of Snoke’s vision. Another one flashed through Ben's mind, this time, of Luke talking to Ben when he was younger. “Lighten up, Ben,” Luke had said, watching him duel his sister. “Your hits are too aggressive.” 

Ben let his guard off and kicked Snoke, trying to get leverage. How did he know so much? 

“Skywalker denies your power. Don't you want to rule a new generation of Force users? Of the galaxy?”

Ben tried to get up, but Snoke nearly pushed his saber through him, causing a burning  sensation in his chest. Before it got further, Ben gasped for air and was back on the mountain on Illum. 

“Snoke…” Jaina said, looking around at Anakin’s drawing.

“We need to tell Mom and Dad,” Anakin said, resting his hand on his cheek.

“I'll go,” Ben said, pushing himself off the wall, and leaving the room. 

Anakin stood up from his desk and collected all of the papers. 

“It's going to be okay,” Jaina said, watching her brother frantically clean up. “That Snoke person can't hurt you—he can't get to us all. He's probably just…

“Just some Sith?” Anakin yelled out. 

“That’s not possible,” Jaina retaliated.

“But what if—what if he went into hiding and thinks now is the time to mess with the Republic?”

Jaina sighed and opened her arms to hug her younger brother. Nervously, he accepted it, and wrapped his arms around her. The siblings embraced in a tender hug. Seconds later, Anakin hugged her tighter.

“I just want a normal life,” he confessed, sniffling his nose. “It’s not fair. What if there’s a war? What if something happens to us? What if—”

“Hey, hey…” Jaina stepped back and gave him a pitiful frown. Even though he was nearly a foot taller than her, she still had the upper hand. “We can handle this. You’re strong. Our family has been through worse”

“I know.”

She wiped his tears off with her sleeve. “Get some sleep. We can go racing tomorrow to cheer you up.”

Anakin nodded his head and crossed his arms. “Love you,” he mumbled under his breath. Those were words he rarely ever said to anyone but his parents. 

Caught off guard, Jaina dimly smiled, and repeated the phrase back. She shut his door on the way out, and headed to her own bed chambers. 

Chapter Text

Ben splashed water on his face in an attempt to get rid of those visions on Illum. As he stared at himself in the mirror, he tried to compose himself, and stop thinking about all of the knights and Ren. He walked out the bathroom and went down the stairs, in search of his parents. Han came limping up the stairs, leaning on the railing. There was no doubt that his father was getting older, but everytime the kids said anything about it, he’d turn it down.

“I already know what you’re going to ask—no, I don’t need help.”

“Sure,” Ben said, stepping aside. 

“I need to do some repairs on the Falcon. Wanna help?” he asked. 

Ben walked beside his father up the stairs. “I can. I won’t be much help. Why don’t you ask Jaina?”

Han got to the top of the steps and shook his head. “You know she’ll take over fixing it. That girl is a better mechanic and pilot than me.”

He laughed, knowing that that would happen. Ben went to the storage cabinet in the hallway to grab a tool box. The duo went to the large ship room, where each of their ships were housed. The Millennium Falcon, in all of its glory, was in the middle. They walked inside of the ship, heading to the cockpit.

“Alright. The hyperdrive system needs to be replaced,” Han said, sitting in the pilot seat. “You know how to do that?”

Ben shook his head. “Of course I do. Did you forget you taught me?” he sarcastically said, getting the toolkit and bending down to tinker with the hyperdrive controls.

“Didn’t know if you remembered.” Han punched his son and worked on fixing something else.

A moment of silence filled the air between the father and the son, with either of them unsure what to say. 

“So,” Han cleared his throat, “what’ve you been up to, kid?”

“Nothing. Just missions.” Ben loosened the screw that held the hyperspace in place. “And you?” 

He stood back up and sat in the copilot seat. Looking for the new motherboard in the toolkit, he exchanged an awkward glance with his father, and dug through the bag. 

“Learning more about the politics your mother is doing.” Han fiddled with one of the systems. “Dammit, where’s Chewie when you need ‘em?” his father mumbled to himself.

Ben used a tool to replace the parts of the hyperspace control. The vision of the moon sky from the glass door calmed him down, just a bit. 

“The mission on Illum,” Ben said, shifting the conversation, “it was rough.”

“Oh? How so?” Han turned around to face his son, clicking a button in place on the cockpit. 

“Just some weird stuff. Stormtroopers. Some weird wannabe-knights and an old man who could be some type of Sith? I don’t know.”

“On Illum?” Han asked. He pulled up a map of the galaxy, looking for the planet. Ben pointed to it. “It’s in the unknown regions.”

“Yeah, I know,” he awkwardly said, putting the hyperspace control back. 

“You wanna see if she can take a spin?” Han said with a smirk.

“Hell yeah.”

That, in Ben’s mind, was a perfect answer—a trip where he could observe the odd planet with the eye of his father, one of the best pilots in the region. But he knew the rest of his family wouldn’t support their decision.

“Don’t tell the girls.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

Ben turned on some controls on his side of the ship, while Han did his thing on his. Soon, the ship lifted off, with the loading dock door lifting up and closing behind them. 

The two walked out onto the snow of the planet, both bundled in coats that were stuffed away in the Falcon. 

“Whew,” Han said, a cloud forming in front of his mouth. “It's cold.”

Ben chuckled and observed the side of the building, trying to figure out a way in.

“Not as cold as Hoth. You know, did I ever tell you—”

“Yes. Yes you did, Dad,” Ben said, trying to push the wall with the Force. He reached for his belt and lightsaber, but soon remembered he forgot it back at home. “Shoot, my saber.”

“Oh that thing. You don't need it.” Han sighed and put his hands in his coat pocket. “You gotta learn how to defend yourself without those magic tricks.”

All Ben did was side eye his father, and walk to the back of the building. 

“You're gonna thank me one day!” Han shouted out, throwing a blaster over to Ben.

Ben caught it with the force, and finally found a door in the back.

“So, where are those troopers you warned about?”

“I don't know. It's night time. They could be inside.”

Ben tried to shove the door open, and it took a little bit of strength, but Han helped him. The two walked in, hearing an alarm go off. 

“What's the plan?” Han asked.

“I don't have one.”

“Good. Me neither.”

The two rumbled in and pointed blasters at officers and soldiers who rushed to the door. They shot first and ran through the premises. This seemed to be a different building than from when Ben went to Illum; it wasn't the crumbling and sacred Jedi temple the knights took over. This time, it seemed more imperial, with its interior design bland, glossy, black, and red. 

“What the hell is this place?” Han walked down the now empty and echoey halls, presumably feeling a wave of uncomfortable and uneasy nostalgia.

Ben didn't answer quite yet, confused and upset that he hadn't come across the Knights of Ren.

“If we go any further we're gonna get swarmed,” Han said. “Head back to the ship.” They walked out from the direction they came in and walked out the door, but were bombarded by a few stormtroopers. Ben kicked one off while Han  handled the other. Ben knocked the other ones out with the blaster, and ran off in the snow with Han. When they got on the ship, Ben walked in the opposite direction.

“Where are you going? The cockpit is that way.” Han said, running a hand through his grey hair. He threw the coat off and put it on the bench seat.

“To shoot down that base,” Ben said.

“I need help with the shields first, come on.”

Ben took his lead and followed his father to the cockpit, sitting in the copilot seat. The two started the ship, but it wasn't long before people started to shoot down the ship.

“Shields!” Han yelled out, a little startled and panicked. “Shields!”

“I'm going as fast as I can!” Frantically, he moved faster to get the shields on. Once on, he rushed to the back of the ship to the shooters. Holding on to the steers. He started to shoot down the troopers and then the base, watching it engulf in flames. But a familiar figure—Snoke—came walking out of the fire, his robes clean—no speck of dust or ash, as he stared Ben down.

So, Ben shot more, but Snoke kept walking towards the ship in the snow. He no longer resembled Ren, instead, he was a tall figure with wrinkled pink skin, and an uncanny scar engrained on his head. 

“Dad, get out of here!” Ben yelled over the headset, frightened and confused—he had to be seeing things. “ He won't listen to you, when has he?” Ben heard a voice crawling up his skin. Ben locked eyes with Snoke in the distance, and Ben's ears rang with force.

Suddenly, Ben blacked out, and was transported to a bright and flowery forest. He looked around at the glowing plants and trees, trying to make sense of everything. It didn't make sense—nothing did, here. 

“Child,” Snoke said, standing in front of him. Ben raised his saber at him and wasted no time shooting it, but the figure defied gravity, and the bullet somehow disappeared. The man in front of him flung him around with the force, lifting him up in the air. Ben felt his mind, thoughts, and agency rip out of him. He yelled out, demanding him to stop as he tried to restrain himself from Snoke’s mind torture. 

“You, young man, are strong with the Force, I feel it. But your Master—Skywalker, doesn’t teach you to be even more powerful, does he?” Snoke said, using the Force to push Ben out. “He hasn’t taught you everything you know.”

Ben tilted his head away to not look at Snoke, but the man snapped it back in place, and all Ben saw were visions of his past.

Ben felt Luke's judging eyes as he used the Force to deflect the saber shots from his training device. They were in the refurbished and brand new  Jedi temple on Coruscant. Anakin was out running the training course, and Jaina was working on her meditation skills outside.

“Don’t let your anger control and guide you,” Luke said.

Ben took off the training device over his head and deactivated his saber. “Why not? It was working—I deflected the shots!”

“But you did so with anger and frustration.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“I felt it, Ben. You need to be calm. Let the Force flow through you—be in a fluid state.”

Snoke intercepted the memory with a whisper: He didn’t believe in what you could do—you have a right to be angry, Solo. Ben snapped out of the memory and faced Snoke, who finally let go of the hold he had on him, causing him to fall straight to the ground. The magical flowers and gardens spread around Ben’s body, strapping him to the ground. This was absurd, and he felt the need to stop it, but at the same time, he was too intrigued. 

“Your emotions are what make you powerful. I can teach you everything you want. The dark side is to be embraced. Aren’t you curious?”

“Who sent you?” Ben yelled out. “You will hear to the Supreme Chancellor for your crimes against the Republic,” he cried out, trying to ground himself in his own beliefs—or, at least, the beliefs of his mother. 

In the distance, he heard his father call out his name. Ben tried to respond, but saw Snoke look up with a worried tone, as he used the Force to bury him more.

“You won't win this!” Ben yelled out.

“You foolish boy!” Snoke began to force choke him as Ben sunk into the ground. “I can see every thought into you, child. The Republic doesn't care about you!”

All Ben saw was this odd alien figure over him; it felt as if he was in some nightmare, or if he had a bad drink or substance. Suddenly, then, he sunk down into a black hole, and saw another memory.

Jaina tightened a lavender colored bow in her hair, and zippered her boot. She met Ben in the hallway, who was sitting at the top of the stairs, reading a book.

“Ready?” she asked, playfully kicking him with her boot. “I think Mother’s party is done.”

“Yeah.”

Ben stood up, pushed his book further into the hall, and walked down the steps. As the twins traveled through their apartment, a group of Senators, former Rebels, and Jedi all started to exit out of the main door. 

In the front and center of the main room was their mother, smiling and talking to her friend and former companion in the Rebel Alliance, Mon Mothma. Ben approached his mother, as he hadn't seen her all day.

“If you will excuse me,” Leia said with a smile to her friend. She slightly turned around as the young teenager pulled on her white dress.

“Ben,” she said, slightly smiling. She looked up at him and then back at the other twin. “Jaina. Are you two well?”

The twins nodded their heads. Leia took a small sip of her drink, and gave full attention to her children. She hugged Ben and then Jaina, smiling. “Oh Ben, you are getting so tall now,” she said, having to tilt her head up at him. She looked over at Jaina. “And you are getting tall too!” Leia spun her around. “Maybe you will beat him someday,” she said with a laugh. Jaina and Ben chuckled at each other. “How was training with Uncle Luke?”

“Good. We got our kyber crystals.” Ben dug in his pocket and showed it to her. 

“How wonderful!” Leia folded her hands in front of her. “You must take good care of it when you assemble your lightsabers.”

“We know, Mother,” Jaina said, crossing her arms. “When are we going to dinner? Anakin is in his room, waiting.”

Leia let down her smile and took a deep breath. 

Out of the corner of his eye, their father came walking into the room. He first gave a kiss to Leia and then to Jaina, then to Ben. 

“The Falcon is ready to go,” Han said, standing in between the kids.

“Yay!” Jaina exclaimed. “Can I fly it?” She looked up at her dad, hanging on to his arm.

Their father looked down at Jaina and then back at Leia, then back at his daughter. Ben sensed something was off with both of their facial expressions.  

“No,” Han said, “you're staying here. I'll be back before you even know it.”

The twins looked at each other, and then back at their parents. 

“What?” Ben crossed his arms. “It's Centaxday—we always go out to eat.”

“Oh…” Leia shut her eyes and looked back at her kids. “Your father and I have business to attend to—it's a mission; we'll be back in two weeks.”

“Two weeks?!” Jaina yelled.

“Our birthday is in two weeks, and our Jedi ceremony is next week! You're going to miss it,” Ben crossed his arms. “I can't believe it. Your stuff with the Republic and—and these fights are more important than us!”

“Ben,” his dad said, putting an arm on his shoulder. “Stop, don't touch me!”

Jaina went to Ben's side. “This isn't fair!”

“What we're doing is important, and you two must know that. What we are fighting against poses a real threat to us, and to this Republic.”

“Your mother is right. We'll go to dinner another time.”

“If it's so important, then why can't we come?” Ben asked.

“It's too dangerous.”

“We can come! Jaina and I are good fighters.”

“No,” Han said, standing beside Leia. Leia frowned. 

“We cannot have anything happening to you,” Leia intervened, her voice much more composed than her husbands. 

“So you're just leaving us?” Jaina crossed her arms and wiped her eyes.

“C-3PO will take care of you. And you know Uncle Luke will be here at a moment's notice.”

Jaina rolled her eyes. “He's a droid, not a parent!” With that, she went running up the stairs.

Ben stayed, his arms crossed and eyes narrowing down at his parents. “I could come with you. It's training and practice. I'm capable of fighting.”

“No, Ben, that is enough.”

The young Jedi shut his eyes and turned around to walk up the stairs. He didn't even want to say goodbye; they treated him as if he still was a kid, and it sure as hell wasn't fair to him. 

Ben's vision then ended, and all he heard in the dark void was Snoke laughing and his father calling his name over and over again. 

“She doesn't believe in you,” Snoke said, snapping his fingers. Then Ben saw an image of the Senate. Leia was in the middle, wearing elegant garbs and her grey hair tied back in a braided updo.

“Order, order!” Leia shouted out, her fist crumbling. “We must not start any factions within our own government,” she shouted. “As I mentioned before, military personnel must travel to Illum to investigate the Empire-like rebellion.”

“And what if these buildings and lifeforms on Illum are rebelling against us, as we did the Empire? What if they believe we are the bad guys—if we are not serving the needs of this galaxy?” A politician yelled out. “What if they are Rebels, as you once were?”

“Then we talk to them about their issues with the New Republic. I will go to the planet personally,” Chancellor Leia said. “I do not want any direct chaos or destruction if not needed. Though, from what the Jedi have said, these rebellions seem to be Imperial sympathizers.”

“Why don't you send the Jedi out again?” another politician asked.

“The Jedi, while they do serve the Republic, are not suitable for this mission. The stormtroopers and knights will see them as threats, more than they already do,” Chancellor Leia said. 

Ben opened his eyes from this odd vision into the future. 

“Your own mother  doesn't believe in you,” Snoke said, pulling Ben out from the deep and dark void. The flowers around him magically disappeared. “But I can, child.” Snoke smiled. 

“Ben!” Han yelled out, slapping his son’s face. Ben opened his eyes, taking long and deep breaths. He was laying down on the sofa. 

“Huh…” Ben sat up and rubbed his eyes; all of the memories with Snoke began to rush back into his head. For a moment, he was confused as if this were a dream or vision that Snoke was giving him, or real life. It wasn’t until he saw his mother walk in with a mug of warm tea. Threepio and R2 wobbled behind her.

“You passed out in the Falcon, ” Han said, standing up from the sofa. 

“From the cold, I hope,” Leia said, walking over to Ben. R2D2 spun around and did a series of beeps. 

“Now, now R2, Master Ben is just fine!” C-3PO said.

Anxiously, Ben sipped the tea, ignoring the droids’ banters. 

“Thanks, Mom,” Ben said, giving her a small smile.

“Of course.”

Han adjusted the wood in the fireplace.

“Get some rest,” Leia said, combing through his shoulder length hair.

 He sipped the tea more as his parents left the room, turning the overhead light off on their way out. It was only Ben, now, the light of the fireplace illuminating the room. All he could see was the silhouettes of the droids, as they awkwardly stood beside him.

“Wawoooo,” Artoo said, stepping closer to Ben.

“Yeah, I know,” Ben said, unsure of what the small droid was actually saying. But he sounded like he was in some type of distress, and to that, Ben could relate to the droid.

Chapter Text

Jaina made her way downstairs, surprised to see that her parents were already off, doing whatever they did in the Senate. She observed all of the luggage bags sitting by the door. The twins and Anakin were off to the planet Ossus, where Luke's Jedi temple was. But Ben’s bags weren't there. 

“Good morning, Master Jaina!” C-3PO uttered, his circuits running old and slow. “Your mother wanted me to tell you that she is doing a hearing at the Senate, and she will be back in approximately…two hours and twenty-three minutes.” 

“I know,” Jaina said, her voice soft and calm, “thank you for telling me.”

She walked around the first floor of the apartment. As she entered the living room area, Anakin and his friend Tahiri (who everyone assumed was his girlfriend) sat side by side, having a conversation.

Anakin turned around and looked at his older sister, clearly annoyed to see her.

“I thought you went back to Zekk…” he said, standing from the couch. 

“No.” Jaina looked over at Tahiri and smiled at the girl. “Hi, how've you been?”

“Good,” she said, turning around to face Jaina. 

“Good—um, that's great…” Jaina awkwardly crossed her arms. “Are you joining us on Ossus?”

Anakin crossed his arms and clenched his jaw at her, trying to get her to leave the room.

“Oh, Anakin, it's fine. I like Jaina.” Tahiri swiped her hair away from her face and settled her eyes on Anakin as he sat back down beside her. “I'm not going to Ossus. Master Luke wants me here.”

“Ah, Coruscant is not that bad. I'll leave you two alone to catch up.”

Jaina rushed out of the room with a small laugh—it was an attempt to shake all of the tension off. And, clearly, Anakin had his own motives.

Ben nearly bumped into her by the staircase. He held on to his sister’s shoulder, balancing out his almost fall.

“Gosh, I'm sorry,” Jaina said. Ben patted her back and walked toward the living room. “Where are your bags?” 

“Not packed,” Ben admitted, peeking in the room and quickly walking out. He rushed to the side doors and pulled them shut. “Is that Tahiri?”

“Yes.”

Ben put his hands on his hips as his face grew pale. “Ani has a girlfriend?”

“Supposingly.” Jaina sat on the bottom of the steps.

Without hesitation, Ben sat next to her, crouching his posture not to seem as tall as he was. 

“Are you ready for Ossus?”

“Just about.” Ben softly smiled and looked over at Jaina. 

Reflecting on all of the chaos on Illum, Jaina fidgeted with her hands. “I’m worried about Illum. Mom said she’d look into it.”

“Then she’ll look into it. She’ll handle it. Stop getting so anxious.” Ben stood up from the chair and started to walk upstairs. 

“But what if something bigger happens? Those rebels took over Illum. What if another outer rim planet is next? Who knows what they’re planning?”

“It’ll all be under control,” Ben said, turning back to his twin.

A few hours later, Princess Leia and Han Solo arrived back from the long Senate hearing and retreated to the family room. Jaina was off saying her goodbyes to Zekk—he was staying on Corellia to complete a mission there, and Jaina was going to Ossus. Anakin was hanging out with Tahiri somewhere on Coruscant. Ben was—well—trying to get out of his head and rid himself of the visions he was seeing. The most recent one, however, was one that pictured him as a ruler of the galaxy—a Chancellor, like his mother, commanding armies and instilling laws to bring peace; that seemed like a plausible future—a future where he could be on top, people would listen to his command, and he could do good to everyone and everything. Snoke’s voice rang in his ear as he saw images of himself standing beside a golden throne. “Don’t you want this? I can show you; the Jedi won’t allow peace.” 

In sounded plausible. It sounded wonderful. It sounded like it was the right thing to do. But in his stomach and his head, a sharp pain ignited in him. This wasn’t what he should do. Being a successful Jedi knight was what his legacy as a Skywalker was, and he understood that he needed to live up to it; he’d be a failure to his parents if he didn’t. But he didn’t choose this life. He never picked any of it. Was the dark side truly the way out for him?

Ben made his way over to the living room where his mother was. Han was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’d Dad go?”

“He started to put some of your bags in your guys’ ship,” Leia said, reading over some sort of holographic document. 

Ben sat beside her, trying to peek over and see what she was reading. “How was the hearing?” He only asked this question to see if Snoke’s vision of that meeting from the other day was right; if he was being truthful. 

“Fine.” Leia smiled at her son, and she swiped the document away. “The issue with Illum will not be a threat to us. The Republic will send out some forces to the planet.”

“That’s it?” Ben asked, intrigued. “That’s going to cause a war, and you know that, Mother.”

“I know—it is not my sole decision, Ben, I would’ve handled this situation differently.”

“Then why not send the Jedi? Send Uncle Luke. We can get to the bottom of this peacefully.”

“No way to get to the bottom of this is peaceful if the Jeid join us.” Leia deepened her voice. “I know you would like to participate in this fight, Ben, I know, but you tried once. This issue cannot be instigated further.

“You don’t believe in me?”

“That’s not true, of course I do—”

“Then send the Jedi.”

Leia sighed and put her hand on Ben’s hand. “

Ben stood up and left the room. Snoke was right. “Meet me at the outskirts of Ossus, my young child,” whispered Snoke. His heart raced faster, but he knew what he had to do. 

The Solo triplets made it to the Jedi temple on Ossus the next day, exhausted and happy to see their Uncle, Luke Skywalker. Uncle Luke, despite his greying hair and wrinkled face, looked happier and more youthful than ever; such optimism and hopefulness made someone appear so. Jaina was the first to embrace him in a hug, happy to see him. Then Anakin did, telling him about some of the new tricks he learned with the Force, and catching him up on how Tahiri was doing—who used to be his old Padawan. Ben was last, but only gave his Uncle a small side hug with an awkward smile. The two relatives stared at each other, presumably trying to get into each other’s heads, but Ben looked away first and awkwardly stood beside his sister.

“Are you alright?” Luke softly asked, looking over at his nephew.

“Yeah,” he said, “I’m fine. Just need some air.”

“Oh,” Luke said. Jaina looked beside her with a frown. “We’ll catch up later.” Luke turned to Jaina and Anakin. “Master Durron got some new ships on board. Would you like to see them?”

Before Ben could hear their answer, he walked in the opposite direction, trying to find the mysterious figure in his head that wanted to meet him on the outskirts of the planet.

Chapter Text

Ben scrambled out of the Jedi temple and made his way to the edge of the planet in his ship. He didn’t know where he was going, necessarily, but it seemed that the Force or this ‘Snoke’ figure was doing all of the work for him; before he knew it, he was in an abandoned part of the planet. Ben walked out of his ship. His droid, Geegee, came walking behind him.

“Stay on the ship,” he said, not looking back to check on him.

As he walked further around the planet, however, it seemed as if there was some fantasy magic spreading around him. A large holographic dome spread around Ben. Without understanding what to do, he ignited his lightsaber and twirled around his surroundings. Trees popped around him, small flowers, and butterflies swirled. It was odd—he was scared, but accepted his fear, and remained calm. 

The light pink and tall figure stood in front of him, in all of his light and glory, in robes. He presented himself as this figure—as this almighty leader—as some god—and maybe, just maybe, he was, thought Ben. Ben deactivated his saber.

Snoke lit up in a smile. “Ben,” he said, opening his arms wide. “It is alright. I am so glad you came. It’s the right thing to do.” Snoke inched closer to the young Jedi, and embraced him in a hug. 

“I don’t know what to do,” Ben said, stepping away from the hug. 

“Well, what do you want?” 

That was a loaded question. What did Ben want? He wanted more than he had already, and that was obvious. He wanted to control things—whether that was the government or the Jedi, though, was something he didn’t quite know. But he knew he could make things better. 

“I don’t know.” 

“But you do.” 

Snoke put his hand on Ben’s shoulder and projected a vision. In the middle of the dome, he saw a vision of Jaina training with Uncle Luke. They were learning new Force tricks—new saber techniques—new stability tricks. Then Snoke showed him Leia in the Senate. She was making an argument that they must keep the peace in the galaxy, and take the rebels down by talking to them about their beliefs—by empathizing with them—and reaching their (reasonable) demands if need be. 

“She’s too kind,” Ben dully said, clenching his jaw. “That is not how the situation on Ilum should be handled. They’re terrorists.”

Snoke swiped his hand, and the vision disappeared. “Are they really terrorists, or is that what your mother wants you to believe?”

Ben sat down on the ledge of the fantasy-like dome, observing his thoughts. That was true—to an extent, but deep down, he knew that what those people were doing on Illum wasn’t right. 

“If it isn’t right,” said Snoke, “then you can fix it.”

Snoke rested his hand on Ben’s head and shut his eyes. Suddenly, a montage flashed in his head—a crew of men, who all stood at Ben’s side at all times, who only answered to him; Snoke showed Ben leading an army—leading a galaxy. 

“Join me,” Snoke said, backing away from Ben. 

Ben looked up at him, with tears in his eyes. He would be betraying his family—his loved ones—everything that he knew and believed in. But he wanted to step away from that shadow of the Skywalker. Yes, he was the grandson of Anakin, but he was the grandson of Vader.

“I can teach you,” Snoke said, “the things that Vader never did.” Snoke smirked.

Deep down, Ben thought, he had always had such an intense infatuation, obsession, and fascination with Vader; he was powerful and he wanted that amount of influence in the galaxy. He wanted people to cower when he walked. 

Ben looked up at Snoke’s figure, looked back down at the ground, and back at Snoke. All he did was nod his head.

The rest of the time in the temple was simply Luke training new Padawans. The Masters took on different Padawans, and Luke even offered to give some to the twins. But they declined, wanting to go on more missions without the caution of a youngling. Anakin, however, got upgraded to the reward of Jedi knight. 

One night, though, Jaina was having insufferable thoughts and pains in her stomach. She couldn’t sleep. Jaina walked out of her sleeping quarters and headed downstairs for a drink. Ben had the same idea. He sat on the counter of their apartment, drinking a cup of tea. She sat beside him and looked out the window, enjoying the aesthetics of the planet Ossus.

“Hey,” she whispered, yawning.

“Hi.”

Ben hopped off the chair. “Finish that,” he said, looking at the mug. “I don’t want it.”

“Thanks.” She took a sip of it. “Going back to sleep?’

“No.”

“Oh.” She looked over at him. His eyes were cloudy, and his face was red. “Are you alright? You look sick.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” he stuttered over his words. “I just need some air.”

Jaina knew when he was lying. Especially since he had been using that excuse of “I need air” for days. He’d leave, take his ship, and not come back until sunrise. 

“You don’t have to lie to me. Didn’t think I would have to say that out loud.”

Ben clenched his fist, then unclenched them. “I know.” 

Afraid and worried for him, she stood from the chair and stood in front of him. The two glanced at each other, then looked away, the conversation having an awkward and tense nature to it, which had never happened with the twins. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

A toy ship fell from the staircase. It was Anakin who stood in the middle of the stair railing with a shocked face. The toy fell on Jaina’s shoulder. 

“Hey!” she shouted, picking up the toy X-wing and throwing it back to Anakin. “You should be in bed.” Even though her little brother was almost twenty, she still felt that he was a small child. 

Ben stepped away from Jaina and headed towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Anakin asked, running towards the door. He used the Force to fly the ship around towards Ben. 

“Just for a walk,” he said, opening the door. 

Anakin shut the door with the Force. “Anakin…” Jaina groaned, walking towards him.

“Well, I’m going flying with Tahiri. She’s visiting for the week. And, oh, why are you going on walks so much? Are you going to meet up with some girl? Some boy?” 

“What?” Jaina looked at Ben and then at Anakin, amused. “Huh? You didn’t tell me you had a partner.”

Ben slightly blushed. “No, I don’t. I just want to get out of here.”

Anakin laughed at the siblings and sat on the edge of the steps. “Don’t act all innocent, Jaina. I know why you and Zekk are always escaping to his apartment together…”

Jaina crossed her arms and—gently, of course—force pushed him into the wall.

“Ow!” Ben and Jaina shared a glance, laughing at their little brother. Anakin stood up and rubbed his head. “Well, I’m gonna go, you should join.”

Ben didn’t say anything.

“No, no. I’m tired. Go,” she said with a warm smile. Anakin pushed Ben out of the way and left the apartment first.

Ben looked over at her and rubbed his eyes. “Do you want to go with me?” he asked. “I found something that you might like,” he said, twisting the door knob.

“No, I’m tired, tell me about it later. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Right,” he said, heading out the door. 

After tossing and turning, Jaina finally fell asleep. But it wasn’t for long. She kept getting frantic calls from her brother on the holographic communication device. 

“I’m trying to sleep!” she said, seeing an image of him in his flying gear. 

Anakin’s breaths grew larger. It sounded as if there was a war going on on the call. “You need to get over here—the temple is burning; someone shot down Tahiri’s ship—I don’t know what’s happening.”

“What?” Jaina shot out of bed and drew her curtains. A fire spread across the Jedi temple and the surrounding huts around them. Her hands began to shake. “Did you call Uncle Luke?” she yelled out, running out of her room to see if Ben was there. He was nowhere to be seen. 

“He’s not answering,” Anakin cried out, swerving the ship around. “Ben isn’t either.”

Jaina ran out of the apartment complex and went to the loading dock. Her droid, Sparky, activated and hopped into the droid unit. She started the ship and immediately flew where Anakin’s ship was on her communication systems.

“Ben’s ship isn’t popping up on the system!” Jaina yelled out.

A crew of TIE fighters came swarming in by the temple, shooting down more of the Jedi occupied buildings. Jaina swerved the ship behind a TIE fighter and shot one down. She flicked some controls to call in any nearby Jedi and Republic fighters. 

“This is Jaina Solo, I need backup!” she screamed out, “Ben, are you there?” There was no response at all. Jaina tried to reach out with the Force, but it was completely blocked off. 

Anakin fought off some TIE fighters and swerved around the temple. “I don’t know where Tahiri went,” Anakin said, panicking. 

“We’ll find her,” Jaina said, trying to initiate some sort of harm reduction for her brother. She called her parents, knowing they could get some sort of message out that they were under attack. “This is Jaina Solo, reporting from Ossus. The Jedi temple and its occupants are currently under attack. I need all forces to respond; we are merely outnumbered.” Jaina disconnected the voice call and shot down more TIE fighters from behind her. It seemed like they were in the clear for the most part. The temple began to crumble and shake from the fire, completely losing its structure that was so essential to the Solo siblings' lives. 

“Where’s Ben? Did Ben die?” Anakin cried out, “Jaina, what happened to Ben? Where’s Ben?” Over the call, Anakin began to cry out. 

Once again, Jaina reached out with the Force to her brother; he was nowhere to be found.

“I…Anakin…”

Anakin flew his ship to the ashes of the ground, and quickly hopped out. Jaina quickly followed him.

“Tahiri!” he yelled, tears staining his face. “Ben!”

“Help!” She yelled out, hoping someone would come for her. The sight in front of her was horrid—like a war zone. The living quarters she spent so much time in were burned down. The temple, somewhat, stood tall, but flames engulfed its exterior. Windows from the building were filled with red and orange fire. Clouds filled the air. 

“Help!” the two screamed. 

Dead bodies were scattered on the premises, and she could barely recognize the corpses that were being burned to shreds. This had to be a dream, she thought. Jaina clenched the soil for some kind of grasp as she tried to help Anakin find Tahiri and Luke. 

“Ben?!” she cried out, wanting to find him. “Tahiri? Uncle Luke? Where’s everyone?’

Tears mixed with her sweat to create a poisonous mixture on her face, her eyesight clouded by the ashes and smoke. The fire only inched closer and closer, causing her to have to try and stand up to walk away from it. In the distance, she saw a body lying on the ground. She didn’t have to see it any closer to know who it was already. Anakin ran over to it first and collapsed beside it.

“Tahiri!” he yelled, holding her limp body.

Slowly, Tahiri held onto Anakin’s shoulder, and tried to breathe. Jaina rushed beside her and held her head up, trying to offer some sort of comfort. “It’s going to be okay,” Jaina whispered, “we’ll get a medic for you. It’s going to be okay.” But Jaina looked down further at Tahiri’s body, only to see a large lightsaber wound in her chest. 

“Tahiri, don’t leave me,” Anakin whispered, keeping her eyes on him. As Anakin held his dear friend’s lifeless body, Jaina’s body grew warm but cold at the same time. Drops of blood fell on her face, and all she could feel was a stabbing feeling in her stomach and arm. She looked around at her surroundings, only to see Ben walk over in the distance.

“Ben…” she repeated with a tearful smile. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He walked closer to her. “Tahiri is gone,” she said, wiping her tears. “Someone killed her and did all of this to the temple…” Jaina looked beside her, but it was only the ground. Anakin and Tahiri were nowhere to be seen. “What?” she said, clutching through the dirt. “Ani?!”

Jaina looked back at Ben and reached out to touch his hand. It went straight through him, and she only touched the ground. This wasn’t real. He wasn’t real. Was she even alive? Was she seeing things? This couldn’t be the Force connecting them, not now, at least; she needed to know that he was okay.  

“Where is Ani?” 

“He’s okay,” Ben said. 

Ben’s eyes glared at her with a certain type of skepticism, then they relaxed. Jaina sensed that he was distant, different, and not surprised at the damage around them. “Do you know who did this?” she asked. “I called Mom and…and Luke didn’t answer when Anakin called.” 

Suddenly, her surroundings turned into a black void. This wasn’t something new—they were able to channel each other’s presence in the Force, a trick they learned as young Padawans. This time, however, it was different. Her brother looked menacing, shocked, and frightened. Still, he stayed silent, looking at Jaina. She couldn’t see where he was—she couldn’t actually connect with him and his thoughts. 

Everything around her was falling apart—there was no more burning fire. Anakin and Tahiri’s body wasn’t in front of her. It was pitch black, with only her brother in front of her.

“What did you do…” She backed away from him, but he only stepped closer. “Where am I?” She tried to escape the hole she was in, but she couldn’t; in the reflection of Ben’s eyes was the fire from the temple. A mixture of guilt, remorse, and anger flickered as the twins stood face to face. 

No words had to be exchanged in them. He did this—her brother, her twin, destroyed everything they knew. She took a step closer to him and shoved his chest, pushing him back. Forgetting that he physically wasn’t there made her angrier. “How could you?” she shouted. “Did you do all of this?” She knew the answer. And he knew what to say.

“I had no choice!” Ben yelled.

“What? Of course you did.”

“Do you think I wanted this all to happen?” Ben screamed, looking around. Tears clouded Jaina’s vision. 

“You killed Tahiri,” Jaina said, crossing her arms. “You killed even more innocent people on this planet, Ben!”

“They’re Jedi. And they tried to kill me. They got in my way.”

“What?” His voice echoed through his head. 

“Tahiri got in my way. And now you are too.”

“Your way?” she screamed at him. Aggressively, she slapped him in his face, finally able to make some sort of contact with him. “What are you talking about? Have you lost your mind? You killed people, Ben, you ended their lives because what—because why? This isn’t making sense. You burned down the temple and…and our lives…our sacred place—you killed people, Ben!”

Ben took a deep breath and clenched his jaw. “I did what I had to do.”

“I will never forgive you for this.”

“You won’t have to. I’m helping you. I’m doing our family a favor.”

“By burning the world down? By killing the people you’ve known for ages—that’s…that’s helping? I don’t need your help; what the hell has happened to you.” Jaina’s hands and limbs began  to shake. Her head swirled. Blood dripped from her arm. Her brother was spiraling, and he was so shut off from her and the Force, that she couldn’t even understand why—or, better yet, feel why he did such a terrible and inexcusable thing. 

“Jaina. There’s more out there for you,” he softly said, “there’s more out here for this galaxy that doesn’t include the Jedi or the Republic—”

“Do you even hear yourself right now?”

“You can leave everything behind you, Jaina, and start something new. I know someone who’ll help us. He’ll help me, you, Anakin, Zekk. Everyone.” 

Ben wiped his bloody face. His tan Jedi robes were stained red and black from the utter chaos he insured on the planet. 

“We don’t need help,” Jaina said, seeing the surroundings of Ossus come back to life. The sight of her brother began to fade, and cries from Anakin beside her began to fill her ears. Yells from Luke echoed in the distance. 

“Go…” Ben said…”Just go,” he whispered.

“I’m not going until I find you,” Jaina said. Sparks from the fire began to hit her body. 

But the light from Ben faded away, and there she saw Luke, crouching over to his niece and nephew.

“I thought I lost you all,” Luke said, his voice still soft and calming, yet confused and worried.

Jaina and Anakin wrapped their arms around their Uncle as they cried even more. Jaina held tightly onto him and Anakin.

“Ben did this,” Jaina said, crying.

“I know,” Luke whispered.

Anakin cried even more. The family limped away from the crime scene, trying to piece together where to go from here.

Chapter Text

“How are you?” Jaina asked Anakin, tilting her lips downwards. It had been a week since Ben disappeared. The family hadn’t been the same—they could barely hold conversations with each other anymore, a huge block rested between Jaina and her brother, and her mother had been off, busy with the Republic. But now the Solo family was flying over to D’Qar to help build up a military base to fight off the rebels on Illum, and hopefully track down Ben.

Anakin didn’t bother to look at his sister. Instead, he looked out the window of the Millennium Falcon , watching the blue sparkles of hyperspace. 

“Fine,” he bluntly said, tapping his hands on his knee. “And you?” 

Anakin looked over at her sister, his eyes puffed up and red. Jaina took a deep breath and fidgeted with her hair. “Fine,” she said, not wanting to tell him her true feelings—although, of course, it seemed to be obvious that she was far from fine.

“We’re going to find him,” Jaina said, wiping her eyes and sitting next to Anakin.

“And then what?” Anakin's hands shook. “Bring him back with open arms? Tell him how much we missed him?”

“No, but he’s not too far gone yet. I can feel it.”

“I don’t care what your feelings are!” Anakin yelled and stood up. “He killed my best friend! Ben is gone to me!”

Jaina clenched her jaw. “So what’s your plan?”

“I don’t know.” Anakin paced back and forth in the hall. “How did this even happen? Why’d he turn?” 

“I don't know,” Jaina said. 

From the other side of the hall, Han and Leia walked in. Han rubbed Jaina’s shoulder and sat beside her.

“He didn't say anything to you before all of this shit went down?” Han asked, crossing his arms.

“No,” Ani said.

“We’re going to get out of this.” Leia patted Anakin’s back and sat beside Han. 

“You guys keep saying that.” Anakin brushed his light brown hair back and stopped pacing back and forth. “I lost my best friend! He killed my best friend!”

Luke and Zekk walked into the room, both bringing the mood slightly more tense. 

“And you guys are making it seem like—like we’ll find him and everything is going to be perfect! That won’t bring Tahiri back.” 

“I know you’re frustrated.” Luke took a deep breath. “We all are. When we find Ben, he will face the consequences for his actions; do not be mistaken.”

Anakin crossed his arms. “He’s not coming back.”

“Don’t say that,” Han said. “He’ll come around, eventually.”

Zekk sat next to Jaina and put his arm around her. “How are you holding up?” he asked, whispering in her ear. 

Jaina rested her head on Zekk’s shoulder. “Alright.” Jaina tuned out her family’s bantering. 

Zekk kissed her forehead. “I’m here for you,” he said, kissing her cheek. “We all are.”

The family got to D-Qar. The forest and mossy-like planet were already established with X-wings, fighter jets, and weaponry. To an extent, Jaina thought that this planet had been built up for months, and no one thought to tell her. Wouldn’t it be important to know that there was a whole planet dedicated to military forces? That was the Jedi’s job. But the Jedi were already dwindling in numbers from the destruction of the temple.

As they all stepped out of the ship, her mother greeted some of the pilots with warm smiles. One of them, in particular, stood out to Jaina. He wore a bright smile on his face as his small BB unit droid spun around him. On the arrival of R2-D2 and C3-PO, however, the droid left the man’s little circle and played around with the Solo and Skywalker droids. 

“Poe,” Han said, “this is my daughter Jaina.”

After hearing her name, Jaina stepped next to her father. The pilot extended his hand out. 

“Poe Dameron,” he said, “nice to finally meet you Jaina. I’ve heard you’re the best pilot in the galaxy?” 

Jaina reached out to shake his hand and forced a smile. “Oh, I’m far from the best.”

Han smiled. “Poe is the Republic’s best pilot. With you two in the sky, the rebels on Illum shouldn’t be a threat to us any longer.” 

Jaina nodded her head and looked more into the base. Whether people would say it or not—they were going to war with the rebels. Luke stood at a distance from the base, smiling and catching up with people. They seemed to be old rebels. It seemed that everyone, and everyone being her mother, knew more about Illum than she did. 

Time went on—the family travelled from Coruscant, Corellia, D’Qar, Hosnian Prime, and other planets in the galaxy almost daily. Jaina was starting to get sick of all of it—she went on the missions with Uncle Luke, flew around with Poe, and thought through plans with the military base on D’Qar. But it wasn’t enough. She wasn’t being told enough. By then, it had been two years since Ben had turned, and no one knew anything other than the fact that Illum and more of the outer rim planets were being completely taken over by this new regime. This new regime had a name—The First Order. And it was time to stage a small invasion of them on Illum. 

The First Order, now, were trying to take over the galaxy by staging small invasions on outer rim planets and other little planets in the system. 

Some of the senators weren't for a full on invasion and war—they believed that the First Order would stop, and that they wouldn't attack the core planets. Leia, of course, thought differently; the more they waited, the more powerful the regime would get.

Jaina pulled her mother aside after the senate hearing. 

“This isn't how this should be handled,” Jaina said, crossing her arms.

“I know, and I agree.”

“You're the chancellor, why can't you decide what is right for your government?”

“Jaina, I can't. My hands are tied—”

“Too tied to go behind their backs?” Han asked, standing beside Jaina. “This is our son, we're talking about.”

Leia shut her eyes. “I want him back, too.”

“Then we fight for it. That’s what you taught me” Jaina said. “I'll call the others.”

The family plus Zekk and Chewie made their way into the Millenium Falcon. 

“We know that the main base is on Illum,” said Luke, standing beside Jaina. 

Anakin tapped his foot on the ground. “If we take that one out first, that will leave all the others with no support.” A large holographic projection of the galaxy showed on the communication table. 

“That is true,” said Leia, looking at her son.

“If we take the small ones out first, it will leave the main officers in Illum occupied. Then a fleet can do a surprise attack on the First Order’s main base,” Jaina pitched in, crossing her arms. 

Zekk shook his head and swiped a button on the hologram table. “As much as I like that idea for the thrill, it’s not practical.”

“Arooo,” Chewie groaned in agreement. 

“How come?” Jaina crossed her arms.

Jaina stood beside Zekk by the hologram table and stuffed her hands in her pocket. 

“It's too much of a statement,” Zekk said.

Anakin appeared from the other room and stood beside his parents. He examined the hologram more, and turned to R2.

“R2,” said Anakin, “pull up the scans of the invaded planets.”

“Why those?” Leia asked. 

“Because, if they've already invaded some planets, shutting down their bases isn't going to do much,” Luke confidently said. 

The family looked at the R2 unit as he projected an image of planets. Jakku, a small desert planet, popped up in bright red. The droid beeped.

“They're attacking Jakku,” Leia said. “We need to send fighters out there.” 

“Pull up the security cams,” Luke said to the droid. Once again R2 beeped.

“I'm afraid, Master Luke,” said Threepio, “that the security footage and measures have been destroyed by the opposing forces.”

“Wonderful,” Han said. “Do we have any eyes on the ground, Luke? Any Jedi on that planet?”

“Not on—” Luke froze and his face fell flat; he looked over at Leia, who shared the same timid and frightened face. 

Zekk stood over next to Jaina, resting his arm around her waist.

“What? What's wrong?” Anakin asked.

“Wedge…” Luke mumbled. “Wedge Antilles, a friend of mine…he was in the rebels, he's on Jakku.”

“Shit,” Han said. “Chewie, come on, let’s get this ship running.” Han went over to the cockpit. 

“I'll call in Poe and his pilots to get on Jakku,” Leia said, walking off.

“Han,” Luke yelled, “send com signals to Wedge, tell him we're on our way, and we know about the invasion.”

Jaina fiddled around with the buttons on the hologram table and her device on her wrist. “I already did that,” she said. Luke gave her a slight smile. “And…” Jaina clicked a button. “There’s some footage from a lone X-Wing on Jakku.”

Luke recognized that X-wing model. “Red Two,” Luke said, “we’re en route to Jakku.”

“I’m trying to hold off these TIE fighters but they shot down all of the other pilots. We’re going to need all of the help we can get, Red Five.”

Before Luke could even respond, a loud crash erupted on the system. The hologram glitched out, and Wedge disconnected. 

“Get it back up!” Anakin demanded, panicked. 

“I can’t!” Jaina told him, annoyed that he wasn’t properly thinking any of this through. 

Zekk took a deep breath. Luke told the siblings to stop bickering, and assessed the situation a little bit more. Despite her annoyance, Jaina fiddled with some chords and wires, trying to figure out a way to get connected back to Jakku. 

She bit her lip and turned to Zekk behind her. “Go see how much longer until we’ll get to Jakku.”

Zekk went off in the opposite direction, and Leia heard her mother from close by.

“Poe’s crew is entering Jakku’s atmosphere.” 

“And they have a plan once there?” Luke asked his sister.

“Yes, do not doubt my team,” she, confidently, said, “they’re going to the small village right outside the main city to protect the civilians. Then they’ll take out the stormtroopers.”

Soon enough, Jaina got the communication system to work, and brought back up a live hologram of what was happening on Jakku. Horrifically, the  group saw a bunch of soldiers and stormtroopers storm the village, asking people for IDs and if they were loyal to the republic. Luke, Leia, Anakin, Zekk, and Jaina all looked at the hologram, which now showed a still image of a tall man in black robes and a mask that slightly resembled Darth Vader. A shock vibrated through Jaina’s brain—that was who she saw in that vision on Illum when they first went. R2 beeped. Threepio beside him wobbled over to Luke. Anakin stood right beside Jaina, him too, examining the image. The siblings looked at each other, clearly aware who that person was. 

Jaina leaned on the table. Leia put her hand on her forehead. “Don’t tell me that’s him.”

“I’m sorry,” Luke said, holding his twin sister’s hand. 

Leia shut her eyes for a moment, and took out a device from her pocket. “Poe, do you have a clue on who that is?”

Pews and shots from the X-wings echoed through the room. 

“He’s a new leader or something—calls himself Kylo Ren,” Poe answered.

“I want all of our forces on those troopers that are attacking the civilians. We’re almost to Jakku.”

“Ren?” Anakin crossed his arms. “That’s what he’s calling himself now?”

Jaina strapped on her gloves and made sure ammo was in her blaster. “I’m not sure if that was his choice.”

Luke looked over at Jaina gearing up for battle. Jaina caught eyes with her Uncle. “Whose choice could it be?”

Jaina’s heart skipped a beat. “Snoke’s.”

Chapter Text

The First Order’s Star Destroyer sent out a dozen pods full of determined stormtroopers. The existence of this First Order, however, was built out of resistance to the power of the Republic. These stormtroopers were like no others seen before—they were not of the same caliber as the ones from the Empire; no, these soldiers were, in the eyes of the generals and captains of the First Order, of the utmost perfection: they were raised to serve the regime, they were brainwashed, or, if shown to be dedicated and loyal enough, were everyday citizens like you.

Poe’s pilots flew and dodged shots from the skilled TIE fighters, but it wasn’t enough—they were getting shot down in mere seconds. 

“Back down, Poe,” Leia commanded. Poe took a deep breath as the words from the general echoed in his ears. But he didn’t want to—he couldn’t—these were innocent people that the First Order were torturing and intimidating. 

Instead of backing down, Poe landed his X-wing behind large crates and boxes. He got out of the building and kneeled down behind the crates. His droid, BB-8, followed close behind him. On the desert-filled planet of Jakku, local civilians and villagers all shout and cry out in the middle of their small town. Fruit from fruit stands was knocked down, fabric was tossed everywhere, and small babies were wailing in the arms of their parents. Poe Dameron, a skilled pilot of the Resistance, was scurrying across Jakku, trying to find someone. 

“Poe, what are you doing?” Leia sent over a signal on BB-8. “We’re getting to Jakku soon and I’ve sent out troops to surround the planet. Retreat while you still can. That is an order.”

Poe shook his head and shut the droid’s connection off. “I’m sorry, little guy.” As the droid shut down into rest mode, he grabbed his blaster and was ready to protect the villagers. 

The stormtroopers held on to villagers as hostages, quickly burning down everything that they ever knew—the fruit stand, their houses, their shops, their schools—everything was gone, burning to ashes before their eyes. They couldn’t understand why such a government would do that; they were people too. They had goals, dreams, lives, ideas, too. 

As they destroyed anything and everything in their line of sight, Poe’s stomach sank. There was no way he could survive such a disastrous scene, no matter how optimistic he was. So, he decided to listen to his chancellor and commander, and headed back to his ship. But it was caught in the crossfire—the engine was shot off and it started to engulf in flames. 

Poe turned BB-8 back on. The droid ran in small circles and beeped in annoyance. 

“I’m sorry. You need to get as far away from here as you can, okay? I’ll come back for you. I promise.” Poe opened the droid’s safebox and put his ID and trackers in BB-8.

The little droid listened and sped away. Poe grabbed his gun and started to fire away at the stormtroopers as best as he could, unveiling his cover. 

As the bloodshed and fire spread around the village, a stormtrooper rushed over to his fallen soldier. 

“No, no…” the stormtrooper whispered as he leaned over the other. He held him tight, only for his dearest friend to hold his helmet, letting streaks of blood fall on him. The stormtrooper ran to hide behind a box, fearing what would come next as he looked up into the sky. 

Poe aimed his gun at the trooper. “Don’t take another step!” he yelled. 

The trooper held his hands up, seemingly surrendering. “I’m not on their side,” the trooper said, looking up into the sky. Poe looked at the ominous, black, and pointed ship as it made a graceful yet oppressive landing on the sand. In a brief distance, two troopers held an old man with white and greying hair, and brought him up to the ship. 

A man slowly walked out of the dock, his robes all black, with his cape swaying in the wind. His fist balled as he heavily walked toward Wedge Antilles. 

“Who’s that?” Poe asked, his gun still pointed at the trooper.

“Kylo Ren.” 

“And the other guy?” Poe added ammo to his blaster.

“I don’t know. He’s just an old rebel the First Order is hunting down.”

Ren stood in front of the old man. “Look at how old you have become,” Ren said. His voice was muffled yet clear—his mask intimidating and cold; there was no emotion in that mask, but so much emotion in that vulnerable voice. “You know what I’ve come for.” 

Wedge Antilles, in this moment, decided to be smart; presumably not a good move. “I know where you come from. It is not from the ways of the dark side. You, sir, must not deny the beliefs your family has taught you.” 

Kylo circled him, but kept a distinct eye on him. The glimmers of the fiery scene grew taller. Kylo ignited a red, bleeding, and nearly unstable lightsaber. “You’re so right.” With one slash, Wedge Antilles was gone, his body split in half on the sand. 

Before even thinking, Poe stood up and shot his blaster at Kylo. In mere seconds, however, Kylo stopped the gravity of the bullet with the Force, only to turn around and see a young man. The bullet hung in the air, and without recoil. Kylo turned to view him as the man was kicked to his knees by stormtroopers.

“Who sent you?” Kylo asked, staring at the man in pilot gear. He knew, of course, that it was the Republic’s doing. 

“Search him for an ID and trackers.”

The stormtroopers patted him down. “Nothing, Sir.” 

Kylo squinted at him. Poe spit on his boot, causing Kylo to kick him in the stomach. “Put him on board.”

As the caped man drifted away, Captain Phasma, an elite stormtrooper, approached Ren. “The villagers, Sir.”

“Get rid of them,” Ren said as he walked away, his cape flowing as bullets blasted into villagers. A strong pull pounded through his head, which caused him to look back at the chaos ensuing behind him. One stormtrooper with red streaks on his helmet looked up at him. That one, thought Kylo, was odd; he was getting small pings in his head that he only got when he was around force sensitive people. But as Kylo stared at the trooper further, it began to make more sense. He tilted his head to the sky, only to see a familiar sight soar through the sky. A crew of X-wings and another ship he’d never want to see again; the Millenium Falcon.

Chapter Text

Luke’s eyes lit up as he felt the disappearance of his dear friend, Wedge. “What is he trying to do?” Luke asked, unsure of his nephew’s true motives. 

Leia’s hand massaged her growing headache. She sat beside her brother on the ship, trying to piece together what to do next. 

“I failed him,” Leia whispered, unsure of what to do next. “I don’t know what I did wrong—was I a bad mother?” 

“Leia,” Luke said, holding her hand. “Don’t say that. You did all that you could.”

Chewie sat beside Leia, giving her a small hug.

“Thanks, Chewie.” 

Over in the cockpit was Han, Jaina, and Anakin. Jaina watched the destruction on Jakku, not understanding why her brother would do such a thing. 

“Jaina,” Ben said, his voice echoing in her mind.

Han flew the ship away from the scene, but Jaina tried to convince him otherwise.

“What are you guys doing?” she yelled at them, wanting to go confront Ben. 

Anakin flicked some buttons up to put the shields on.

“I want to talk to him too, kid, but we can't risk our own lives.”

Jaina massaged her scalp in frustration. “We can stop this if we all just—just have a conversation!”

Han exited the planet. “You think having a conversation is going to fix all this?” Han said, looking behind him at his daughter. 

Anakin took a deep breath. “Talking to him isn’t going to bring her back.” 

Tears fell into Jaina’s eyes. She looked down at her neck and fidgeted with a necklace. It was a gift from Ben years ago; he found it at a gift shop. It was shaped like a dice, and it reminded him of their dad’s dice that hung on the falcon. If her parents weren’t going to fight this fight, then she would do it. She would do it alone if she had to. Leia and Luke walked into the cockpit. 

“We need to get Poe back,” she said, leaning against her husband’s chair. 

“Our best course of action is to follow Ben’s ship,” Jaina said.

“No—we can’t go all in.” Luke took a deep breath. “We call in pilots from the Rebel Alliance and the Resistance; and we sit down and we make a plan.”

“A plan,” Jaina shook her head. “We’re wasting time. Poe could be dead. He’s your best pilot, Mom.”

“I know that!”

Han held onto Leia’s hand and let her sit in his seat. 

“What if that was me?” Jaina held her head. “We’re watching a wannabe Empire rise from the ground, and we’re taking our time?!” She framed it as a question, but of course, she didn’t want an answer.

“Jaina…” Han said, his voice low.

Anakin sat in the copilot seat, his arms folded, and his eyes closed. 

“Some things,” Leia said, “need to be discussed by a collective.”

Jaina wiped her teary eyes. “My brother is acting like some wannabe Vader, and you’re letting all of this happen in an instant.”

Without hearing what they all had to say, she left the cockpit. 

Jaina walked past Chewbacca and R2-D2 sitting in the main hold and playing some game. Instead, she went into one of the crew quarters. Zekk was laying down in a bunk, his eyes glued to the ceiling, with tears sliding down his face. Lightly, Jaina shut the door, slid her jacket and boots off, and sat down beside him. 

“I’m sorry,” Jaina said, wiping the tears off his face. 

“What’re you sorry about?” he asked, sitting up in the bed. He wiped his own tears off, and kissed Jaina’s shoulder. “This isn’t your fault.” 

“I’m going to find him.” Zekk held her hand and kissed it, his own tears falling onto her hand. “I’m tired of waiting.” 

“You’re not doing it alone. I’ll go with you.” 

Jaina nodded her head. A light knock came across the door. It was Anakin. He, too, was in tears.

“You’re right,” Anakin said. “What you said over there…we can’t take our time.”

Jaina took a deep breath. Anakin sat on a chair beside Zekk’s bunk. “We’ll leave for Illum tomorrow,” Jaina said, “at nightfall.”

Chapter Text

The next day, Jaina and Zekk made the jump into hyperspace. Anakin was in his own ship, flying close behind the couple. 

“Shields up,” Jaina said to Anakin on her headset, “we’ll be on Illum in no time. I don’t know how good their security system is now, so expect to be seen as soon as we hit the planet.”

“Got it,” Anakin said, his X-wing flying beside Jaina’s ship. “I don’t think their technology will be that good after a few years, but I’ll be careful.”

“You never know, kid,” Zekk said, “I’ve seen some crazy things out in the outer rim.”

“Way to keep the hopes up.” Jaina looked over at Zekk and gave him an annoyed smile.

Jaina looked out the ship to see a dark flash flying west. They didn’t look like TIE fighters, and they didn’t look like X-wings, either. 

“Scan those ships,” Jaina demanded, quickly turning the ship west. “Ani, follow us, if they’re with Ben, we might get a clear shot coming in.” The ships still weren’t being scanned. “Zekk?”

“Jeez, relax, hon,” Zekk said, flicking up some buttons. 

Jaina made the ship go faster, and made sure to keep an eye on Anakin. She didn’t care if those ships were the First Order, the Resistance, or simply people fooling and playing around. Something in her mind was pulling her towards it, and told her to go after it, so she did.

“Nothing is popping up in the system for the ships.” Jaina looked toward him, her face turning pale. They both knew that this was what they were looking for. That this was who they were looking for. 

Before going faster, she slowed down. Anakin followed closely in front of her. 

“We gotta be smart about this,” Anakin said. “We can’t just follow the ship in—it’s a trap.”

“I know,” Jaina said. “So we go in from the other side—or…” Jaina shut her eyes and took a deep breath. The Force. She crafted an image of a TIE fighter in her head, with her as the pilot and Zekk sitting in the seat to shoot. And so Jaina’s ship morphed into a TIE fighter, and soon Anakin’s did too. It was a trick Luke taught her a few months ago; to everyone else, it looked like a TIE fighter, but to her and those in the ship, it was her original and beloved vehicle.

“Let’s go,” Jaina said, flying into Illum. Jaina and Anakin flew into the ship dock and dodged any sort of confrontation that could have happened.  

The ship landed smoothly into the ship dock. Jaina stepped out of the cockpit, her black Jedi garbs draping against her shoulders. Zekk and Anakin stood beside Jaina. The base’s lights were overly saturated—its white lights glared onto the shiny black and grey marbled floors. Halls upon halls scattered on each wall. She had no clue where to even start looking for his brother. 

Stormtroopers started to shoot at the group, but the Jedi deflected the shots with their sabers. Jaina took out her own blaster, shooting a couple while they ran for cover. 

“Surrounded already,” Zekk whispered.

Jaina brushed her loose hair behind her ears and revealed herself from their hiding spot. She, once again, ignored her purple saber and blocked the blaster bullets from one side. Anakin took the other, and Zekk guarded the two from behind. 

“Shoot,” Zekk said, backing into a wall as he used his blaster to shoot more troopers. “We didn’t think this through at all.”

“It’s fine,” Anakin said, looking around. A stormtrooper came running towards them. Without hesitating, Zekk stabbed the trooper with his saber and pulled it out. 

“We’re outnumbered. Your parents and Master Luke don’t know you’re here. We need to turn back.” 

The look in Zekk’s dark eyes told her that he was serious. Even more so, he was worried about this whole thing. Jaina looked over at Anakin, who was searching through the endless bright halls for some sort of clue towards their brother. She didn’t know how to answer Zekk—he was right. A pounding pressure and ringing noise filled her entire body—her brother was near; he had to be. 

“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Jaina said, “but I have to reach him.”

There was no doubt that, eventually, the two would be caught. It was only a matter of when. Jaina caught up to Anakin and shot down a trooper roaming the halls. Anakin took the radio device and held it to his mouth.

“The hell are you doing?” Zekk yelled. He tried to reach for the device, but Jaina pushed him away, observing what Ani was trying to accomplish.

“Tell Kylo Ren that I need to see him. Now, or I’ll shred this place to pieces, got it?” 

He threw the device on the ground and crushed it with his foot.

“Luring him to us,” Jaina said, “good work.”

“You’re instigating this?” Zekk said, putting his blaster in his holster. “You’re insane.”

“But you still stick around all the time, don’t you?” Jaina said, walking off. Jaina’s headache grew stronger; she ran down the hall, only for her head to pound until her eyes strained; this feeling—this connection she had with Ben was never this painful. “He’s near,” Jaina said. “It’s not a good feeling.”

“I know,” Anakin responded. 

“Yeah,” Zekk said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Anakin slowly glanced at Zekk and rolled his eyes. 

Jaina looked up at the ceiling, seeing a window or a potential escape route in mind. As she narrowed her eyes down even more, a vision floated in her mind. She saw Zekk hopelessly lying on the floor, his body cold and drained. A figure of Snoke flashed in her head—he was standing beside Zekk’s body, electrocuting him. It was only a vision—it wasn’t real.

The group found the elevator nearby, and clicked a random button. Jaina didn’t know which floor he was on, but she could only feel which one was correct. As the elevator lifted them up, a strong wave of remorse, anxiety, and darkness itched over her skin. With that, a small voice in her head appeared. 

“Leave,” the voice said. The voice grew louder, more desperate, and clear. “Jaina!” the voice yelled out. It seemed to have a distorted filter over it, but she remembered who it was; Snoke. 

“Stop!” she said in her head. She clicked another button at random; but she knew it wasn’t random; nothing was with the force. “You’re not winning this!” the muffled voice said. The lights in the elevator flickered, and it began to shake.

“What the hell is happening?” Anakin messed with the buttons and tried to stabilize it. Zekk helped out, but Jaina’s pain grew more. Her stomach sank, her head pounded, and her balance was lost. 

“We need to get out of here,” Zekk said. “I don’t care what you guys say.” 

Zekk pressed the button to the first floor, but the buttons were still flashing and glitching out. Jaina still saw visions, but they were too fast to even comprehend. Slowly, the elevator opened up to reveal a series of loud and deep screams. A tall man in all black robes and a mask walked out of a small room in front of the elevator. 

“Take care of that pilot,” Kylo said to a redhead beside him. 

The group stayed put in the elevator, waiting for Kylo to turn around. Anakin and Zekk had a hand on his saber. Jaina wasn’t here to fight him—not yet. He still could be redeemed. Jaina’s headache eased.

Kylo turned around, facing his past in the elevator. Stormtroopers rushed to the elevator, taking the three Jedi out of the elevator. But the Jedi were faster, and force pushed them into the elevator, sending them down. 

It was only them, now. Anakin went first, rushing over to his brother with his saber.

“Anakin, no!” Jaina yelled, trying to reach for him. She had too late of a reaction. Kylo ignited his saber out and deflected his brother’s shots, knowing how he dueled and battled from all of their practice fights in Luke’s academy. 

“We’re not here to fight!” Jaina yelled, using the Force to pull the two brothers away from each other. 

“You killed Tahiri!” Anakin screamed, his hands still gripping his saber. 

Kylo deactivated his saber and said nothing to Anakin. 

“What was in the past was in the past,” Jaina said, taking a step closer to Kylo Ren. “We’re not here to fight—”

“You sent the pilot to kill me,” he said, re-igniting his saber. 

“No,” Jaina said, feeling Zekk step up to stand in front of her. “That pilot was a part of the Republic. I have no affiliation with him.”

“Then you don’t care if he lives or dies?” he said, his saber crackling and glowing. Jaina said nothing. He was trying to get into her mind. 

Kylo turned his head toward Zekk, and began to use the force to choke him.

“Let him go!” Jaina yelled. Anakin pointed his saber at him, and Jaina pointed her blaster at him. “We’re only here to talk and try to figure this all out. You left me,” she said, tears balling in her eyes. “You left all of us.”

Her eyes pounded in her head. 

“You all mean nothing to me,” he said, using the force to throw Zekk across the wall. Jaina yelled out, but Kylo force pushed her and Anakin into the room behind him. 

“Take him away,” Kylo demanded to someone, but there was no one in the area. Kylo stormed into the room with his siblings and locked it behind him.

“You all shouldn’t be here.” He, gently, force choked his two siblings. Anakin kicked around in the air as Jaina scratched at her own neck. 

It had been years since he left everyone, and all he wanted was to fight. Quickly, Jaina’s heart began to race. This wasn’t how she thought this would go. Kylo let go of his grasp on his siblings, and watched as they both caught their breath. He took his mask off. There stood her brother with the same dark eyes and dark hair as Jaina. There stood someone who, somewhat, resembled Ben Solo.

“Ben,” Jaina coughed. 

“Go to hell!” Anakin shouted out.

Kylo kneeled beside his siblings. “You look frightened,” he said.

And they all were. There was an odd nature to his voice and demeanor—an odd look to his face, despite it nearly mimicking her own. Everything about him made her question if that was her brother at all. Severely did she underestimate her brother’s newfound power and loyalty to the dark side of the force and this illegitimate First Order.

Anakin crawled up and took his blaster out of his holster. But Kylo was quicker—he used the Force to grab it, released the safety button and pointed it at Anakin. Jaina tried to tackle her brother, but it served no purpose. A lone blaster shot went off and hit the side of Anakin’s shoulder. Ignoring the pain, Anakin tried to hit his brother with his saber but Kylo moved out the way, pushing his sister across the room. 

“Did Skywalker send you to kill me?” Kylo yelled. 

“You know he would do that himself!” Jaina yelled back. 

Anakin tried to hit him again, but Kylo only moved out of the way. He stepped out to ignite his own saber. 

“Han Solo sent you? Did your mother?”

Anakin grunted and pushed his saber into Kylo’s saber, and tried to corner him into the wall. But his older brother was too strong—he always had been, and got the upperhand. Jaina force pushed Kylo away from Anakin, and swung her saber to his. 

“Anakin, go get Zekk and the ship,” Jaina whispered, kicking Kylo away from her. Anakin ran out of the room, off to help them escape. 

“What is this…this Sith thing that you’re doing? I don’t understand it at all.”

Kylo, rather dramatically, groaned. “You know why.” The twins deactivated their sabers at the same time. Jaina was only fighting because Anakin started it

“I don’t.”

“You were sent here to kill me. That’s reason enough!”

“Tell me the truth,” he said. Jaina took a deep breath and clenched her jaw. “You know I can take whatever you want. I’ve always been more powerful than you, and you know that.”

“Your tricks don’t work on me.”

Jaina tried her best to keep her composure. She knew that whatever he was learning from Snoke—whatever that was, anyway—was powerful and rather painful. Kylo stood beside her. His hand hovered over the side of her face. A sharp tingling pain erupted all over her mind. She pushed her head back and tensed her muscles, not letting him get inside her head.

“Jaina…” he said. “It’s so dark in there, isn’t it? Locked away on Coruscant…hiding away from us …from me , aren’t you?” 

Tears slid down her cheek. “Stop it! How are you…how…?” She let her guard down—she never should have let her guard down; whoever this was in front of her, was not her brother. 

“Han Solo doesn’t check on you…Leia doesn’t either…but Zekk does. Every evening.”

Jaina turned her head away even more, struggling to breathe properly. Her breaths corresponded with Kylo’s hand. For a brief moment, she tuned out Kylo’s rambling entirely and thought about Zekk. She closed her eyes and focused on her feelings to see if Zekk made it out alright—if he made it out of this hell. But it was empty—it was nothing but silence—frozen emotions—an empty, black void—a steady yet empty pulse.

“There it is,” Kylo said. “You brought Zekk here, but he’s gone; vanished. I don’t feel his presence in the Force, and neither do you. He doesn’t care about you. Who else do you have, Jaina? Skywalker—he doesn’t care about you, and you know it deep down. He only gave you all that attention back when we were training, because, well…he saw your potential; potential that you no longer possess. But you go to him, anyway, don’t you? And he’s gone, now…gone. Anakin’s gone too—he’s quiet, scared, timid. He wants my head, that’s it.”

Jaina started to panic. “Where is Zekk? What’d you do to him?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“No…I don’t…no…no stop!” She yelled.

“You came here to kill me with Zekk, that’s why you brought him! That—that Jedi!” he raised his voice.

Taking advantage of his anger, Jaina used the Force to resist Kylo’s mind tricks.

She used all of her might to push him away and started to scream. In front of her stood Kylo with a red, unsteady, and frazzled lightsaber. It looked as if it were to break or fail at any second. Jaina reached for her purple saber and ignited it.

“I’m giving you one last chance. Who sent you?”

Tears slid down Jaina’s face. She stood up and held her saber tightly. “That is none of your concern,” she said coldly, lunging at him. He wouldn’t ever turn back to the light if he learned that this was her sole idea. At that moment, she knew he didn’t want her to walk out of that room alive.

Jaina struck at him first. Successfully, though, Kylo blocked her shot. She swung again, trying to get leverage on him, but his hits were too strong. She used all of her strength—all her training—to get another swing on him, sending him slightly off balance. She hit again, causing the static of Kylo’s saber to flicker on her arm. 

But her brother had her cornered, pushing his saber into hers. She looked towards the door, trying to push him off her. A succession of coughs erupted in her throat, and, once again, she could barely breathe. Kylo’s fist tightened. 

“Stop!” she yelled, tears flying down her face. She couldn’t die at the hands of her brother—she wouldn’t. 

Kylo’s eyes welled up with tears before he unclenched his fist. He retracted his saber and watched as his sister fell to the ground, gasping for air. Jaina got a look at him as she tried to get more air.

“Go,” he said, his voice muffled. The red saber was all she saw as she limped towards the door. “Take your ship,” he said, “go to Couscant. Don’t let us cross paths again.”

Jaina continued to limp towards the door. “You don’t mean that—”

“Don’t find out.” 

She stepped out of the door, getting one last look at him; that wasn’t the look of her twin that she once knew and loved.

Chapter Text

Kylo Ren watched Jaina limp out of the room with her hands holding herself up. Blood dripped from the side of her mouth. “What did I do?” he asked himself. He looked around the room, seeing broken machinery and broken glass scattered across the room from the fight. He tried to convince himself it had to be done, but did it? He exited the room, watching troopers try and capture Jaina, but she still had enough in her to fight—she always had enough in her to fight, no matter the circumstance. 

He exited the room and stormed down the hall to his own private quarters, sitting in a chair in front of a table. He fit his mask back on as he stared at the disheveled mask of his grandfather, Darth Vader. Waves of pain flew through his chest. All he could think about was his family.

The twins, from an early age, were inseparable from each other—as all twins were. Leia loved their dynamic—it was something she yearned to have at a younger age. When the twins were smaller, they’d often go on little adventures with each other.

“Look,” Jaina said, running over to Ben. It was a little after dark. Ben was sketching something in his journal before he turned around to see his sister. She held a small animal in her hands. “Ew, what is that?” 

“It’s a Gizka.”

“It looks like a frog.”

She chuckled and sat on the edge of his bed. “Isn’t it adorable?” It was a small, green, and reptile-like animal with two legs.

Ben took it from her. It hopped onto his desk, standing there, doing nothing but observing its surroundings. 

“How’d you even get this?’

“Zekk gave it to me.”

The Gizka hopped off the desk and onto the floor. “We can go get more if you want…it’s on Lehon. Zekk’s there,” she said with a slight blush. 

Zekk was only a few years older than the twins. He hated consistency; whether that was following through on Jedi training, taking care of things, or finding something steady to do, he hated it all. So he’d fly all across the galaxy (to Luke’s dismay, of course) and find new and abandoned planets. Ben never understood her sister’s connection and friendship with Zekk, but he shook it off, because she was happy. 

“You like him!” Ben blurted out, sitting next to his twin. He nudged her in the shoulder. “Don’t tell me you like him more than Jagged? He told me he wanted to confess his feelings for you.”

“Stop!” Jaina buried her head on his shoulder. “I don’t—I don’t like him at all.” Jaina grabbed Ben’s pillow off his bed and hugged it. 

“Mhm…sure.”

Jaina sat up and slapped his arm. “Well, Tenel Ka was telling me at the academy about how much she likes you. Why don’t you tell me about that?”

“I don’t like her…I just…” Ben started to mumble more than he usually did. His voice turned low, his tone awkward and slim. “I think she’s cool. That’s all.”

Jaina shook her head in disbelief. “What?” Ben continued, “you don’t believe me.”

“Nope.”

“She’s just a friend. She’s quitting Jedi training soon, anyway—I won’t see her.”

“Fine.” Jaina stood up from the bed. “Are we going to Lehon or not?”

Ben stood up and walked over to his droid by the door. He asked it to show him a map of the planets. In the darkness of the night, a blue hologram filled the room. Jaina looked at the map and pointed it to the planet. 

“It’s right there. Come on. We can make it there and back if we leave now. Mom and Dad are sleeping.”

“Not like they’d notice, anyway,” said Ben. “They have a work trip or whatever in the morning.”

“They would notice, don’t say that. You know them, they’re busy.” 

All Ben did was shrug his shoulders, open the door, and let her walk out first. Jaina walked down the hall and peeked over her parents’ door to see if they were sleeping or not. 

“And…we’re clear,” she whispered. The twins started to walk down the stairs, but they were soon stopped by a high-pitched voice.

“Where are you going?” Anakin asked. 

The twins looked at each other and back at Anakin. Do we lie? Jaina asked with the Force. Kylo shook his head.

“We’re going out flying,” he said, “it’s too dangerous. We’ll be back. Don’t tell Mom and Dad.”

Anakin pouted. “That’s not fair!”

“Shhh…” Jaina said. She inched up the stairs and grabbed Anakin’s hand. “You can come with us, but you can’t tell Mom and Dad.”

The young boy smiled. Even though he was only a few years younger than them, he was easy to win over and bribe if needed. 

“I’ll race you to the loading dock!” Anakin said, rushing past the twins down the steps.

“We can’t let him beat us,” Ben said with a smile. 

“Two’s better than one!” She jumped on his back. “Go! Run! He’s gonna get there first!”

Ben ran down the steps and made his way to the loading dock where their ships were. 

Kylo Ren shook his head and tried to erase his memory. “I should have finished it, Grandfather,” he said to the rotting mask. “I feel it again…” Despite having his mask on, tears slid down his face. That feeling—that feeling of despair, hope, and agency fell back into him. “The pull to the light. The Supreme Leader senses it…Jaina does. Show me again, Grandfather,” he pleaded looking at the grey skull-shaped mask. “Show me the power of the darkness, and I will finish what you once started.”

Kylo put his hand on the mask, closed his eyes, and stood up, knowing what he had to do. 

A dark shadow appeared in a cold and dark room. Such interior designs and aesthetics were never a strong suit within the Empire, or whatever has come after it. To the side of the room was Snoke, Kylo’s own ‘Knights of Ren,’ and Zekk, cradling on the floor. Snoke electrocuted him multiple times, causing him to scream and yell out in agonizing pain. 

Kylo walked over to his knights, who knelt and bowed to him. Kylo stood before Snoke, but right behind Zekk, and knelt on the ground to his Master. Snoke continued to torture Zekk, throwing him and flinging him around the room with the Force. It sure was a ghastly sight; that was one of his closest friends. His family adored Zekk—they took him in as if he was family. And now, he witnessed him being flung and tortured around by his own master, unable to do anything about it.

“You let the Solo’s go?” Snoke yelled at Kylo, gleaming at him. Electrocution still shot out of his hand over to Zekk. Zekk tried to resist the torture and crawl away, but that only made Snoke grow harsher in his torture. 

“She serves no harm to the First Order,” Kylo said, lifting his head up to his master. 

Zekk gleamed over to Kylo, his face all bloody and bruised, his eyes filled with anger. “You monster!” he screamed out. 

Snoke’s face wrinkled even more as he stared down at Kylo. His eyebrows furrowed together in immense anger as he looked down at his student. 

“You should’ve ended this years ago! Years ago, I told you this, but she’s still roaming around—both of them!”

“Don’t touch her!” Zekk yelled. 

Snoke force choked him and slid him across the room. “Enough!”

“I am sorry, Supreme Leader,” Kylo said, tilting his head down. 

“You need to destroy them before the Republic gets more powerful than they already are. If they have no Jedi backing them, then they’re weak—exposed—vulneranble.”

A familiar presence entered the room. Kylo turned to see that it was no other than Armitage Hux; Kylo, personally, never cared for the snappy and uptight general. 

“We got the location of the Solo’s, Sir, a tracker was put on the ship.”

“Wonderful.”

“No,” Kylo muttered.

“No!” Zekk screamed. “Don’t touch them—don’t put a finger on her!”

Snoke pushed Zekk over to the Knights of Ren. “Handle him,” said Snoke, “I want the utmost security on him in his cell.”

“No, don’t do that,” Kylo said, standing up and facing his knights. Afterall, they were his knights—he was their master, not Snoke.

“You dare to defy me, boy!” Snoke yelled, walking closer to Kylo. 

Kylo turned his head away, and softly said, “no, Supreme Leader”

Snoke’s tall figure leaned over the knights. “I said take them away!”

The knights listened to Snoke, and walked past Kylo to drag Zekk away from the room. Now, it was only Hux and Kylo.

Snoke slowly walked over to his throne. He sat down, observing Hux and Kylo standing side by side. 

“Hux,” Snoke said, “ready the weapon for Jakku.”

“Yes, Sir.”

As Hux walked down the bridge to the door, he returned his focus to Kylo.

“I’m sorry, Supreme Leader—I can get Solo; I can defeat both Jaina and Anakin. I can get Skywalker—all I need is your guidance,” Kylo uttered.

Snoke squinted at him. “Bring her to me. If you prove your allegiance to me, then I can teach you the ways of the Sith.” 

Kylo slowly walked out of the room, his fist clenched. How was he going to do such a thing?

The stormtrooper FN-2187 led Poe Dameron into a jail cell. The fierce pilot tried to resist, but it was no use. “Turn here,” he said with confidence, as the two were tucked away in a tight alleyway. During his whole mission on Jakku and his order to kill the civilians, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Something clicked in him, then, that this was not the way—this was not the right path he should be taking, and he was ashamed of himself that he did not come to that conclusion any sooner.

“Listen carefully. If you do exactly as I say, I can get you out of here.” 

“What?” Poe said, blood dripping down from his mouth and the side of his head. 

FN-2187 took his helmet off. “I need to escape. You can fly a TIE fighter, can’t you?”

“You’re with the Republic?” Poe asked, lowering his voice to a whisper. A slight smile came across his face. The Chancellor sent troops to help him!

“What?”

“The Republic sent you, didn’t they? Supreme Chancellor Leia always has a plan.” 

“Right…right. So can you fly a TIE fighter out of here?”

 “Yeah,” Poe said, taking a deep breath.

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah, dude.”

As the pair walked out of the alleyway, a man held FN-2187 at gunpoint. “Don’t say a word,” he said to the stormtrooper. FN-2187 could barely catch his breath. As he looked over at Poe, he had a slight smile on his face. Was this a trap? Did these two know each other?

“Your mother sent you?” Poe asked as he walked over beside Anakin. 

“What? No, she doesn’t know I’m here,” Anakin said. 

Poe took Anakin’s blaster and pointed it at the stormtrooper. Anakin followed suit with his lightsaber. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” the stormtrooper said, putting his hands up, “let’s all be cordial. I want to get out of here as much as you do.”

Anakin and Poe looked at each other, then back at the stormtrooper. Poe lowered his blaster. “He did offer to help me escape before you came here…”

“You’re really trusting this random guy?” Anakin said, holding his saber closer to the stormtrooper’s neck.

“Hey, hey,” FN-2187 cried out, “I want to do good in the world. I can’t be here anymore.”

Poe put a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “Give him a chance.”

Anakin retracted his saber. “Fine. But once we get out of Illum, we’re dropping him off somewhere.”

“What?” 

“Fine,” Anakin said. “We gotta go. I can’t find Zekk and Jaina, but we’re running out of time.”

“It’s okay. They’ll catch up sometime.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive, kid.”

Poe, the stormtrooper, and Anakin all walked over to the loading dock, shooting other troopers in their way. Eventually, the crew made it to the dock, and got into Anakin’s ship.

“Anakin and you get on those shooters,” Poe said, flicking switches on and starting the ship off.

“It’s my ship!”

“Do you want to get out of here alive?” Poe asked, narrowing his eyes down at the young boy. He didn’t feel like protesting, and made his way out of the cockpit. 

FN-2187 hesitated before walking out of the cockpit. “Can you shoot?” Poe  asked.

“Yeah, blasters,” he said. 

Poe messed with the system and tried to take off. “It’s the same principle.”

As Poe tried to escape the TIE fighter, a safety tether was stuck to it. Stormtroopers began to shoot at them, but Finn blasted them. A stream of guilt came across him—those were his friends, his brothers. But he had to go, he had to escape. 

“Two of them are down,” Anakin said over the headset, “a few are coming up from the base.”

FN-2187 hit one while Anakin got another. “Whew!” The trooper smiled. “Did you see that!”

“Hell yeah, I did!” Poe said, flying through the stars at a faster speed.

“Now’s not the time for—” Anakin began to say, but didn’t finish his words.

“What’s your name, by the way?” Poe asked.

“FN-2187.”

“F…what?”

“You got to be joking,” Anakin said, shooting down multiple TIE fighters.

“FN-2187. That’s what they called me,” Finn replied.

“Oh, well…hmm…FN, huh? How about I call you Finn. Is that alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I like that.”

Poe smiled and worked with the controls to go faster. “Good to meet you, Finn. I’m Poe. And the Jedi back there with you is Anakin.”

“Nice to meet you, guys.”

“Of course,” Poe said.

Anakin said nothing, and continued to fight off the TIE fighters. Once they were in clearwaters, however, Anakin backed off the shooters and turned to Finn. 

“We need to drop ‘Finn’ off, and head back to the base,” Anakin demanded, not looking at Finn at all. He needed to tell his parents about Zekk and Jaina. The longer they waited, the more danger they were in.

“I know. We need to go to Jakku though; I gotta get my droid.”

Finn looked at Poe and Anakin. “Uh-uh! No, we’re not going back there! We gotta get out of here—they’ll find me.”

“You’ll be fine on Jakku,” Anakin said, looking at the stormtrooper. 

“That’s not fair to him,” Poe said. “We’ll land on Jakku, get my droid, and head out.”

“You don’t need your droid!” Finn shouted.

“No, no, you don’t understand. It’s a BB unit…one of a kind…white and orange—”

“Now isn’t the time!” Anakin shouted. “Let me pilot the ship. My sister and my friend could still be stuck on that base!”

“You’re taking us back to Illum?” Poe looked over at him and shook his head.

“We’re not going back there,” Finn said.

“You don’t get a choice in this.”

A moment of silence filled the air, and Anakin snapped out of the conversation. He jumped back into the shooters and tried to shoot down a TIE fighter, but it was too late. Suddenly, a blaster shot hit the ship. The ship wrecked onto Jakku, causing the three men to fall into the sunny and sandy planet. 

It was a miracle that Finn made it out of the wreck. “Poe!” Finn yelled, searching through the remnants of the ship. From afar, Anakin ran over to the damage, seeing smoke fly out the ship.

“Poe!” Finn yelled out again. Finn searched through the shipwreck, only to see Poe’s brown leather jacket. He picked it up and searched around for him. But there was nothing. 

“Great!” Anakin cried out. “Now we’re stranded.”

Every muscle in Finn’s body seemed to be sore. Anakin couldn’t help but wonder why Finn survived the wreck and not Poe. A familiar warm feeling erupted in his chest—a feeling that only happened when he was with other force-sensitive people. 

So, he kept walking further into the planet, in search of a ship. But the stormtrooper followed him closely, not allowing him to give him his much needed space to think, feel, and reflect. He lost his brother—his girlfriend Tahiri—his friend Zekk—his sister Jaina; he lost everyone. He lost everything. Anakin used the Force to push Finn away, but quickly regretted it. When he did so, it took a little more effort and concentration than it would for someone who wasn’t force-sensitive. Anakin turned around to see the stormtrooper in the sand. 

“Who the hell are you?” he defensively asked, taking his saber out. “Talk, now. I can leave you here, stranded.”

“You were going to do that anyway!”

“Talk!”

The stormtrooper put his hands up. “FN-2187.”

“I know that! Why’d you escape? Where’d you come from?”

“I don’t know,” Finn said, “I just…I just can’t be with the First Order anymore. What they’re doing is wrong.” 

“You’re treading on some mighty thin waters here, trooper.”

“I’m telling the truth. I swear on my life.” 

Anakin retracted his saber. This was something unprecedented: a former stormtrooper who escaped, willingly. A stormtrooper who escaped the years of manipulation, brainwashing, and propaganda. And if that wasn’t shocking enough, the man was force-sensitive somehow. He shut her eyes and quickly opened them. 

“I don’t get it,” Anakin said. He lent him a hand. Finn refused.

“Are you going to shock me or something with your Jedi magic?” he asked, as he gripped onto Poe’s jacket tighter.

“No, I’m helping you.”

Hesitantly, Finn took it and stood on the ground. 

“Why does the First Order want the BB unit so bad?” Jaina asked, putting her hand in her pocket. She began to walk further into the desert to go back to the ship. 

“We need a ship,” Anakin said, picking up his pace through the desert. Finn didn’t protest, supposedly happy to get off Jakku. “We’ll find the droid, get a ship, and get out of here.”

After what seemed like hours of walking and searching for any sign of life, a small village appeared. A small orange and white droid rolled over to Finn, running over his foot.
“Ow!” Finn exclaimed, holding his toe. The BB-unit did a series of beeps and continued to roll in Finn’s direction. “That’s the droid.”

Anakin looked around the village—there was a sinister nature around it. TIE fighters swarmed over top of them. He walked over to a small poster board, seeing a list of wanted names, droids, and other odd pictures. Anakin took one off, seeing ‘Hail the First Order!’ and ‘Long live the Supreme Chancellor!’ On the list of wanted names, the BB-8 droid and Poe were on it. 

“If this couldn’t get any better,” Finn uttered. 

Anakin and Finn ran through the sand with the BB-8 unit rolling behind them. As they ran past the shots from TIE fighters and other stormtroopers, a familiar and large ship flew through the sky. It was no other than the Millenium Falcon. 

“Come on!” Anakin yelled to Finn, dodging the fights. He was able to use the Force to make two of the TIE fighters collide with each other to buy his father some time. 

As the ship landed in the sand, the crew ran inside the ship. On board, Leia ran over to Anakin, hugging him close. 

“You’re okay,” she said, holding him close. Anakin melted into his mother’s arms, with tears flying down his face. He didn’t know where to go from here—if he even could.

Chapter Text

The soft and nostalgic hums of the Millennium Falcon nearly calmed Anakin’s worries. His parents and Luke sat beside him, both trying to ask him questions about Ben and Jaina and Zekk. It was all too much—he didn’t want to talk about it, he didn’t want to relive it. But they forced him too.  

“He’s gone,” Anakin said, “Ben isn’t there anymore! I don’t know what he did to Zekk and Jaina, but they could be dead just like Tahiri and what if—it’s just…”

Luke put a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “I know. We can’t just give up. That is what the First Order wants.”

Han gave everyone a mug of tea, and looked over at Finn standing next to Chewie. He was confused as to who this random man in his ship was, but he trusted Chewie to keep a good eye on him. 

“Wawooo,” Chewbacca said.

“Right on,” Han said, smiling at him. 

Playfully, Han ruffled his son’s hair. Han didn’t want to show it, but he couldn’t comprehend any of this chaos; he lost nearly all of his children. With a snap of his fingers, they were gone. Leia sat beside Anakin with a small cup of tea. 

“So, you’re not mad at me?” he asked his parents. 

“Why would we be mad at you, kid? You did what any of us would’ve done if we were still your age,” Han said, fiddling with a cabinet in the ship. 

“I dunno…” Anakin fidgeted with his hands. “We should’ve told you where we were, and now look at what happened…they’re gone. It’s my fault.”

“Don’t say that,” Leia softly said. “It is not your fault, you didn’t do anything wrong.” 

Anakin held his face in his hands. This wasn’t how his life was supposed to go; he was supposed to be happy and grow old with Tahiri, just like his Uncle did with Mara Jade, and just like his mother did with Han. He wasn’t supposed to be fighting a war where the head of the opposing team was his brother—his best friend. 

Both Luke and Leia sensed Anakin’s disappointment and frustration, and put a hand on his back. 

“We’ll fix this,” Luke said, taking a deep breath. Luke looked up at Finn, wondering why he felt such hope in him. Finn was a fresh face—he was someone who didn’t care for the First Order, or the Republic even, or the Jedi; he was a fresh face that, he believed, was strong and resilient; you had to be to escape such a force like the First Order. They stared at each other for a moment, causing Luke to feel a strong tension in his head. A force-sensitive stormtrooper, he thought; now, that was something he never came across in all of his history as a Jedi. 

“We’ll head to Hosnian Prime,” Leia said, “I need to assemble forces and troops to complete an attack on Illum.”

“What about Jaina?”

“And Poe?” Finn blurted out. 

“I have not forgotten about them.” Leia stood up and stood beside Han. “Luke will head to Jakku to search for Poe. Poe, hopefully, should have details on how to find Jaina and Zekk. Mara and other Jedi Masters are on their way to Hosnian to help me. We’ll get Jaina,” Leia said, holding on to Han. Han leaned over to kiss Leia’s forehead. Gently, his thumb swiped her tears.

“Is Jaina alright?” Anakin asked his Uncle. “I miss her, and I—I can’t feel her in the Force..” Anakin, while gifted in the Force, didn’t have the stability to tune into it as well as he could. 

“Of course,” Luke softly said, squeezing Anakin’s shoulder. “She’s still there. They’re both still here.”

That, while only a little bit, helped Anakin calm down his nerves. “Can I go with Uncle Luke?” he asked his mother.

“Absolutely not,” Han snorted.

Leia, lightly, shoved him. “As much as I would say yes, Ani, you need your rest. You need time to think and feel; I know how hard it is.”

Anakin wiped his tears off his face. His mother was right—he needed time. 

As Jaina flew back to Coruscant in her ship, she tried to reach out to Kylo with the Force. She knew she shouldn’t—but she couldn’t help herself. She couldn’t reach him at all, no matter how bad she tried. And her force powers weren’t the same. For a brief moment, she thought that he somehow—physically—took the Force out of her when he was messing with her mind. But that couldn’t be the case; she still had them, and maybe it was because she was slightly injured or not in tune with herself as she usually was. So, she tried to find Zekk. 

She couldn’t even feel Zekk when she thought of him, if that was worrying enough. It didn’t matter if she couldn’t reach Ben; he, for all she had seen, was too far gone to redeem. However, Jaina brought Zekk into her mess—into her own personal mess and family drama. And she paid for it. She needed to find Zekk. She didn’t know what she would do without him.

Usually, Coruscant was where Jaina was the most at peace. As she walked down lower Coruscant and its bustling city lights, a wave of odd nostalgia flew through her veins. It was the planet that reminded her the most of home, of when she would visit her parents at times when she wasn’t training with Luke. Of diplomacy, of the Republic, of the Jedi Council. But none of that happiness flew in her anymore—it was replaced with emptiness.

The sky above her was pitch black, with only the city lights brightening it. She let herself into Zekk’s apartment, trying to find him. “Zekk?” she called out, trying to find any sign of life. Walking into the bedroom, though, was only scrambled and unmade bedsheets. The kitchenette had two mugs in the sink.

“Zekk?” she said, her heart skipping multiple beats. Tears streamed down her face. She was unable to balance her spinning headache. He was gone. 

Jaina opened her comlink and sent out a message to her family. “I’m on Coruscant, I just returned from Illum. Zekk’s whereabouts are still unknown, and I hope Anakin made it back fine. Call me when you can.” She slid the device back into her pocket, and wiped off her tears.

She thought of one person that could somewhat help her. And she didn’t want to go to him, but what choice did she have? No one was on Coruscant. Jaina stepped out of the apartment building, and headed back towards her ship, knowing where she needed to go. 

As she knocked on the door of her ex-partner and friend, Jagged Fel, a sinking stomach fell. She shouldn’t be doing this. But she was only there to ask one simple question. The door, slowly, opened. The weather outside was chilly and windy, causing Jaina to bundle up in her jacket. The two exchanged eye contact with each other, with a moment of silence corrupting them. 

“Jaina?” Jag said, stepping aside. He had a small frown. 

“I–”

“Oh…what’re you—what’re you doing here?” He crossed his arms, but stood aside to let her in. 

“No, I just have a small question—it’s really…”

“No, just come in,” Jag said, grabbing her arm to push her inside. He shut the door and looked down at her. “Have you been crying? Did you and Zekk call it quits? Is that why you’re here?”

“Stop,” she said, wiping her eyes, “that’s not why I’m here, and you know it.” 

Jaina slipped her boots off and walked further into the house, entering the kitchen. She rested her elbows on the counter. 

Jag followed her. “Just make yourself at home! That’s fine.”

“He’s gone,” Jaina said, holding her head. “Zekk disappeared on me.”

Jag maneuvered in his kitchen, and slid her a glass of water. “So, he left you?” Jag shrugged his shoulders, waiting for her to respond. “And you’re back here to confess your ‘love’ for me? Wonderful, I’m not mad.” 

“Jag, now is not the time for these banters—”

“I’m just trying to figure out what happened. That’s all.”

Jaina looked straight at him, his hair slightly grown out from the last time he saw him. She thought he’d care about her suffering—the two, in the past, cared about each other's successes and struggles. But it was clear that maybe Jag didn’t care as much as she thought.

“My brother kidnapped or killed him, Jag, is that what you want to hear?”

Jag poured a pill into his hand and swallowed it with Jaina’s water. “Your brother has killed a lot of people, Jaina; he killed my Uncle Wedge, your boyfriend, and a shit ton of other people. Did I come crying to you when Wedge was killed?”

“Don’t pin this on me!”

“No, I didn’t. So why are you here?”

“I don’t know what to do! Do you think I would be here if I wanted to?” Jaina backed away from the kitchen, and headed towards the door. Jag held onto her shoulder and pulled her back. 

“You played with my feelings,” he confessed, staring her down. 

“No, uh-uh, I didn’t come here to talk about that. Right now, Zekk is missing. My family’s in danger. I need all of the help I can get, even if it’s from you.”

Jag let out a laugh and rubbed his forehead. “I can’t with you.”

“What the hell is so funny?” Jaina squinted up at him. 

“You really think I’m going to help you find your ex-boyfriend?” Jag asked with a smirk.

“Yes.” Jaina straightened her poster. “You’re in the military; you have eyes everywhere. I need your help.”

“You’ve got to be kidding, Jaina,” Jag said. “You’ve always been funny, I’ll give you that one.”

“I’m not joking.”

“Go ask your magic Jedi friends.”

“You see, this is what you do! This is why we broke up.”

“Oh, really? It’s because of me? It’s not because—I don’t know—you were in love with that piece of shit all of your life?”

“You’re wasting my time.” Jaina walked over to the door and put her boots on. “I thought you’d help me. Even if it’s not for me, Kylo killed Wedge. He’s trying to destroy the Republic. Don’t you care?”

Jag opened the door and waited for her to step out. “Maybe I should care. But the days of us working as a team are over.”

Jaina turned and walked away, heading back to her ship. Finding Zekk, now, was going to be a bigger mystery than ever, and she didn’t know where to go—she didn’t know who to turn to. She couldn’t go back to her parents or Anakin—she couldn’t fight this war. Kylo told her, in pretty clear terms, that she’ll die if she crosses paths again. And that’s not a risk she could take. Because if it wasn’t her that died, it could be anyone else in her family. She headed back to her penthouse, unsure of what to do next. 

Chapter Text

Once in her penthouse building, she immediately walked onto her porch and sat on the ledge. Heights used to scare her as a child, but now, she trusted herself enough to get rid of that fear. She closed her eyes and looked up at the bright moon. But she could barely see from her clouded vision from her tears. It was not like she was all alone in this—she had her family, of course, but she didn’t want to confide in them; she didn’t want to fight anymore. No one could understand how hard it was to lose a twin, or even a lover. Luke still had Leia and Mara. Leia still had Han. Anakin, of course, knew exactly how Jaina was feeling, but every time she tried to talk to him about it, he turned her down. 

As she shut her eyes, feeling the soft winds of the city, a vision of her grandmother flicked through her mind. Jaina always felt the presence of Padmé Amidala on Coruscant—that was nothing new. But Jaina felt different, this time, more at ease and anxious. She tuned back into her vision, seeing a tall man approach Padmé. He stood beside Padmé and gave her a soft kiss. That, of course, was no other than Anakin Skywalker. She’d come across him through the Force more than her grandmother, of course, with Anakin giving her wisdom and guidance. 

Jaina opened her eyes to see a force ghost of her grandfather behind her. 

“Jaina,” said an assertive yet soft voice. She turned her head around to see him standing right next to her, his hands gripping the ledge of the porch. “It’s nice out,” he said, looking at the scenery.

She cleared the tears off her eyes and looked down at the city. Families took a stroll through the calm evening and kids chased each other around buildings. It reminded her of her own childhood. He placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“I know it’s been tough,” he said, clearly trying to make conversation. 

“More than tough.” She hopped off the ledge to stand on the porch. She sat down on the bench. “I don’t know what to do.”

“But you do know. You’re just running and hiding from it.”

“What?” she crossed her arms. “I don’t understand.”

“You have two choices. Go fight to get everyone back. Get Ben, there's still light in him. Or, sit here, do nothing, and wallow in your tears. The latter option isn't going to bring Zekk and Ben back, and you know that.”

She knew he was going to critique her, but it certainly was something she needed to hear. Her grandfather stood in front of her. 

“No, you don't understand; Kylo will kill me if I step foot near him again, or—or this ‘First Order’ thing he's building. I’m sick of explaining that to everyone.”

“I understand more than anyone.”

“Right…” she said, unsure of what he really meant. 

“Stop running. If Luke and your parents ran from everything they encountered, they wouldn't be here.” Anakin leaned down in front of his granddaughter and held her hands. “Ben knows that if you don't confront him, he'll dive further into the dark side. You and Anakin can help him before it's too late,” he softly said. 

He used the force and took her saber from her. “You’re running away from it, Jaina, because Ben told you to. You’re letting him get what he wants. Don’t give in.”

Anakin playfully threw her saber and caught it. “You have all you need to win this,” he said, putting the saber back in her hand. “Don't let go,” he said. “May the Force be with you,” he said.

“Wait—” With that, her grandfather disappeared and faded into the distance of the night. She didn’t want to admit it, but she needed him more than ever; she needed his guidance, support, and love. She knew what she had to do, but she didn’t want to do it—she didn’t have the courage to. She tightened her grip on the lightsaber, and clicked it into her belt. She couldn’t keep running all the time. 

Chapter Text

Before Jaina went to help her parents, she knew that she couldn’t go there straight away. She needed to reach out to an old friend; Tenel Ka. She was Ben’s closest friend and partner back when they were in Jedi training. 

Jaina exited hyperspace, flying into the atmosphere of the planet Hapes. It was a small planet in the inner rim of the galaxy. Once she landed the ship, she was welcomed into Tenel Ka’s castle. It had been a while since she visited her; after she became crowned Queen of the planet, Tenel was always busy with work trips. 

Tenel hugged Jaina in the sitting room of the palace. “Aww, Jaina!” she said with a smile. “I know you’re here to give bad news,” she said with a frown.

Jaina shrugged her shoulders and sat down. “You’ve heard about Kylo?”

“Yes, I have…” she held her head down. “It’s such a tragedy. It makes no sense, really…that they’re trying to take over the galaxy.” Tenel took a deep breath. “And for Ben to be at the top of it? It doesn’t make sense—I don’t believe it.”

“I know,” Jaina said. “It’s rough on us all.” Tenel wiped her eyes. “I’ve come here to ask for your support,” she said. 

“On behalf of your mother?” Tenel asked.

“No,” she said. 

“Then I cannot help.”

At that moment, she knew she should have lied. If she said ‘yes,’ then, she would’ve gotten unconditional support from Tenel. 

“Tenel. We must combine forces to help dissolve the First Order of their power. People are dying and they’re using whatever force is necessary to get the job done. Your forces here will be a great help to the Republic.”

“No. I know you’re disappointed, but my hands are tied here. I cannot intervene in a violent and bloody war between a regime that does not have any legitimate power. I am sorry, Jaina.”

What use was it to argue with a queen? At the same time, however, she needed Tenel—she needed her military. But, instead of fighting, she turned around, and walked out of the room. 

“Tell Ben that I am sorry,” Tenel said, standing up.

Jaina turned around. “You can tell him yourself,” she said, walking out of the room. She had a right to be upset. 

Jaina flew to Hosnian Prime after getting word out to her mother. Her parents and Anakin were already on the planet, trying to create a plan to rid the base of Illum, which was now given a name: Starkiller base. 

As Jaina walked out of her ship, some of her mother’s security rushed over to her, taking her helmet gear and taking care of the ship. Leia was first to greet her. A shocked and almost concerned frown spread across her lips. The mother and daughter duo weren’t particularly close to each other—it was always Jaina who stuck by Han’s side, always piloting a ship and engineering a new tool. 

No words needed to be said between the two. Leia hugged Jaina tight. 

“Jaina…” she said, pushing her loose hairs behind her ears. 

“I’m so sorry,” she said—and truly, Jaina was. She abandoned her own mother after her fight with Kylo. It was too much to bear—to mourn her brother and Zekk in front of her family.

“Don’t be.” She held her face in her hands, and let out a small smile. “I’m just glad you’re here,” Leia said. 

Jaina nodded her head. “Yeah, well—I got some sense talked into me,” she said, smiling. Leia held onto her daughter’s arm as they started to walk into the building.

“Oh, I know—he told me all about it.”

Jaina let out a small chuckle. “So Grandpa came to everyone?”

“Just about.” Playfully, Leia nudged her side. 

A ship came landing into the dock. Jaina and Leia looked up, immediately recognizing it as Luke’s. 

“He’s back from Jakku. He found Poe,” Leia said with a smile. 

“Does Poe know anything about Zekk? Do you know?” she asked, her heart racing even more. 

Leia shook her head and frowned at her daughter. She didn’t know why she asked. Once the ship docked, a woman first walked out; her greying red hair was easy to point out from miles. 

“Aunt Mara!” Jaina ran over to her, hugging her tight. It had been so long since they last saw each other.

“Aw, Jaina,” Mara said, hugging her and kissing her cheek. “You get older and older every time I see you,” she said, backing away from the hug.

Softly, Jaina laughed, not sure if she should take that as a compliment or insult. Either way, she was happy to see her. Mara Jade was her biggest inspiration growing up—as a kid, she modeled everything she did after her, down to copying her outfits and lightsaber color.

Luke walked out next, standing beside his wife. “No hug for me? I get it,” he sarcastically said.

Jaina hugged him next. “I see you just about everyday.”

Luke shrugged his shoulders. Poe scurried around in the background, saying hi to Leia before he walked over to Jaina.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” she said.

“Same to you. I would still be stuck on Kylo Ren’s base if it wasn’t for your brother and Finn.” 

“Finn…?” 

“Oh, my. You missed a lot. I’ll introduce you to him.” Poe walked away first and headed towards Finn. Before Jaina followed him, she saw a group of people walk out of the ship—kids, adults, animals, and countless other species walked out the loading dock.

“Wow, what’s going on? Who are those people?”

“Refugees from Jakku,” Mara said, looking at her niece.

“Refugees? Why? What’s happening there?” Jaina asked her. 

“We’ll explain it all later…go get caught up with everyone, alright?” Luke said, turning back to Mara. 

Jaina followed Poe, standing behind him.

Finn looked over at Poe, his face ecstatic and bright. 

“Poe?” he yelled out, hugging Poe close to his chest. 

“I was so scared for you—I landed on Jakku and I didn’t see you or BB-8. I thought you guys died out there,” said Poe.

“No, I thought you died.” Poe held onto Finn’s shoulders and gazed into his eyes. 

“Is that my jacket?”

“Oh—” he motioned to take it off, but Poe put his hand on Finn’s chest.

“No, keep it. It looks great on you.” Finn’s heart warmed as he said this. Awkwardly, Jaina watched Poe’s face flush. Poe looked over at her, and then back at Finn. “Oh, this is Jaina. Leia’s daughter and Anakin’s sister.”

Finn extended his hand out. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, as well.” As the two shook hands, Jaina’s force senses went off. He was force-sensitive. “Where’d you two meet? Just out of curiosity—”

“Back on Illum,” Poe said, “he’s an ex-stormtrooper—and he saved me,” he said, gazing back at Finn. “It’s a long story.”

“Oh! Wow!” Jaina slowly smiled at the two and scratched the back of her neck. 

“Is…everything okay?” Poe asked.

“Yeah, yeah. It just caught me off guard.” That was something Jaina never heard before. 

“I get that a lot,” Finn said, putting his hands in his pocket. 

“We should—” Jaina looked over at Leia and Mara heading over inside. “We should get back in there.”

“Right, of course,” Poe said. The stormtrooper and pilot duo took no time to walk inside. 

Luke stood beside Jaina. Jaina kneeled up into his ear as they walked in. “Is Finn force-sensitive?”

“Yes. Glad you caught on. I’ve never seen anything like it.” 

“I know.” Jaina eyed him. “Are you going to train him?” she asked, walking inside. 

“That’s the part I haven’t thought about, yet.”

Jaina and Luke stood in the conference room at the round table. A large hologram showed a video of Illum. 

“Hey, Princess,” Han said, hugging her from the side. 

“Hi,” she whispered. Anakin was nowhere to be seen.

She turned her attention to the hologram. On the snowy mountains of the First Order base, a general stood outside, his breath glistening in the cold. 

“Does anyone have records on his identity?” Leia asked, her hand on her chin.

“Armitage Hux, ma’am,” a military officer replied. “He’s a general on the Starkiller base.”

Everyone turned their attention back to the video. Hux stood by the entrance of the base, watching over a large group of armies and stormtroopers. Deep red First Order flags flew behind him in the wind. 

“The Republic will soon be dead! Everyone shall bow to the First Order!” he yelled. “Fire!” A large weapon shot off, and the hologram faded out. 

“Three…” the officer counted, “two…one…” 

Jaina looked over at the officer who was counting. The hologram switched to Jakku as a missile fired onto the planet. The room erupted in small gasps. 

“What…?” Jaina said, looking at the hologram. “They’re bombing Jakku?”

“Yes,” Leia confirmed, “we evacuated most of the main town—”

“I don’t get it,” Poe shouted out. “Why would you let them bomb the town? That’s more damage done.”

“It’s so they think they have the upper hand,” Han said. Jaina crossed her arms.

“Awooo!” Chewie groaned, standing right beside him.

Leia took a deep breath. “Yes, that is partly true. But we also, unfortunately, couldn’t disable the weapon fast enough.” Before anyone could start speaking, Leia began talking again. “We need to send squads out to the First Order.” She pulled out a holographic map of the First Order Base and its alleged weapon. “Some crews will be in the air, tackling the forces they have in the sky. Another group—a small one—will be tasked to go inside the base, and place detonators around the base. We’ll have one more crew who will travel to Jakku to evacuate the rest of the planet with the little time they have. I want Poe and Jaina to lead the squads in the sky,” she said, giving her daughter a smile. “The First Order’s pilots will be on us as soon as we enter the Illenium system, so be ready for whatever wrath they ensue on us.”

“Copy that,” Jaina said, already rushing out the room.

“Finn,” Leia continued. “You were on that base—I’m sure you know how to disable the communication systems?” 

“Uh…” Finn looked at Poe, who nervously shook his head.

“He does,” Poe said. “He’s the best chance we have if we want to navigate the First Order Base.” Poe looked over at Leia, and then at Jaina. “I hate to say it, but Anakin is, too. He’s a strong fighter and knows how to get in and get out.”

“Alright.” Leia took a deep breath. “I’ll see if Anakin will join. I want Finn, Anakin, and Mara inside of the base. May the Force be with you.”

The group disbanded, and Luke turned to Leia. 

“If they’re going to the First Order,” said Luke, “I’m going too. There’s a chance we can get Ben.”

“No,” Leia said. “It’s too risky. Ben wants to hurt you more than any of us, I feel it. You need to stay here.” Han walked over to the crew and gave Luke a smirk. “No, don’t give me that look,” Leia said, looking at her husband. “Han, I need you here.”

Han took a deep breath. “We’ll be in the Falcon, keeping a close eye on everything.”

Luke looked over at Han. “If anything happens to anyone, we’ll be on standby.”

“I don’t know—”

“There was a time where we did this,” Han said, reminding his wife. He held on to her. “If anything happens to our kids,” he softly said, bringing his voice down. He peeked over in front of him to see Jaina and Anakin kneeling in front of R2-D2, talking about something. “I’m blaming myself.”

Reluctantly, Leia nodded her head. Han hugged her close as he ran his hand through her hair. She cried into his chest, worried about the mission. Han extended his other arm to Luke and Mara, bringing them in to join the hug. 

“Bring our son back,” Leia whispered, her face swelling from her tears. 

“I’ll try,” Han said, kissing her head. 

As Jaina made her way to get ready for the battle, she spotted Anakin sitting in a corner next to BB-8. Her brother was staring at something in his hand.

“That’s my favorite picture of us,” she said, leaning over Anakin’s shoulder. He held a photo card of her, Ben, and Anakin. It was when they were on Corellia years ago; the twins were around ten, and Anakin was eight. They all smiled up at the camera, hugging each other. 

“Yeah,” Anakin said, his hands shaking. 

“Are you going to Illum?” she softly asked, not trying to pressure him.

“I should. I miss him. I hate that I miss him—he’s…he’s done so many awful things…Tahiri and Zekk are gone because of him”

“I know,” he said. Jaina held on to Anakin. “But no one is ever really gone, Ani.”

“That’s what Uncle Luke always says,” Anakin said, looking at his sister.

“Yeah.” 

R2-D2 and C3PO wobbled over to the siblings. R2 did a series of melancholy yet happy beeps, while C3PO nervously chirped at him. “Let’s let them have their peace, R2!”

“It’s alright, Threepio,” Anakin said. “You guys are good company.” 

R2 projected pictures from their childhood. One was Anakin and Ben throwing snow at each other. Another was the twins on their first day of Jedi training. Anakin leaned on Jaina’s shoulders as they watched the droid slide through the pictures. Jaina put her arm around him. 

“It’s going to be okay.” 

“You promise?” Anakin asked, wiping his face.

“I promise.” Even though Jaina was feeling the same exact thing as her brother, she had to show up for him. Maybe everything wasn’t going to be okay—but that, in itself, was okay; she was going to fight for her brother; till her death, if needed. 

The siblings stood up. “I’m going to get ready,” Jaina said, smiling. “If you need anything, Ani, I’m here.”

He smiled at her and nodded his head. 

As she got changed into her combat boots and battle suit, she made sure to slip some ammo in her cargo pants. Han and Leia stood outside and hugged their children. 

“Please stay safe,” Leia said to everyone.

“I know. We will.”

Leia placed a kiss on her cheek and wrapped a tan and fleece travel cape over Anakin’s shoulders. “It’s cold on Illum.”

“I’ll be fine—”

“You get cold easily.”

“Thanks…” He said, smiling at his mother. 

“May the Force be with you,” Leia said to him.

“Thanks, I love you,” he said. 

Leia gave one last hug to Anakin, and Jaina gave one last hug to Han. Then, Jaina hugged Leia, and Anakin hugged Han.

“I love you,” she said to her parents. 

“I love you more,” Leia said. 

“If you need me, just call. I’ll be there,” Han said. 

“I know, Dad,” Jaina said. 

A ping of sadness waved through her. Anakin waved goodbye to her as she headed to the ship.  Jaina walked over to the X-wings, getting ready to take off. She watched as Anakin, Han, Luke, Finn, and Mara all walked over to the Falcon. She closed her eyes, thinking of her grandfather. It was time to fight. The Falcon took off, and Jaina followed close behind it.

“Alright,” Poe, or, in this case, Red Leader, said over the headset, “we’re heading  over to the Illenium system. The Blue squadron will take the other route with the Falcon.”

“On it. May the Force be with you all,” Jaina said. “Thanks Red Leader.”

“No problem, Blue.”

All of the pilots took off, following each other into space.

Chapter Text

Anakin Solo walked through the heavy snow. As soon as he stepped on the planet, he felt a rush of flashbacks from the last time he was on the cursed planet; Snoke and Kylo flashed straight into his mind. But he brushed it off—this was the time to end things. He looked into the sky, hearing blaster shots from the X-wings and TIE fighters above. Mara stood in front of Anakin and Finn, walking closer to the base.

“We should be able to get in through that entrance right there,” Finn said. Poe’s jacket was barely enough to keep him warm. 

“Alright,” she said, holding her blaster in her hand. “Once we get in, you know where the shields are?” Mara put her long hair up into a ponytail, heading towards the entrance. Anakin stayed close behind. 

“So, that’s the issue.” Finn let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t know how to exactly do that.”

Both Mara and Anakin looked over at Finn, their jaws dropping. Of course this would happen. Anakin knew 

“Seriously?” Anakin said, bundling himself in his mother’s scarf from the windy snow. “Everyone is counting on us to get this done—”

“Anakin, it’s alright,” Mara said, her voice calm and steady. “It’s not his fault. If they’re using the same programming as back in the day, I might be able to disable it,” Mara said with a sigh. “Let’s go.”

The crew entered the base through an unlocked door. Immediately, they shot down stormtroopers as they made their way inside, dropping a detonator down. 

“All units will go on  lockdown—practice evacuation protocol.”

“Oh shit,” Finn said.

“This is really working out in our favor, huh?” Mara said, running through the base. “We need to get to those shields before it’s too late.”

Anakin sped up to catch up with his aunt. “Do they know our plan?”

“I don’t know,” she said. 

The crew hid between columns as a group of stormtroopers ran through the building, trying to escape. Easily, Anakin slashed them with his saber, causing them to fall to the ground. Finn looked around, trying to spot Captain Phasma. He had a small—but minor plan. If he found Captain Phasma, he wanted to finish the job. She was the reason he ended up in this position; she was the reason why he didn’t know his parents or background or life story. 

Anakin, on the other hand, wanted to find Kylo. But his plans to do that were getting slim. Before they could make it even further, the doors closed in on them in the halls and locked. A group of stormtroopers and captains walked through before locking the doors again. A captain of some sorts—though not Phasma—raised their gun at the crew. Mara used the Force to swipe the blaster away. 

“Unlock those doors,” Mara  said. 

“No—help!” the captain screamed. 

Finn looked at the captain, trying to identify him. But he couldn’t. 

“Do you value your life?” asked Mara.

“Yes.”

“Unlock those doors. Now.”

Slowly, the captain nodded his head. He walked over to the door, scanned his ID, and stepped aside. With no hesitation, Mara shot the troopers, and Anakin followed suit. Finn’s heart pumped faster.

“Why’d you do that?” he asked, looking at the dead soldier and back at Mara. “He helped you.”

“Yeah, and?” She aimed her  blaster in the empty hallway, trying to assure that there weren’t any more soldiers. 

“It’s war,” Anakin said, “we can’t play nice. They would’ve killed us,” he said, looking at Finn. 

Soon, the lights started to flicker in and out. They hurried to walk through the building, following Finn’s lead. As they almost made it to the control room, however, the lights gave out completely.

“What the hell?” Finn lowered his gun and widened his eyes, trying to get a better view of the base. 

“I think we go this way…” Finn said, making a left. The group hit a dead end, and bumped into a wall. “No, the other way—” In the dark, a figure walked through the hall with a blue saber igniting the way.  “I can’t see anything, I don’t know where to go.”

In the dark, Mara put a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “You don’t need to see. Trust your instincts—you know where to go by just your feelings alone.”

Finn took a deep breath and used the minimal blue light to see where he was going. Meanwhile, Anakin placed a detonator down and caught up with the crew. As Finn, presumably, called on the Force to know where to go, they eventually got into the control center. The glow of the two Jedi’s lightsabers led the way, allowing the small room to be lit up.

“Ani, disconnect their comm system,” Mara said, using the glow from her saber to look at the controls. “I’ll figure out the shields. Finn, guard us.”

“I can do that,” Finn said, standing by the door. He looked down at his own communication system, getting a hologram call from Poe. Finn answered but made sure to keep an eye out for any soldiers. “How’s it going up there?”

“We’re fine. Jaina’s flying around the premises now. All the TIE fighters are nearly down.” Pews from the X-wing surrounded the background of the call. “Are you alright?” Poe asked.

“I’m fine.”

“You sure?” he said, taking a break from the sky to look at the hologram with a soft look.

“Positive.”

“Alright. See you on the other side. Good luck with those shields.”

As Finn shut down the call, he felt a cold metal on his forehead. “Hands up!” Captain Phasma yelled. Stormtroopers behind her stormed into the room and pointed guns at the Jedi. 

“Comms done,” Anakin whispered as he slowly put his hands up in the air. 

“I said hands up!” Phasma yelled. Mara spun the chair around to face the incoming raid. She used the Force to throw her saber at the stormtroopers, leaving Phasma exposed. A sole blaster shot went off, and Finn trusted his instincts enough to move out of the way before it hit him. The lights slowly flickered on.

“Undo those shields,” Finn said, raising his blaster at her. “Now.”

“Finn, I got it,” Mara said, running over to the control board.

“No, we’re running out of time.”

All Phasma did was give a slight laugh and smile under her mask. “FN-2187,” she said. “You’ve always been quite smart. I thought putting you on the battlefront would be good for you. To test out your intelligence. But you choose differently.”

“Undo those shields or I’ll kill you.” 

Slowly, Captain Phasma walked over to the system, and fiddled around with it. “This is a big mistake. You won’t get through with this terrorist attack,” she said, looking over at Mara beside her. 

Mara backed away from the board as she watched Phasma undo the shields. Before they left the room, Finn shot Phasma’s foot and threw a detonator in the room, running out and locking the door.

“Shields are disabled!” Leia said over the crew’s communication devices. Anakin calmed down as he heard his mother’s voice. “Red and Blue leader, position for a full attack on the base in case troops that survived swarm you. Mara, Anakin, and Finn, escape as soon as you can.”

The crew inside the base ran over to a nearby door. But as they were getting ready to leave, Anakin spotted Kylo in the side of his eye. He was walking on a long pathway with a group of men behind him; the Knights of Ren. 

“Hey guys,” Anakin said, his hands shaking. Finn and Mara looked over at him. “Go get the ship and bring it to this  entrance. I have one more detonator left, and it’ll be easier if I have an easy escape.”

Mara nodded her head. “Good thinking. Finn, stay with him. I’ll be back and call on the Falcon.”

As Mara ran out into the snow, Anakin retraced his steps and walked into the black and red lit room, seeing Kylo and his knights walk across the path. Finn looked over at Anakin, who was near starstruck while looking at who his brother had become. 

“Put the detonator down,” Finn said with a whisper, leaning behind a wall. “We need to leave.”

“Kylo!” Anakin yelled out.

“What are you doing?!” 

The knights first turned around, aiming their swords and blasters at him. Even though they were a good few feet away from him, Anakin still felt some fear inside of him. Kylo turned around, his cape flowing in the wind from the open ceiling. Anakin walked forward, but Finn pulled him back. 

“Let go,” Anakin said, pulling him off his grip. He needed to finish this one way or another. 

Chapter Text

Anakin needed to see his brother for himself again. He needed to understand why this was the choice he made for his life. Kylo Ren walked past his knights on the long bridge, fog illuminating the room. 

“Put your weapon down,” Kylo said, his voice deeper and still oddly distorted.

Anakin followed his orders. He wasn’t here to fight. Anakin turned around to see where Finn went, but he hid by the door, away from Kylo’s sight. Slowly, Anakin bent down and placed his saber on the ground. 

“Blaster too.” Kylo watched Anakin throw the blaster down the pit below them. Kylo turned around to face his knights. “Stand down and ready my ship,” he assertively said. 

The two brothers looked at each other as his knights escaped the scene. It was just them. No one else. Anakin walked down the bridge with his hands up. Red lights illuminated the room. 

“Take that thing off, please,” Anakin said. He didn’t answer. “Ben…please.”

“Ben’s gone.” Kylo took the mask off. The two brothers stood face to face, now, as Kylo unveiled himself. 

“Stop that.”

“Stop what? Ben’s dead. He’s gone.”

“And who told you that?” Anakin stepped a little closer. Kylo’s face beamed red from the lights. “I felt it too,” Anakin said, “the call to the dark side but…it’s not right. I don’t know who Snoke is but he’s manipulating you—he tried to manipulate me and Jaina. You’re not alone in this..” Kylo’s face lit up blue from the blue sky above. Anakin looked up, seeing Kylo’s ship hovering above them. Kylo scrunched his face together.

“I want my brother back,” Anakin continued. Anakin put his hands behind his back. He closed his eyes, feeling where his saber was with the Force. But he didn’t call on it—not yet, at least. “I forgive you…for all of the stuff Kylo did. I just want Ben back.”

“Your brother is gone!” Kylo screamed.

Instead of taking a step back, Anakin took a step closer. “Come on, Ben. Don’t do this.”

“It’s too late.”

“No, it’s not. Come on, please.” Tears streamed down Anakin’s cheek. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to leave him. Anakin’s fist clenched. “Come home. There’s Jaina and Mom and Dad, we’re not mad at you. You can make this right.”

The blue light hit Ben’s shoulder. One side of his face lit red, and the other was trapped in the dark. Anakin looked into his eyes, trying to wait for his response. Soon, tears clogged into Ben’s face.

“Anakin…” Ben said. His hands shook. Anakin looked down at his brother’s hand who gripped his saber tighter. “I want to be free of all this,” he said, looking down at the ground. All of the red faded out of the room. “I’m being torn apart.” His speech slowed down. His voice shook more than the wind ejecting from above. 

“We all are.” Anakin extended out his hand towards Kylo. It was true. The family had never been the same since he turned—that was given. “Let’s go,” Anakin softly said, backing away. 

“I know…” Kylo said. “I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it,” Kylo said. Tears flew down his face. All of the light inside of the room dimmed. Anakin looked up, seeing his ship lower into the room. 

“Ben, come on—” Anakin said, waiting for him to grab his hand. “You do have the strength. Let’s go back while we still can.”

Kylo gripped onto the saber tighter. In a quick moment, Anakin saw the red, crackly, and frightening saber ignite. With the Force, Anakin tried to pull his saber out towards him, but it was too late. A fire ignited in his chest. He gasped for air as he looked at his brother. Kylo clenched his jaw into a frown, tears flowing into his cheek.

“Anakin!” Mara and Finn yelled out. 

Kylo held onto his brother’s body. Kylo pushed his saber further and leaned closer to his brother. “No…” Kylo muffled. One last time, Anakin reached out to hug his brother, but it was too late. Anakin’s body fell into a foggy abyss. Kylo’s hands shook as he held his saber in his hand, looking down at the fog. The darkness had consumed him. Before he could react to what he had done, he saw his Aunt Mara raise a blaster to him. It hit him right below his rib. He grunted in pain, and limped over to hop inside of his ship with his Knights. 

Chapter Text

A chill ripped through each of Solo-Skywalker's hearts as they felt Anakin’s disappearance in the Force. It hit Leia first. She was all alone on Hosnian Prime with her fellow senators, military personnel, and other government officials. She held her racing heart and heavy head, hoping that the rest of her family would make it out okay. But she couldn’t be strong this time; she had to mourn—she had to grieve. She sat down in a chair, crying into her hands. 

Jaina’s heart swung up and down when she felt Anakin’s death. She lost everyone. Jaina flew her ship closer to the base, seeing Kylo’s ship fly out. She attempted to shoot it down, but couldn’t see from her tears. She didn’t want to listen to anyone over her headset, didn’t want to follow orders; enough was enough. Jaina wiped her tears and steadied her focus on the ship, shooting down its engine. Satisfied, she watched the ship fly and crash into the ground, steadying her ship right above it, and flying off. 

Mara and Finn watched Kylo’s ship fly out.

“We gotta go!” Mara ran out first. Finn ran to grab Anakin’s saber, knowing it was the Jedi’s most prized possession. He caught up with Mara.

“Set the bombs off!” Finn yelled. 

Mara grabbed her pocket, clicked a button, and soon, the base exploded. Finn watched the bombs explode one by one. There was no time to mourn or grieve. Being a stormtrooper was in his past. At the same time, however, that base was all he had known for most of his life. 

“Where’s the Falcon?” Finn asked her, running through the thick snow in the forest. 

“Up ahead. They’re staying on the ground—there’s too much air traffic!”

Finn dodged the snow covered trees. Somewhere in the run towards the ship, Finn lost Mara. He tried to call out to her on his comm device, but he got nothing. Then, he tried to reach out to Poe. Nothing but static. As he ran through the woods more to get away from the fiery scene, a familiar hum and buzz from a lightsaber filled  his ears. Slowly, he turned around.

Snow below them glimmered red from Kylo’s saber. His face was covered in sweat. All he did was stare him down.  

“We’re not done yet.” Kylo groaned from the blaster shot. “It’s just us…now,” he said, “Anakin can’t save you.” Aggressively, Kylo groaned and patted his rib, pushing the blood out the wound. “Mara left you.”

The snow turned bright red. His clape flew from the wind. Finn backed away. But Kylo, slowly, walked over to him, playfully swinging his lightsaber. A sinister smile rested on his face. 

“Traitor!” he screamed, tightening his hand over his saber. “Your allegiance is to me! To the First Order! What are you doing with the enemy?” 

Finn’s heart hammered down as he was able to feel his heartbeat in his ears. The former stormtrooper reached for the saber in his jacket, activating it to his side. Immediately, Kylo recognized that specially crafted hilt. He felt the presence of the light—of what his brother stood for; or, rather, what Kylo was envious of his brother for—Anakin  was able to distance himself from the darkness unlike himself. And, unlike his namesake. 

Kylo pointed at it with his saber. “That lightsaber,” he said, his eyes widening and teeth grunting, “is mine!”

“You don’t deserve it,” Finn said, tears streaming down his face, “you killed him!”

Finn charged towards Kylo with the saber, but all Kylo did was move out the way, quickly dodging and deflecting the shots. In a matter of seconds, Kylo managed to have Finn on the ground, yelling in pain from the cold snow and saber attack. Using this at his advantage, he walked away, feeling a stabbing and tingling feeling on his rib. He punched his side, pouring more blood out. 

Kylo now walked while deflecting Finn’s shot, cornering him into a tree. The red and blue sabers created a purple look into the atmosphere. Happy that he had such an easy battle and victory, Kylo slightly smiled at Finn, the snow piling on top of his dark suit and hair. Kylo Ren shoved the side of his saber into Finn’s shoulder, watching him scream and shout in defeat.

“You want me to stop?” Kylo asked, looking straight into Finn’s eyes. 

He felt something in him—in this stormtrooper that used to listen to his commands; he felt it back on Jakku, and the feeling was stronger now. Somehow, someway, the Force chose to inhabit him—some nobody that the First Order swept up to be a soldier. 

“Ow!” Finn yelled, continuing to scream in pain as the saber fired deeper into his shoulder.

“You’ll never be a Jedi,” Kylo whispered into his ear, pulling the saber out. “I can teach you the ways of the Force. Embrace the dark side, Finn. You are meant to be here.”

When Finn didn’t say anything, Kylo let go, backed away, and knocked the saber out of his hand, watching it fly in the snow. Finn fell on the ground, and Kylo struck him in the back. The grandson of Anakin Skywalker deactivated his saber and used the force to reach for his brother’s saber. It quickly found its way to his hand. He twirled the saber in his hands, feeling a rush of old memories and future visions clash into his mind—they came too fast to even process what they were. 

The snow forest of Illum was quiet. Almost too quiet. Kylo latched Anakin’s saber on his belt and grabbed his own one, igniting it and slowly walked further into the woods. The trees above him whistled and hummed with the melody of his red saber. Instinctively, he reached for the hilt of his brother’s saber, but it was extremely hot to the touch—as if someone lit it on fire. 

Kylo looked down at the saber, seeing no signs of fire or heat exhaustion from the weapon. The wind and snow fell down on his face a little harder, causing his face to bleed red. He looked up into the moon-lit sky, seeing nothing.

He walked more into the forest with his saber at his side, his eyes scanning every inch of the forest. He heard voices echo through the forest, but wasn’t sure where they were coming from. 

“Ben!” his dad yelled out. He looked around for any signs of his father’s ship, but there was nothing. 

The breath in the trees blew harder and softer, and every time he looked up and around, nothing was there. He was just paranoid. 

“Bring him back,” Leia cried out. She cried out again, but this time it was more deep and agile, whispering, “He’s still in there!”

“No one’s really gone,” Luke said. 

Kylo spun his saber, looking around. It was just him—it was his head, messing with him. All he needed to do was make it to a ship and go to Snoke. He’d know what to do—Snoke would be happy for him. He’d be happy for the progress he’d been making to fully commit to the dark side of the Force. And maybe, just maybe, he’d start intensifying his training to become an actual Sith. 

“What have I done?” a deep voice echoed through—he didn’t know who it was; he only heard it in visions. Perhaps, Kylo thought, it was Anakin Skywalker. “What have you done?!”

“You’re breaking my heart…” a soft and heartbroken  voice cried; it was his grandmother’s.

“Come home,” Anakin Solo cried out once again. 

“Tell Ben I’m sorry,” Tenel Ka whispered.

It was in his head—it was in his head. Kylo took a deep breath, walking faster as he tried to tune out his voices. 

“You were my friend!” another deep voice said. That was Zekk. 

“Stop!” Kylo screamed, twirling his lightsaber around. He circled around the small forest, his saber keeping him safe from anything that would jump out. “You can’t hide from me!” he screamed. 

Suddenly, a figure jumped out of the sky, onto Kylo’s shoulders, gripping him from above. All he saw was a bright purple saber trying to slash him. 

Chapter Text

Jaina tried to get the upper hand on Kylo, and she had it, just not for long. The mountain they were on started to rumble. The Force power and pure anger from the twins was too much for such a small and secluded planet to bear. Using his free hand to grab onto his neck, Kylo pushed his sister off of her. Quickly, Jaina stood up. In front of her was a bright, red, and crackly lightsaber, ready to strike at her in a moment’s call. The man towered in front of her with his all black robes; this wasn’t the brother she knew. This wasn’t her twin that she knew every thought, every feeling, and every idea in his head. The snow on Illum crumbled down faster and harder as Jaina’s purple lightsaber struck and clashed with the red saber. Even on the dark planet, their lightsabers gave them vision to clearly see each other. She looked down to see a small bullet wound below his rib. Blood dripped down onto the snow. In a swift movement, she kicked the wound with her boot.

“Augh!” Kylo screamed. He flipped his torso over to tend to his wound and aggressively swung at Jaina with his saber. 

The two continued to fight. Jaina harshly hit her saber at him. She didn’t care if her anger and emotions took over her in this battle; she didn’t care that such anger was not the ‘Jedi way’; this was war, and it had to be treated as such. He killed her brother. 

Kylo hit his saber at her, and easily, Jaina deflected it, but found herself in a tricky position—her brother was pushing her backwards into the forest, making her unable to see the rest of her surroundings. The Jedi twin used the Force to jump over her brother, allowing her to have a better understanding of her surroundings. 

“You killed my brother!” he yelled, wiping the snow from his eyes. Her own scarf flowed in the wind, mimicking his brother’s black cape.

“He was my brother too!” Kylo screamed, his voice echoing louder than hers. Now was not the time for him to one up. “And I didn’t kill Anakin.” Jaina squinted up at him and pushed him with her saber. Before she could speak, he answered for her. “He didn’t fight back. Didn’t even try to,” Kylo said, clenching his jaw. He put two hands on the hilt of his lightsaber. “He just let it happen like the coward he is!”

That couldn’t be true. Anakin was a fighter. 

“We’re spewing lies now?” Jaina asked, wiping snow from her eyelashes. “Is that what this is, now?”

“You don’t want to believe me, that’s fine.” He stepped closer to her. Jaina stepped back and circled around him, catching her breath. “Then don’t believe me, Jaina.” Jaina began to tear up. Slowly, Jaina stumbled on the snow and the tree behind her. Her ears began to rung; a similar feeling to when they would use the Force to connect with each other rested in her head.

Jaina looked back over at Kylo, who had blood, sweat, and tears staining his face. He punched the side of his torso, letting blood fall out onto the snow. When that happened, Jaina pushed down on the side of her rib, feeling that same pain. They were joining together in the Force; it was a useful trick when they were younger and on missions. It was an intense force connection that mended their thoughts and feelings. She felt his pain. He felt hers. He saw her visions. She saw his visions. And now, Kylo was weaponizing that entirely. 

“No…” she said, holding the side of her body. “No.” She shut her eyes and winced at the pain. “Now isn’t the time.”

“I told you not to come back. And look what you did,” he said, taking a deep breath. Jaina tried to ignore the pain in her body, heart, and all of the dark thoughts from Kylo that swelled in her head. “Anakin’s gone.”

The two didn’t need to exchange words to express their hatred, confusion, and fear.

“You’re scared,” she thought, narrowing her eyes at him. 

“No,” he thought in his head. The tip of his saber dragged on the snow. Blood filled the small battleground as the twins still circled around each other. 

“You’re trying to strike everyone I love down. First Ben, then Zekk, and now Ani. I won’t let you carry on.”

“You failed,” he said. He watched as Jaina lunged over to him. He quickly dodged it. Blood dripped from the side of his mouth. His hair was wet and sweaty, and his eyes were dark and faded; her brother, who she once loved and looked up to, looked like a vampire. Once again, Kylo took the moment to hit his side as blood poured out of him. 

“Stop doing that!” Jaina felt in her that he was going to attack. The lightsaber battle continued. Parts of the planet were falling apart and crumbling, the snow grew harder and almost swelled like a blizzard. Somehow, Jaina thought that they were causing this destruction. 

“I know,” Kylo said. “Look at what we can do together.” Jaina lunged in the opposite direction as Kylo hit his saber at her.

Jaina struck her saber harder at him which caused him to lose balance for a short minute. This wasn’t something that the universe wanted—them fighting or forcing themselves to be Joiners. It wasn’t right. Kylo’s wound started to swell and hurt more. Jaina’s head grew dizzy from the amount of pain. 

“We’re going to die out here,” Jaina thought, her lips dry from the snow.

“No…” Kylo thought. He grabbed the hilt of Anakin’s lightsaber, igniting it and pointing it at her. “You are.”

This couldn’t be real. Where did he find the audacity to steal his brother’s lightsaber? The brother that he killed. 

Jaina dug her boots into the snow and looked into Kylo’s eyes. She continued to fight him, backing him into corners and trees in the woods. Once again, she kicked Kylo’s rib, causing him to regain his balance. He stared at her, annoyed and upset at the advantage she had. With full speed, he ran towards her, hitting her with his two sabers. 

Somehow, he was able to knock her own saber out of her hands, and push her into the snow. Jaina called on the Force to get her saber back, and blocked his shot before he had a chance to strike her. 

Jaina swiped his wound with her saber. Once he couldn’t take the intense pain anymore, he stopped himself and leaned over the snow to pat more of the blood out. Both of their heads grew lightheaded and dizzy. More of the planet crumbled and shook. 

Jaina cried while she laid on the snow, causing Kylo to shed a tear. But she stood up, trying to get her balance back. Soon enough, though, Kylo used both of his sabers to push her onto a cliff of a mountain. 

“It’s over,” he said. 

Jaina shook her head and tried to push him off her. “You…took everything from me!” 

Her twin’s face lit up purple from all of the lightsabers. The heat from the weapons caused both of their faces to burn and sweat. 

Kylo narrowed his eyes on her. “I told you to not come back!” 

All Jaina could think of was ‘stop.’ But he didn’t listen. She needed to get out of this merging of the Force with him, but didn’t have the energy to concentrate—nor did he. They were stuck in an endless cycle of hatred, of love, of nostalgic memories, and of appreciation for one another. 

Kylo took away Anakin’s lightsaber from the mix, pointing it at the arm that held her saber. “Stop,” she thought. “Kylo..” Jaina grunted. 

A series of dark thoughts and a mysterious figure floated around in her head and mind; she couldn’t, however, decipher if it was her thoughts, or Ben’s thoughts, or Kylo’s, or some outside forces. Snoke , thought Kylo. End it. Prove your devotion to the dark side, do it now, and you will become the most powerful man in the galaxy. 

She looked into his eyes, watching Kylo shake his head. Instead, he pushed the saber against hers, trying to get her to fall. 

If Jaina let him do this, he would. She couldn’t let him have the upper hand. So Jaina looked at him once more, deactivated her saber, and leaned off the cliff of the mountain. She, however, didn’t intend to fall to her death—the Force was always on her side. Kylo let his guard down, held his hand to grab her, but it was too late. Feeling the impact of the fall on his heart and body, he used the force to stop Jaina’s fall, and threw her against the snow on the other side of the mountain. 

He was weak. She knew he couldn’t do it. Jaina, nearly injured from how much force her brother used to throw her, rubbed the knot out of her head. 

Kylo hovered over her, striking his saber over her. She used the Force to stop it, but was too weak to fully stop it. A burning sensation sliced the side of her arm. More blood dripped down her arm, stomach, and leg. 

She limped out of the snow and lunged at him, hitting a piece of his cape and gear off. But she didn’t stop there, no, she hit him again, hitting his bullet wound. She watched as Kylo fell to the ground in pain. 

“Ahgh…” he winced, coughing and recovering his breath. 

Anakin’s saber fell out of his hand. She grabbed it and aimed it at him. Jaina hit him once again, hitting his arm. Kylo slammed his fist into the snow. In a final ditch moment, he used his saber to swipe at Jaina’s own hand. She backed away, clearly having the upper hand. He rested his head in the snow, exhausted and in an excruciating amount of pain.

Jaina took a step closer. She could end this—she could end the suffering of her family, and get justice for Anakin and Zekk. 

The snow was now deep red, soaked in a pile of deep red blood. Imprints of footsteps from their battle crawled throughout the forest. “You…you did this to yourself…” 

“I can’t stand you,” he thought.

A stabbing pain surrounded her heart. He didn’t mean that. Jaina raised her saber over him. 

“I mean it.”

She looked up in the sky, seeing the Millennium Falcon. Slowly, the presence of Finn behind her began to wake up. She felt Luke, Mara, and her father in the Force. Kylo looked up into the sky, his nose and ears were bleeding. Jaina put her saber back. She couldn’t do it. What had her life become? She almost lost everyone she had ever loved. 

“Jaina…” Han ran out of the ship, holding her close. He held her up and slowly walked over to the ship. “It’s alright.”

Jaina could barely get any words out to her father. All she saw was an X-wing fly down and land next to the Falcon. Poe hopped out of it to tend to Finn. It didn’t occur to her, yet, that she was leaving behind her two brothers. A part of her was left behind on Illum, too, but she couldn’t piece it together. Jaina looked behind her to take one last look at Kylo from afar, limping away from the scene. The dark side, now, was in full force, within her brother. 

Chapter Text

Jaina Solo flicked the buttons on her ship, flying into the atmosphere of Coruscant. She shifted her ship a little to the left, finding the landing pod. As her ship retracted itself on the ground, she quickly hopped out. The landing crew helped her droid, Sparky get out, and did their greetings to the young Solo.

She did her best to give them a light smile, but it was hard—it had been hard to keep such hospitality and happiness when her brother did what he did. 

Jaina walked up the steps by the Jedi temple. To the left of her was Poe and Finn, sitting side by side, talking about something by the door. It had been around two years since the incident on the star destroyer. But everyone had recovered, it seemed; everyone but her. Her parents even seemed to recover; Leia was always good at hiding her grief and suffering, no matter the situation. Truly, Jaina couldn’t feel how her mother felt about everything, even in the force. It wasn’t like Jaina spent much time with her father, either. 

Much had changed since the destruction of Starkiller Base on Illum. For starters, the Republic and Imperial Remnant of the Empire joined forces, and Jagged Fel was now the head of the state. The destruction of Illum held off the First Order up until now; hence why Jaina was called over to the temple to help out the Republic, Jedi, and their new allies.

Jaina made eye contact with Finn, but quickly looked away. She needed to train; she needed to get her mind off things. If she had any luck in fighting this war, she wanted to develop a fighting style that was more stealthy, grounded, and quiet. As she tried to walk into the temple, Finn and Poe blocked the door, both their arms crossed.

“Get out of my way,” she demanded, taking a deep breath. Skippy did a series of beeps behind her. She looked over, only to see the droid run around BB-8.

“You can’t just keep hiding away,” Finn said, uncrossing his arms and sliding it into his jacket. It was still Poe’s from Jakku. 

The droids played tag around the large porch of the temple. Jaina repeatedly blinked her eyes, waiting for the two men to move out of her way. She, of course, was going to use the Force to push them out of her way, but she wanted to give them grace.

Poe leaned against the door. “We know it’s been tough.”

“Sure.” She tried to walk past them, but the two men followed her.

“At some point you need to talk about it,” Finn said, “you’re our best fighter and one of the best pilots,” Finn looked over at Poe, exchanging a reassuring glance. Poe smiled and nodded his head, gazing at the ex-stormtrooper.

“Let me go. I just need some air before I have to meet with the council.”

“There’s air out here,” Finn sarcastically said. 

Poe put a hand on her shoulder, but Jaina swiped it off. “We need you.”

“I know, and I’m here,” Jaina said, crossing her arms.

“The Republic is planning another attack on the First Order,” Poe interjected. 

Jaina’s eyes dilated on him. “She didn’t tell me.”

“Maybe because you don’t talk to her?” Finn said, posing it as a question.

“I do. Was it her idea?” 

“The Emperor’s,” Finn blurted out. Jaina got the hint that he didn’t really like Jagged. Who could blame him? He was stuck up, stubborn, and assertive. 

“Look, Jaina…” Poe cleared his throat. “Finn is going into training. Things are going to be even messier than they were before.” 

She always knew that Luke would train him eventually—it’d be wasted potential. With that, she used the Force to pull the door open, and lunged down, leaving the room. But that didn’t stop Poe and Finn. They caught up to her, standing on her left and right.

“Have fun in training, Finn,” she softly said.

“Just think about helping us out again,” Poe said, patting her back, “my teams in the air look up to you.”

“If I’m joining this fight again,” Jaina said, “it’s on my terms.” 

Deep down she knew what she was doing was wrong; that she shouldn’t push her mother and Uncle away, but she couldn’t help it. She did it anyway. The war would be better without her intervention. And whenever she did, something would happen; she couldn’t lose someone else. But at the same time, Poe and Finn were right—she needed to stay in this battle. 

As she walked into the temple to head towards the training room, she saw no other than Jagged Fel talking to her mother. His hands were neatly tucked behind his back as the white streak in his hair glowed from the floor to ceiling windows in the entrance. Jaina quickened her pace to avoid both him and Leia, but of course, Jag followed her. 

“I see you got your Skywalker’s message,” he said, looking down at her. 

“As much as I would love to ignore him, I can’t.” Jagged inhaled and looked up at the ceiling, and then back at Jaina. She took that moment to speak. “You shouldn’t be here. When I asked you for help, you said no. And now you’re here? We don’t need your help.” She observed the badges on his uniform. “My mother is perfectly capable of winning this war without your expertise.”

All Jag did was stare at her, waiting for her to say something again. He knew her too well. “You need to be here for the right reasons.” 

Before responding, Jag nodded his head and narrowed his eyes at her. “All done?” Jaina didn’t bother answering such a snarky comment. “All I want is for the war to end,” Jag said. “That is all I want.” His voice lowered. 

Jaina shook her head and took a step back. That was the one thing she hated—but also admired—about Jag. His patience. Instead of responding, she turned around to head to the training room.

“I don’t like seeing you like this,” Jag admitted. He didn’t chase after her. His hands still were folded behind his back, his posture tall. “You’re all frazzled and anxious; you are not thinking right. It’s going to be alright.”

“You don’t understand what I’ve gone through.” She stopped walking and shut her eyes.

Jag took a step closer. “I can listen to what you have to say,” he lowered his voice to a whisper.

Jaina took a deep breath. That, certainly, was what she needed—she needed to talk to someone; someone that wasn’t in her family, someone that had no connection to the Force or the Jedi; she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her Jedi robes. Jaina walked out of his way, and finally entered the training room.

Before she could walk in, Luke’s voice echoed in the halls.

“Jaina! You’re here. Let’s get started with the meeting, shall we?” he asked her, a light smile on his face. Jaina took a deep breath and turned her head to the voice.

“I’ll be there,” she called out to him. 

Jag put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m always here for you,” he said, walking away.

The Jedi council meeting caught Jaina off guard—if she knew they’d be talking about finding a way to hunt down Kylo Ren and bring him back. 

“He’d be a prisoner of the war,” Luke said, outlining the plan.

“If we lure him in,” Mara said to the council, “then there’s a chance they might surrender.”

“Without their leader, they’re defenseless,” said Luke. 

Jaina didn’t agree with that plan. She looked over to her mother who was seated next to Luke. Her eyes were swollen, but she held on to a serious and determined demeanor. In a way, Jaina wanted to speak up about her concerns about this whole ordeal. 

“Jaina?” Luke asked, sensing her disappointment. “You don’t agree?”

She cleared her throat. “Luring him to us is going to be hard. He’s strong,” Jaina said. “The dark side is eating him alive.”

Luke looked over at his niece and adjusted his posture. “You may be right, but if we all take him on, there is no doubt we can capture him.” 

“There is still good in him.” Leia spoke up. 

As for the rest of the meeting and the plan to capture Kylo Ren, Jaina didn’t bother to listen.

After the meeting, she went straight to the training room. Turning on a Marksman to the highest setting, she ignited her saber and began to deflect the shots. After only a half an hour of intensive training, she began to think of her brother and how she could track him down. But soon, she began to feel dizzy. Her eyesight blurred and her ears began to ring. Low and behold, Kylo Ren stood in front of her in a black suit. However, she couldn’t quite see what was happening—it was only a black void. As kids and teenagers—before his fall—they used to see each other’s location. But now, he was in a blurb of darkness in the temple. Without hesitating, she used the Force to draw a bow and arrow weapon off the wall and aimed it at him. It hit his shoulder. The twins looked at each other, both of their guards up. Kylo moved first and tried to pull the arrow out of his shoulder, but there was none. Jaina circled around him, seeing the arrow fall to the ground. Her brother held the wound with his gloved hand.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, aiming the weapon at him.

“Do you hunt now?” he asked. “Are you trying to find a deer?”

“Stop deflecting.”

“Can you see my surroundings?” he asked, peaking over and turning his head. “I can’t see yours.”

“Tell me where you are or I’ll put an arrow through your skull.” Jaina stepped closer. 

“I only see you. This is something else, I mean really…we used to see each other’s surroundings when we used to do this. Weird.”

Jaina lowered the weapon. He was right. But what she wanted to know even more was why he was thinking about her; every time they connected with the Force, it was when the two thought about each other’s whereabouts. 

Kylo took a step closer. “Why are we here?”

She, of course, couldn’t admit that the Jedi were trying to track him down. “You first.”

“I need your help,” he admitted. 

“Sure,” she sarcastically said. She aimed the arrow at his foot and nearly triggered the weapon. But Kylo used the Force to pull it out of his hands. 

“I do. I need to defeat Snoke,” he said. Kylo clenched his jaw and looked around before looking at Jaina. 

Jaina squinted at him. He wasn’t lying. And even if he was, Jaina wanted nothing more than finding Snoke and fighting him. He was the reason they were in this position. In Jaina’s mind, if they defeated Snoke, then they could get Kylo; if they got Kylo, she could bring him to the Jedi council, and end this war. 

“What’s in it for me?” she asked, crossing her arms. 

“You’ll get Zekk back.” Kylo adjusted his posture. 

A shock waved through Jaina’s body. That was an offer she couldn’t pass. “Do you promise?” she asked. 

Ben nodded his head. He held out his hand to her. Jaina, slowly, took it, and gently shook his hand. At that moment, she felt like she had her brother back.

Chapter Text

Luke Skywalker stood in front of Finn in the temple. Finn sat on a cushion, trying to levitate the small pile of rocks in front of him. A soft hum echoed in both Luke’s and Finn’s ears. Luke let out a soft smile, glad to see that Finn was, somewhat, getting in touch with the world around him.

“Very good, Finn,” Luke softly said, kneeling beside him. 

“Am I doing it?” he asked, opening his eyes, disappointed to see that nothing was floating. 

“Not quite,” Luke said with a small laugh, “but I can feel that you’re in tune with the Force. It is a good start.”

Finn took a deep breath. “See,” Luke closed his eyes, moving around the rocks and books in the room. He moved his hands around, like some sort of sorcerer, to move around the items. “The Force is almost like a constellation of all of the atoms and molecules and forces around us. They’re all working together to create what we see around us.”

Finn scratched his head, trying to understand what Luke was saying.

“What I’m saying,” Luke said, looking over at Finn, “is that the Force is in everything. You can do anything with it if you let it flow in your body. You just have to let it happen. Don’t be scared.”

He shut his eyes and rested his shoulders, trying to calm down. But everything in his head swirled and paced around, running a marathon of dark thoughts and images. He saw Kylo Ren kill the person on Jakku, he heard him give out the order to kill everyone in the town, he saw their fight in the snow, he saw Captain Phasma. 

And suddenly, without trying it seemed, he thought about Poe. His heart rate slowed and mind cleared. He was doing this for him—he was fighting this fight so that one day, he could be calm and rested and peaceful and relaxed, with Poe at his side.

With that, he gained the courage to think about the rocks in front of him, seeing them lift up in his mind. Finn opened his eyes, seeing a rock slowly lift up. It brought a little weight to his mind and shoulders, but nevertheless, he was doing it—he was using the Force.

Luke let out a small smile. 

“Wonderful. Come on, let’s do some lightsaber training.”

As the two started to train with practice sabers, Mara walked in. “Take a break,” she said, smiling at Luke. “You don’t want to wear him out too much. He just started.”

Finn wiped sweat off his forehead and placed the practice saber on the table. 

“Good work, Finn.” Luke smiled at the young Padawan. 

Mara held on to Luke’s arm and kissed his cheek. “Leia and I are getting a bite to eat. Care to join?”

“Of course.” The pair walked towards the door in the room. 

“Finn, you too,” Mara said, looking behind her to give a warm smile to him. 

Chapter Text

This wasn’t Jaina’s best decision. And she knew that. But she needed someone to talk to about all of this who wouldn’t weigh her down. Rather awkwardly, she sat on Jag’s couch in his living room, staring out the window. 

Jag walked into the living room, his Imperial security following him in. She wasn’t used to all of the guards, officers, and pilots surrounding his apartment. 

“That will be all,” Jag said to the officers, who quickly exited the room. “Tea for you,” he said, handing Jaina a mug. She took it from him and sipped it, but soon regretted it. She didn’t want his hospitality or pity; however, if she could decipher what she wanted was surely up for debate. “It’s Chandrilan tea, I think.” She looked at him with a blank face. “Just trying to be nice, that’s all.” Jag slid off his jacket and threw it on the armchair. “So, talk to me.”

“I don’t know where to start.” 

“Wherever you’d like.” He then closed the curtains and turned on the lamps. 

“For starters, I saw my brother the other day.” Jag looked over at her after turning on the lamp. Sensing his confusion, she clarified. “In the Force. He needs my help.”

“With…?” Jag sat next to her. 

“Defeating Snoke.” Jaina took another sip of her tea. It warmed her up a little. 

“What do you know about Snoke?”

“More than you do.”

“No, I’m serious, Jaina. Very few people know about Snoke—he’s a real threat. His whole existence is supposed to be classified.”

“That has never stopped you from telling me things.” Jaina put the mug on the coffee table and turned back to face him. “Snoke came to me in visions. He came to all of us at the same time: me, Ani, and Ben.” 

“I don’t know much other than the fact that he’s some ancient Sithspit. It’s him controlling the First Order, not Kylo. But the idea—to the public, at least—that Kylo is running the First Order is more digestible than some magical Sith lord. ” Jag rested his arm on the couch. “Is this what you and the council talked about?”

“No. They don’t know about any of this—they can’t know. If I help Kylo, it needs to be without the Jedi.” She took a deep breath. “And I already know you’re going to disapprove and ramble about how—”

“Wait, you’re doing this alone?” 

“I haven’t even decided if I’m going to go.” 

“Well, what do you think you should do? What’s the ‘Force’ telling you to do?”

Jaina punched his arm. He shrugged his shoulders and slightly laughed. The two, slightly, shared a smile. “Uh…” she mumbled. “I think I should—I mean, I know I should go. If Snoke is gone, then it’s going to be easier to bring Kylo back. Don’t you think so?”

Jag looked around his apartment before settling his eyes back on Jaina. “I do. Just don’t lose yourself for all this.”

“I won’t.” 

A cold breeze shifted throughout the room. She wasn’t sure if it was the Force or the actual apartment. She leaned back on the couch and folded her arms against her chest. 

“I’m going with you.” 

Jaina shook her head. “No. I’m doing this alone. If I bring you or your fleets with me, Kylo will see this all as a threat. Believe me.”

“I don’t care what you believe or say, right now. I’m not letting you do this alone.”

“You think I’m not capable enough?”

“That's not what I'm saying.” He crossed his arms. “What if something happens to you out there?”

“Then I’ll find a way out.”

Jag raised his eyebrows. “I’ll brief my army tomorrow.”

“You can’t do that. Don’t you think the Jedi and the Republic will find out?”

All he did was shrug his shoulders and pull out his commlink, fiddling with it. “Then they find out.”

Jaina stood up from the couch. Even though she was putting on a front for him, she was grateful to be getting support in this. If she went to her parents or Luke, she would be lectured or pressured to bring Kylo to them first. All Jaina did was stare at Jag in front of her, who was messaging someone from the empire about setting up a meeting for tomorrow. He was serious. And if Jag was good at one thing, that was keeping promises. 

Once he hung up, he gave her a light smile. “Anything else you want to talk about?”

She started to recount everything that happened on Illum. It wasn’t easy, but she wanted to get it out of her system. “I could’ve stopped him from dying.”

“Anakin?” Jag curiously asked. 

Jaina picked up the mug from the coffee table and sipped some of it. “Yes,” she said, pacing around the room. “If I were there, I could’ve gotten us out of there. He could still be alive.”

“You can’t change what already happened.”

Ignoring his attempt to comfort her, she still rambled on. “I don’t know what pushed Kylo over the edge.”

“He’s unpredictable.” 

“I know. That is what is eating me alive. If I had tuned in to the Force earlier—”

“Jaina…”

“I could’ve saved him; both of them.”

Jag stood up and put his hands on Jaina’s arm. “Stop. You can’t blame yourself for this.”

The two looked at each other for a moment before drifting their eyes away from each other. She stepped away from him and scratched the back of her neck. “I need to head out. It’s—it’s getting late.”

Jag stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I’ll be on Bastion tomorrow.”

“Okay…?” Jaina straightened out her clothes and walked out of the living room. 

“It’s where the meeting is. Whether you like it or not, I’m assembling a force to track down the First Order and end this.”

“I don’t need a military to find my brother, thank you.”

“You’re coming with me. I’ll pick you up in the morning.”

“What the kriff is wrong with you?” 

Jag crossed his arms and followed her. “I refuse to let you die to him. I’ll always have your back, Jaina. You might be too stubborn to see that, but I will.”

“Jag—”

“I’m here for you.”

“Jag!”

“As a friend.” 

Jaina nodded her head and stormed out of the room. 

Kylo kneeled down in front of Supreme Leader Snoke, eyeing him as his master sat on his throne. He was dressed in a long golden robe, allowing him to stand out in the darkly lit black and red room.

“What did she say?” Snoke asked, referring to his conversation with Jaina. 

“She agreed.” Kylo looked down at the glossy marbled floor. He didn’t want to follow through with this. He lied to his sister, to the person who was once his best friend. Kylo wasn’t going to bring Jaina to Snoke to kill him; it was quite the opposite. 

“Good.” 

Snoke stood from his throne and slowly walked over to his apprentice. As he approached Kylo, a sense of fear ignited in the apprentice—that feeling was nothing new; despite Snoke teaching Kylo everything he knew, he still feared his power and his knowledge. Snoke, even to Kylo, was a mystery. 

“Solo will soon be mine.” Snoke let out a smile. “The mighty Kylo Ren is one step closer to becoming…a new Vader.”

At the thought of that, Kylo shuddered. That wasn’t something he entirely wanted, but at the same time, that is what he yearned for. He wanted power and strength, and authority. 

“Or so I thought,” Snoke said, kneeling down to face his apprentice. Kylo, now, made eye contact with his master. “But I was mistaken.” Snoke stood back up.

“What?” Kylo stood up to look at Snoke, his face distorted and full of anger. “I’ve given everything to you and the dark side. You said once I bring Solo to you, I can complete my Sith training.”

“Do you think I am a fool, boy?” Snoke used the Force to take Kylo’s mask off. He then threw it across the room, causing it to break and shatter. “I sense the light in you. You have too much of your family in you. You won’t be ready until they’re gone. You can’t even kill your sister. How will you become a Sith lord if you can’t shut the past out?!” 

Kylo’s fist clenched together. “I didn’t hesitate killing Anakin Solo, and I didn’t hesitate lying to Jaina. I can do this!” 

“You have failed me!” Snoke shouted. 

In a swift moment, Kylo ignited his saber and lunged at his master. Without even moving an inch, Snoke shot out Force lightning at Kylo. Kylo held onto his body, watching Snoke walk away to the throne. 

“I thought you’d be the one to end the Jedi once and for all. You’re no Vader, you will never be.” Snoke sat back down on his throne, eyeing his apprentice. 

Chapter Text

The meeting on Bosnian was fine—for the most part. Jaina didn’t pay attention to much of what Jag ordered his military to do; to an extent, it wasn’t necessary. So, she was happy when she left the dark and suffocating conference room, and found herself as copilot on Jag’s ship. As the ship went into hyperspace, Jag spun around in his chair and stood up, fiddling with something in his cabinet. 

“I know you don’t know the plan, so let me run it down for you.”

“No need to.” Jaina rested her head on the seat.

Jag turned around and threw her a blaster. She caught it and rested it on her lap. “Once we get to Snoke’s flagship, I’ll drop you off. My troops will stand back and stall for a bit in the sky.”

“You’re making a huge mistake.” Jaina scratched her face and stood out of her chair. “I know what I’m doing.”

“My mother is going to kill you.” 

“She can’t—”

“Won’t. She won’t. ” Jaina fiddled with her hands. “She can if she really wanted to, you know.”

Jag chuckled. “After you go in and kill Snoke, send me a message; my team will then go in, get Kylo, and bring him to the Republic. If you, at any point, feel like you can’t kill Snoke, then abort and call for backup.”

Something about this plan, to Jaina, didn’t make much sense. He was too confident in succeeding. She tapped her foot on the ground, wishing she would’ve paid more attention in that meeting on Bosnian. Jaina shut her eyes and thought more about the meeting, trying to figure this all out in her head. She thought back to the council meeting on Coruscant. The Republic is planning an attack on the First Order, Poe had said back at the temple. Jag was talking with Leia. They had to be talking about this specific attack. 

“You negotiated this with them.” Jaina looked at Jag. 

“Yes,” he said, clicking some buttons. “But you knew that.”

“Of course I knew that, but I didn’t think it’d be happening now!” Jaina clenched her jaw. “This is a terrible time to do this. Snoke is going to think we’re attacking him on purpose.”

“I’m covering for you,” Jag said, taking the time to look over at her before he focused on piloting the ship. “If we do the attack now, you’ll blend in with the forces attacking the base. The other option would be to wait for the Jedi,” Jag said. “And I know you don’t want to do that. I don’t want to wait, either. People’s lives are on the line.”

“So the Republic is on their way with their own forces?” She looked down at Jag, not satisfied that she didn’t get an immediate answer. “Can you answer the question?” The ship exited hyperspace. 

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t tell anyone that Kylo reached out to me about Snoke?”

“Not a single soul. I promise.”

Jaina put her hand on her forehead and felt a sharp pain arise. She looked at the control center, seeing a map of dozens of Imperial ships and X-wings behind Jag’s ship. They slowly approached Snoke’s flagship. Low and behold, Kylo Ren stood in the middle, his feet planted on the ground, and his cape flowing. Jaina stood up, wrapped her utility belt on her waist, and walked over to the loading dock. 

Jag followed her, and his guards overtook steering the ship. He handed her a small tracker device. She stored it in her belt and took a deep breath. 

“Remember the plan,” he said. 

“And if your plan fails?”

“It won’t.” Jaina squinted up at him. “It won’t fail, Jaina.” 

Jaina looked down at the flagship. 

“I’ll see you on the otherside,” Jag said. “May the Force be with you.” 

Jaina playfully shook her head, and repeated the saying to him.

When it got to a safe distance from Jag’s ship and Snoke’s ship, she jumped into the loading dock, facing Kylo.

“You brought the Emperor with you,” Kylo said, looking down at his sister. 

He didn’t have his mask on, making him seem more like the brother she knew. “No.”

“You fly an Imperial ship, now?” he asked, his jaw clenching.

“Sure. I’m here for your ‘Supreme Leader,’ not to answer pointless questions.”

Kylo turned around and walked further into the flagship. Behind her was no other than his Knights of Ren, all masked and in all black. This was going to be fun, she thought.

Leia, Han, Luke, and Mara all stood in the control room, watching the X-wings exit hyperspace on the map. As soon as that happened, though, TIE fighters came swarming into space. Some smaller ships were able to enter the loading dock right before it closed in. 

Everything, so far, was working according to plan. Luke looked over at the glass window from the training room in the temple, seeing Finn practice his saber skills with a Marksman device. He was getting better and better each day, it seemed. 

“Chancellor,” Poe said, adjusting his headset, “I have eyes on the flagship. It goes by the name the Supremacy. Odd name.”

Leia clicked a button to speak to him. “We have eyes on it too. Send some troops to the base to start disabling the systems.”

“Copy that.”

Leia rested her arms on the table, watching the map and sensors. Han put an arm on her waist, trying to figure everything out. While Leia hated to admit it, he wasn’t being much of a help around here since Anakin died—but who could really blame him? He lost almost all of his children. 

Luke looked over at Leia and Mara, his eyes dilating. He felt a strange disruption and shift in the Force, and he wondered if they felt it, too. Leia rested a hand on her heart, her mind racing and heartbeat quickening.

“It’s Jaina,” Leia said. She sat down on the bench and took a few deep breaths, meditating on her thoughts and feelings. 

Han stepped back, clearly worried. “What’s going on? What’s wrong? Is she okay?”

Luke put a hand on Han’s shoulder, trying to calm him down. Mara sat by Leia, trying to get in tune with her as well.

“She’s…she’s—alright.” 

Han relaxed his shoulders. “Thank goodness,” he said. He sat beside Leia and held her hand. 

“She feels calm, even,” Luke said, opening his eyes. 

“But distant,” Leia said, finishing her twins’ statement. Han kissed Leia’s forehead. “As always. It’s also—cold and dark…but she is protected. ” Leia looked over at Luke for reassurance. He nodded his head and looked around the room, trying to find an answer.

“Something still isn’t right. I feel it.” Mara stood up and kept an eye on the hologram map. 

“I know,” Leia mumbled.

“Do you know where she is, exactly?” she asked her sister-in-law.

Leia meditated on the thought of where her daughter could be. Jaina wasn’t on Coruscant—that was for sure. Something inside of her was telling her to call on Kylo with the Force. It was risky and frightening to reach out to her estranged son. But she never ignored those calls from the Force—it knew things that she could never process. As she shut her eyes to think about her son, all she felt was a feeling of warmth and nostalgia—but that feeling soon sunk into fear and darkness; her heart fell into her stomach, and her skin became warm to the touch. Images of the twins when they were younger began to flash in her mind. A second later, however, an image of them aggressively fighting on a snowy planet was all she could see.

“The twins.” Leia looked over at Han. “She’s with Kylo.”

Han leaned back on the wall. “I can’t do this again. I can’t lose her. Why is she even on that flagship in the first place? I thought you specifically didn’t tell her about this mission so she wouldn’t be there.”

“She has her ways,” Leia said. She was still trying to decipher everything in her head. It was annoying her that she couldn’t figure out why her twins were together again. 

Mara folded her arms in her Jedi attire. “That girl is so stubborn. I wonder where she gets it from…” Mara narrowed her eyes at Han. 

Han threw his hands up in the air. 

Luke stormed away from the bickering. “We’re getting on that flagship. Finn, you’re coming with us!” Luke shouted, trying to make sure Finn heard him loud and clear. “Come on, everyone, we can’t waste time.” 

Han and Leia tried not to show their fear and disappointment. It was like, almost, they knew all too well what was going to happen to Jaina if they did not get there in due time. 

Chapter Text

Jaina looked around the base of the ship. There was clearly a difference between now and two years ago. The Republic’s initial attack on their main base in Illum proved to be a success. There were rarely any stormtroopers walking around the main floor, and even fewer who were hopping into TIE fighters to attack the combined forces of the Empire and Republic. 

The Knights of Ren stepped into the elevator before Kylo and Jaina. As it went up, Jaina looked over at the mysterious and seemingly heartless knights. 

“So…” Jaina said, looking over at the knights. “Are you guys a religious group…or…?” They didn’t answer and instead looked straight ahead in the elevator. “Your neurowashed soldiers don’t talk?” she asked Kylo. No answer, he just stood straight ahead at the elevator. “Like, at all?” 

“They do,” he said, turning his head over to her.

She tapped her foot on the ground. “Are they completely loyal to you?”

“How many questions do you have?”

“A lot. You’re not answering any of them, so they’re all just piling on top of each other.” 

The elevator soon opened. Jaina looked at Snoke leaning on a throne with a smirk on his face. His skin was wrinkled and damaged, presumably from all of the dark Force energy he had been using and consuming. 

“Let’s get this over with,” Kylo mumbled, pushing his sister into the throne room. 

“Well done, Kylo,” Snoke said with a large smile. Jaina looked behind her, seeing Kylo kneel down to his master. The Knights of Ren all circled the room. They were all spread out in an equal distance. This, thought Jaina, was the oddest thing she had seen in a while.

“My faith in you is restored.” Snoke straightened his posture on the throne. “Jaina Solo,” he said with a smirk. “How wonderful it is to finally meet you.”

Jaina clenched her jaw and refused to say anything to him. 

“Welcome.” Snoke folded his hands on his lap. Jaina once again glanced at her brother, trying to get a sense of what the plan was. 

“Well,” Jaina said, looking at Snoke, “too bad this isn’t a welcoming place to be.” 

“I thought you’d say such a thing.” The red in the bright red wallpaper in the room began to strain her eyes. “Do you want to know something about your brother, child?” Jaina clenched her fist. She wasn’t here for a talking session. “Come closer. Let’s speak face to face. I thought you’d be the one to be my young apprentice. You have such raw and untamed power.” 

“You thought wrong. As all users of the dark side do.” 

Snoke laughed at her. His golden robes dragged on the large black throne as he leaned closer. “I said closer.”

In an instant, Jaina reached for her saber. But Snoke used the Force to pull it towards him. The way he was able to wield the Force was as easy as moving a muscle. No wonder Kylo was so fascinated by his knowledge and power. 

“Your…” Jaina managed to say before Snoke started to pull her closer with the Force. Looking at his sunken jaw and scarred face was an eyesore. “Your obstinacy will cost you this war.”

“Mine?” Snoke laughed, and used the Force to slightly choke her. “Do you hear your sister, Kylo?” Snoke glanced at him and then back at Jaina. “You fool. It is you who ran here, thinking you can kill me. You took the bait.”

Jaina struggled to get out of his grasp. She took one second to meditate on the feeling to free herself from his hold. She caught her breath and looked into Snoke’s eyes. Fear couldn’t consume her—not at this moment. 

Snoke pulled her closer, and then flung her across the room. “You are no match for me,” said Snoke with a smirk. “But you will be for him.” 

Jaina quickly got up and held her pounding head. Kylo’s eyes filled with tears as he exchanged glances between his twin and Snoke. Even for a second, Jaina refused to believe that Kylo would ever lie to her—especially about Snoke. 

“Prove your dedication to me, and kill her.” Jaina wiped her head and stepped closer to Snoke. “Or…Solo, kill him, and Zekk will be yours.”

Snoke used the Force to float over a commlink in her direction. It showed a video of Zekk, alive and well on a flowery planet. He was smiling, even, taking a stroll through the city. But the video faded out too soon—she couldn’t get a deeper look. Before she knew it, the commlink floated away. 

“That can’t be real.” Jaina squinted at the uncanny man. “I’ll die before I ever make a deal with you.”

“Then die.” Snoke flung his fingers to spin Jaina around on the floor. He pushed her closer and closer to Kylo Ren. “You are the heir to Lord Vader,” Snoke mischievously said. “I feel no weakness in you—no conflict with the light side of the Force—no ties to your family. You have killed Anakin, and now Jaina will have the same fate. Complete your training, son.”

Kylo stood up and held his saber. He wasn’t going to do this—he couldn’t.

“I know what I need to do,” he said. 

“This is a trap.”  

Jaina’s stomach turned. Jaina looked into his brother’s eyes. How stupid could she be? How idiotic was she? Quickly, her heart paced. She reached in her pocket for her commlink to send a signal to Jag, but it was gone. As she looked behind her, all she saw was Snoke holding her commlink in his hands. 

Kylo’s saber faced Jaina’s chest. 

“You lied to me!” 

Kylo swung his saber at her, but Jaina blocked it with the Force. She tried to reach for her saber but Snoke had a tight hold on it. Soon, though, a familiar feeling echoed in her head. The twins joined with each other via the Force. 

“Don’t move,”  Kylo said to her in his head. 

“You’re trying to kill me!”

Jaina backed away and kicked him away. She used the Force to pick up her brother’s saber out of his hand. Immediately, the Knights of Ren approached her and started to attack her with their own sabers and staff. She handled one of them and hit the knight’s arm. Kylo, on the other hand, commanded his knights to back off.

“Back off?!” Snoke yelled. “Do not back off of her—kill her now, Kylo, and end this madness!”

Taking her guard off to concentrate on Snoke, one of the knights held her captive and tried to stick his saber in her chest. 

“A little help here would be nice!”

Kylo looked between Snoke and Jaina. 

“One second…”

“Does it look like I have a second?”  The remaining knights began to circle around her and all pointed their weapons at her. 

Kylo used the Force to grab his saber back and pointed it at the knight who was holding Jaina. “I said stand down!” 

The knights didn’t listen. Snoke let go of Jaina’s saber. “You dare defy me?” Snoke screamed, stepping down from the throne. Jaina kicked the knight off of her and used the Force to grab her own, easily slashing through the one that held her. She backed away, trying to get more coverage of the area. 

“Be ready,”  Kylo told his sister.

Snoke clenched his fist. “I was mistaken about my apprentice. You are nothing but a child stuck in the ways of your foolish bloodline!”

Jaina took the time to fight a couple more of the knights. One of them, in particular, was talented in the ways of the Force and saber techniques. 

Kylo looked at his sister. “You need to be the one to trick him.”

Kylo ran towards his master with his saber. Snoke stepped closer to him, shot electrocution at him, and took his saber from him. The chaos from the warzone outside began to circle around Snoke’s flagship. They were being surrounded. Time wasn’t on their side. 

“You brought your army here,” Snoke said, clenching his fist. Jaina stepped away from the knights, trying to make a plan to run from this. There was no way they could fight Snoke—even together. 

“We can do this—I just need your help!” Kylo thought, holding his limp body from Snoke’s Force lightning. 

Jaina examined the scene. Somehow, someway, she needed to trick Snoke; if she could get into his head, somehow, that she was for him; not Kylo; not the Jedi. For him. Jaina threw her saber down and looked at Snoke. The Knights of Ren stood down as she ‘surrendered,’ looking over at Kylo and Snoke for guidance. 

“I’ll do it,” Jaina said. “I’ll kill him.”

The monster in front of her let out a smile—his arms folded open as he looked at Jaina. Snoke pushed Kylo’s saber over to her. As she caught it with her hand, she took small steps over to her brother. 

“It’s time to get back what you always wanted—” Snoke held Jaina’s own saber in his hands. “He killed your brother.” Snoke held onto Jaina’s shoulder, and pushed her closer to Kylo’s body. “One strike and he’s gone. He took everything from you, didn’t he?” 

“Jaina…” Kylo started to crawl away. “Don’t give in, he’s lying to you! Jaina, listen to me.”

It was hard to decipher what she wanted to do. What Snoke was telling her was true. Snoke’s grip on her shoulder became tighter. A high pitched ring dug into her head. There was only one time she felt this amount of pain and anguish and fear in her body; when Kylo first reached into her mind when she fought him for the first time after he fell. 

“Don’t listen to him,” Snoke said. “You listened to him when he brought you here. He was only doing it to kill you.” 

Her entire body froze. She didn’t have any power or control over her own body. Before she knew it, Jaina raised her saber, gaining force and gravity to bring it back down. 

Chapter Text

The weight of Kylo’s saber and Snoke’s hold on her mind nearly drained Jaina. She held the saber tighter with her hands. She could do this. He took everything away from her. Her brother, her peace, her childhood best friend. 

“Yes,” Snoke said with a dark smile. “Strike him down, Jaina! All that he had will now be yours.” 

Jaina planted her feet in the ground, and swung her saber around. But, instead of hitting Kylo, she turned around to hit Snoke. Kylo took the moment to stand up and take Jaina’s purple blade from Snoke’s grasp. To his surprise, Snoke was shocked and caught off guard, backing away from the two siblings. Snoke’s bright blue eyes and wrinkled face folded into a gasp. Using the Force, Snoke flung the two on the other side of the room. But the room started to tilt and light on fire due to the blaster shots from the warzone. Jaina looked behind her, seeing the elevator beep and ring. She didn’t know if it was Imperial fighters, more First Order fighters, or if the systems simply were glitching. Jaina stood back up. 

“His Force tricks are too powerful.” 

“You’re giving him what he wants. Don’t give in.” 

“Handle them!” Snoke yelled to the Knights. 

The Knights turned to Kylo and Jaina. The twins looked at each other. 

“So much help that your ‘Knights’ are ‘loyal’ to you.”

Kylo shuttered and turned his back against his sister, facing the couple of Knights that were left. These were his men. His soldiers and fighters—his people. This wasn’t the deal he made with Snoke. Jaina stabbed one Knight in the chest. Another aimed to strike her while her back was turned, and Kylo swung his saber at him. 

Dodging the blaster shots from the large window beside them, she ran over to Snoke and tried to resist his Force powers. Meanwhile, Kylo let the blaster shots deflect onto his Knights while he stabbed the last one’s helmet with his saber. Jaina tried to swing her saber at Snoke, and he used the Force to stop her. Kylo, standing by her side, swung his saber with his wrist. He stepped closer to his master and stood next to him, leaving Jaina standing in front of the two men. 

“Kill her,” Snoke said, “end this.” Quickly, Kylo stabbed his master in the chest, causing him to cough and lose his breath. Jaina swiped Snoke in half. It was over. He was gone. 

“Oh my,” Jaina said, watching the body split in half on the floor. Jaina walked over to the throne to grab her commlink. “It’s done,” she said, wiping her face. “Thought so,” Jag said over the device. “On our way.” 

Jaina deactivated her saber and caught her breath. Kylo stood in the middle of the room, observing the fiery throne room. 

“Tell your troops to stand down.” Jaina clipped her saber to her belt and put her commlink in her pocket. “And give me Zekk.” 

“You don’t give me orders.”

Jaina scoffed at him. “You lured me in here to kill me! The least you can do is tell your soldiers to stop shooting at my allies.”

“I didn’t kill you.

“Yeah, well, you tried to, and chickened out at the last second. Don’t act like I can’t sense your indecisiveness.” 

Jaina stepped closer to him. Blood, fallen capes, and weapons from the fight scattered across the room. She looked out into space, seeing X-wings and TIE fighters fly into the nearby planet, Crait. They didn’t have much time. 

“Give me Zekk,” she said, “and I’ll let you go. Our paths will never cross again this time.” Jaina took a deep breath. “I promise.” 

Kylo didn’t say anything, his breath shaky. “Let him go. Let the past die, Jaina. Look,” he motioned towards the throne. “Snoke’s gone. Zekk’s gone—he left you, he left you for some Hapan security girl.” Kylo pulled out his own communication device. It showed security footage of Zekk with another woman; from the looks of her uniform, it looked as if she was an officer of some sorts.

“What’d you do to him?”

“He escaped to Hapes after Snoke imprisoned him. He left you and the Jedi. He never cared about any of it.” Jaina’s heart sank. Tears rained in both of their eyes. “Let it all go,” Kylo said. “We can leave the First Order, the Jedi, the Sith…that’s all in the past. We can do good together.” Kylo reached out a hand towards her. “I want you to join me.”

“What are you talking about?” 

“No, no—you’re still holding on! Let go!” he screamed. “It’s what we’re destined to do.” Jaina wiped her eyes. Jaina shook her head. She backed away towards the now shattered window, turning to see Jag’s ship inch closer. 

“Join me,” he said, holding his hand out again. 

Jaina’s hand slid out from her side. Being apart from her brother was tearing her apart inside. That was all she wanted, really, was for her family to be reunited. She didn’t want to fight in this pointless war anymore. Her hand reached out to touch Kylo’s glove. If she had such a position of power in this fight, she could make the galaxy better—she could end the war. 

But a heavy footstep echoed through the room before they could talk to one another. The twins turned towards the door to see General Hux and his army, his face tilted down, his hands in a fist. As he observed Snoke’s dead body on the ground, his eyes shot to Kylo. Hux aimed his blaster at Jaina, shooting the side of her hip. 

Kylo ignited his saber and stepped closer to the general. Instead, Hux stood his ground, pointing his blaster at Jaina and commanding his army of stormtroopers to do the same. What did he think he was doing?

“What happened?” Hux asked.

Kylo clenched his jaw. “She killed Snoke.” In Kylo’s eyes, a dark orangey and yellow tint rested in his pupil. She couldn’t manage to watch this—she couldn’t sit here and watch the two men bicker. Jaina managed to limp away and deflect the blastershots with her saber. Jag’s ship came flying in towards the shattered window and she hopped in. Jag engulfed her in his arms, holding her close to him. 

“Are you alright?” he softly asked, holding his arm around her. He walked her over to sit down, and grabbed a nearby cloth for the blaster wound. 

She took the cloth from him and tended to her own injury. “He’s dead,” she said, wiping her face.

“That’s good, then…” Jag said, calling for a medic droid. “Right?”

Jaina leaned her head back. “Yeah. But Kylo is—he’s acting weird.”

“That’s nothing new.”

“No.” Jaina let go of the cloth and let the medic droid fix her injury. “He wants me to join him in ruling over the galaxy.”

He cleared his throat. “Ah, oh…he’s a character, that’s for sure.” Jaina put her head in her hands. She didn’t want to have this conversation anymore. Jag put a hand on her shoulder. 

“And Zekk is on Hapes,” Jaina said.

“You heard…”

“You knew?” The medic droid walked away. Jaina looked down at her hip and back at Jag. Of course he would keep that vital information away from her.

“Yeah…I didn’t want to say anything to you; he’s engaged to—”

“A Hapan security officer.”

“Yes. I saw him on a diplomatic trip a few weeks back.”

“When will I stop believing his lies?” Jaina tried not to tear up again. “I trusted him for all of my life. For nearly my entire life, Jag, and now he’s—he’s whoever he is now, and now I can’t trust a word that comes out of his mouth.” The worst part of all of this was that she wanted to trust him again; she wanted the friendship she had with him back. But she couldn’t. To join him was to betray everything her parents and family worked for. “And I keep falling for his traps. I keep giving him what he wants.”

Jag put an arm around her. “I know…”

Jaina looked out the window, seeing the ship fly into the planet Crait.

Kylo, Hux, and the stormtroopers watched as Jaina hopped into Jagged Fel’s ship and flew away to the planet nearby.

“You let her go?” Hux looked over his shoulder. “She committed treason!”

“I know exactly where she’s going. Take your forces to that planet. The war ends now. We can finish this.”

“They are my army—you do not get to command them!” The stormtroopers behind Hux pointed their blasters at Kylo. “Our Supreme Leader was killed! I am the rightful heir to his army!”

“The Supreme Leader is me!” Kylo shouted, his voice echoing throughout the room. He aimed his hand in Hux’s direction and started to Force choke him. With one flick of the wrist, Hux fell to the floor, with all of the life snapped out of him. The stormtroopers put their blasters down. “Go,” Kylo demanded, walking over to the elevator to get into his escape ship. As he went down to the lower floors, a dozen Imperial soldiers shot at him. He walked through the hall, deflecting the shots and hitting them with no remorse. 

Chapter Text

Jag’s ship landed on Crait. She hopped out of the ship and walked into the old rebel base. It was old, rusty, and filled with little snow creatures. Jaina’s brother—if he was here as Ben and not Kylo—would have loved the snowy little animals. He was always fond of creatures. As kids, when they travelled to the Jedi Academy for training, the first thing Ben would do was rummage around the forest in search of wild animals. And, as they all got older, Zekk would go with him. 

A low growl echoed through the room as Jaina and Jag walked in. Chewie stood beside her, engulfing her in a small hug. Jag parted ways, tending to his own forces in the building. 

“Where’s dad?” she asked Leia who stood beside the optimistic, tall, and comforting Wookie. 

“He’s on his way with Luke.”

“What about Aunt Mara? Finn? Poe? Are they alright?”

“Yes,” Leia held Jaina’s arm. “They are outside, fending off some soldiers. Poe’s briefing the troops in the conference room.” 

“Wait, wait—Finn is on the battlefield?” Jaina crossed her arm. 

“Yes. It was Luke’s decision. He is a good fighter, and he’s under Mara’s guidance. Nothing will happen.”

As the two walked inside the dark control system, Jaina’s tears began to flow harder. Leia kissed Jaina’s forehead. Once they were alone, Jaina’s tears began to flow harder. 

“Mom, I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Leia frowned. 

“I killed Snoke.” Jaina started to fidget with her hands. “It only made things worse. I thought Kylo was his puppet and that he’d come back. I was wrong.”

Leia kneeled down and held both of her daughter’s hands. Her warmth caused Jaina to try and look on the bright side—to try and feel the hope and light that her mother embodied. 

“He might come around someday,” Leia said, “whether he does is a decision he has to make. I know how much you miss him. We all do.” Leia squeezed her hands tighter. “Next time, come to the council. We all want the same things. We’re fighting on the same side.” 

“Hey, kid,” Han said, walking through the door. He scruffled up her hair, and leaned down to sit beside Leia. He kissed her cheek. 

“Hi,” Jaina said, her voice still scratchy from crying. 

A large ship and TIE fighters came shooting down on the base. Han and Leia both stood up and looked down at the controls. Han started fidgeting with it. Luckily, the team of X-wings and fighter jets were able to shoot them down before any real damage was done on the rustic Rebel base. 

“Chewie and I couldn’t get it to work. I doubt you can. We could barely turn the shields on.”

Han let out a quick smirk at his wife. “Have you ever met me?” He bent down underneath the control board to find an old bag of tools. As he rummaged through it, almost each and every one of them had piles of dust on it. 

“If Chewie couldn’t get it, and if I can’t get it, why do you think you are able to? Don’t waste your time here, get out in the Falcon and help my pilots. You’d be a good help out there.”

“It’s simple. I’ll finish it in a moment.” Han let out a small giggle. “Jaina, handle those comms, will ya?” 

“What? What is so funny?” Leia crossed her arms across her vest.

Even though bickers and banters were, essentially, Han and Leia’s thing, Jaina hated to witness it. 

“So, uh how old is this place?” she asked, trying to maneuver the conversation in the opposite direction. . 

“Very old. Ancient, even. Older than you,” Han murmured, unscrewing something. 

Jaina looked towards her mother for a more accurate answer. “My father financed it at the start of the Rebel Alliance.”

Jaina returned to working on the comms. Bail Organa: a person who she rarely knew much about, if anything. She only learned about him from small stories from her mother, history books, and research she did on the holonet. 

Leia crossed her arms. “Are you not going to listen to me?” Leia stepped closer to Han, hoping he would stop fiddling with it. Eventually it worked. Jaina grabbed another tool to start working on the main control system. There was a spare part in the bag. She dusted it off and screwed it into the control board.

“Not everything needs to be an order, Princess.” Han leaned down. 

“Sometimes it has to be for you to actually listen to me.” 

Han leaned in closer and gave her a small kiss. Leia kissed him back, holding his shoulder.

A part of Jaina was happy to see her parents still together and happy after all they had been through. But she was also embarrassed and jarred at the sight—what kid wouldn’t be?

Cough cough. “Mom—Dad—stop!” Leia fixed Han’s jacket and patted his chest. 

“What? You’re embarrassed because I love your mother?” Han turned around. 

“No? Yes? We have bigger things here to do. And I got the system to work.” 

Leia pushed her husband away and stood next to Jaina. “Thank you.”  Her mother brightly smiled. In mere shock, Han looked over at the lights on the board. 

“Our daughter might be a better mechanic than I am. Who would’ve known.” Han sat down. “Go ahead and punch it.”

Jaina clicked a series of buttons. The main board in the middle of the system showed a sensor map of the pilots in the sky. Green for the X-wings and Imperial fighters, red for the First order fighters. “A little outdated, but it should work.” 

“Perfect,” Leia said. “You two stay here and keep an eye on things. Jaina, get in touch with the other pilot leaders.” 

Leia took out her blaster from her holster, and walked out of the room. 

Finn walked into the building with Mara, nearly out of breath from the amount of fighting they did. Mara, however, was perfectly fine, able to greet people with smiles and give orders to nearby technicians and mechanics.

“Great, the shields are up!” Poe said to the small crew he had assembled. 

“Can anyone hear me?” a static voice said. 

Poe looked down at his commlink. “Jaina? How are you, buddy?”

“Hanging in there. How’s your team in the sky? Are you flying out soon?”

“Going as soon as I can.”

“Wonderful. May the Force be with you.”

“Copy that,” Poe put his wrist down.

Finn clung onto Anakin’s saber on his belt. Luke promised him that once the time comes, he’ll be able to craft his own and find his own kyber crystal. Being a Jedi wasn’t Finn’s destined choice in life, simply because he didn’t have the agency to think about what he actually wanted.

“Finn!” Poe ran over to him, engulfing him in a hug. “How are you? How was training?”

“Good, I’m learning. Master Jade and I just fought some soldiers around the back of the building in the mountains.”

“Your first mission!” Poe smiled at him, feeling his face blush. Finn nodded his head and looked around at the chaotic base. “Look, I have to get into my gear but…” Poe, rather playfully, held his hand. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah.” Finn watched as Poe walked away. He couldn’t wait to catch up with him, and show him everything he had been learning. Everytime Finn watched Poe walk away with him, Finn couldn’t help but feel a slight pull towards him. It was a feeling that only got more and more intense the more he talked to him. He could never get his mind off of him, either. Anytime Master Skywalker told him to focus on something peaceful or ‘think about something calming’ his mind drifted to Poe. So, Finn promised himself that if he were to survive to see the end of this war, he’d tell Poe his feelings.

Chapter Text

Finn used his binoculars to see further into what the frontlines looked like on Crait. 

“Any eyes on what that thing is?” Mara asked Finn, turning to look at him.

He squinted closer—he remembered that device; he remembered assembling the parts on it years ago. It was a small weapon that carried the destruction of a death star or star destroyer. 

“That’s a battering ram cannon. They’ve been working on it for years now. But there’s no saying if it will work—they tried to test it but it always failed.”

“They’re really on their last resort here, then.”

“Yeah. It’s a good sign. Do you think Jaina can slice into the computer system?”

“I can go and see,” Mara said, walking over to the control room. 

Jaina turned around to see Mara requesting to slice into the First Order’s machinery. “Wait—you want to see if I can slice into that cannon? That’s not possible.”

“Can you at least try?”

Jaina looked at her droid, Sparky, and asked it to run some scans and tests on the control board. Mara took that as a yes, and walked out. 

Han held up the mic to his mouth. “Ground forces are coming in, get ready.”

He stood up from the chair. “I’m getting back in the Falcon.”

Jaina nodded her head and tried to work more on the computer system. She transferred looking at her hologram and the control board, determined to get this working. 

As Han travelled out of the room, he grabbed Chewie, and ran off to the loading dock. 

The X-wings flew straight into battle, the red and white ground of Crait exploding all over the small planet. Then, Poe gave out the command to attack the cannon’s control system.

Supreme Leader Kylo Ren stood in his ship, watching his pilots steer towards Crait. His ship, however, couldn’t keep up with the speed and strength of Jagged Fel’s ship. Once they got on Crait, they were immediately struck by X-wings and ground warfare.

“The Emperor and Chancellor are in that building,” Kylo said, looking over at the new general. Granted, he didn’t even know his name—all he did was choose a random officer and promote him to Hux’s position. Through the Force, he felt his whole entire family in that building. “Do whatever it takes to get in there.”

“Sir, the cannon might fail—”

Kylo looked down at the general, and turned back to face the battle scene. The general bowed his head and scurried off, commanding his forces to push further. The TIE fighters shot a few X-wings down, but were bombarded by a fleet of imperial soldiers and pilots. 

A distant hum of mechanics and engines filled Kylo’s ears. He walked to the front of the ship, standing next to the pilot. The presence of Han Solo and Chewie all awoke inside of his head. “Blow that piece of junk—out of the sky!” He eyed the Millenium Falcon as it flew around, destroying TIE fighters and soldiers on the ground. “I said get it out! I don’t want to see it in the sky!”

They tried to aim for it, but it was too fast—too stealthy. 

“Go over there!” Kylo demanded. “Get that ship! Now!”

The First Order’s ships were now all targeting the Falcon, but neither of them seemed to be hitting their shots. The Falcon drew away from the battleground, distracting the TIE fighters from the active warfare and Kylo’s main goal. 

“They’re reaching for the cannons—” Kylo yelled.

“Sir the cannon is not charging to its full capacity,” the general said. 

Kylo observed the cannon out of the window, seeing it fail to blow up. “Do something! Now!”

“For the cannons, or the Falcon?”

“Both of them!” 

The X-wings grew closer, shooting down some of the other general ships and TIE fighters that retreated. Kylo looked over at his troops, seeing barely a dozen left in the sky. He didn’t want to retreat. He couldn’t. He wanted Skywalker and the Solo’s.

Leia sat in the middle of the building, hearing the troops fight outside. Luke came walking in, his Jedi capes familiar and calming. 

“I’m going to face him,” Luke said, sitting in front of Leia. 

Leia took a deep breath. Deep down, she knew that Luke had to be the one to get into Ben’s head; as much as Jaina tried, there was a part of her that feared that she—too—would join the dark side. 

“I know I can’t save him at the end of this.”

“I know,” Leia said, giving her brother a small smile. The twins held hands with each other. 

“But I will try.”

Mara stood by the arch of the door. “Ready?”

Luke stood up and let go of his sister’s hand. 

Kylo watched in his ship as Luke Skywalker stepped onto the battlefield. All of the TIE fighters and blastershots stopped in an instant. 

As his ship hovered over the battlescene, the bright red salt of Crait mimicked bloodshed and suffering—the two components that held this war together. If he could end this here, he could. He could order all his troops to fire at him, but he wanted the satisfaction of beating his old master. 

Kylo watched as the planet started to fog. 

“Bring me down. Don’t move until I say,” Kylo said, eyeing his Uncle. 

The general looked over at the Supreme Leader. “Now is the time to open fire on the ba—”

Kylo used the Force to push him down. He walked over to the loading dock, ready to face his Uncle. 

The ship lowered to the ground in front of Luke. His Jedi capes flowed in the fog and wind. They stood in front of each other, not doing or saying anything. Kylo expected his Uncle to be upset—to be angry at him for all of the devastation he caused. 

“Why are you here?” Ben leaned towards him, planting his feet in the ground. The sun on Crait was now setting; the sky turned an orange and pink tiny, completely contrasting the white and red ground of the planet. “Are you here to say you forgive me? Are you here to welcome me back in open arms, and tell me that the ‘light is the answer’?”

“No, Ben, because I know that anything I say to you will not please you.” 

Kylo took a step closer and let his cape fall to the ground. With a sharp lunge, he ignited his saber. Luke followed suit, and ignited his right in front of him. His nephew wasn’t quite ‘gone,’ as other people would put it—he was simply lost, misguided, and confused. 

Finn let the anger inside of him fluster through his body. As he flew his ship back into the building from the back entrance, he couldn’t believe that the Republic wasn’t doing anything to get Kylo Ren. Finn wanted nothing more than revenge—to scoop Ren up and fight him again and win. 

Jag Fel stood by the control room, talking to an officer of some sorts. Despite the fact that the Imperial Empire and the New Republic were now allies, Finn, for some reason, was still skeptical about the reserved, stubborn, and authoritative man. 

The Emperor looked over at Finn and disregarded the person he was talking to. “Finn,” Fel said, “good work out there.” He walked towards the control room. 

Finn nodded his head. “Thank you.”

“I see we’re heading the same way,” Fel said, looking beside him.

“Yeah, I just want to check in with Jaina to make sure all the teams are good.”

Jag nodded his head and stood beside the door, keeping his hand on the knob. “You’re a Jedi, right?”

“Uh…not yet. I’m a Jedi in training.”

“Good, so you’ll somewhat understand.” 

“Understand what…?”

Fel took a step aside from the door, and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’ll give you the short version of the story: Jaina got injured on the base when she was fighting off Snoke. Somehow, someway, her brother asked him to join her and she…she took his hand.”

Finn crossed his arms. “She wouldn’t.”

“I know. But she did for a small second. The Chancellor doesn’t want her in this fight; she’s not in the right headspace.” There was no way Jaina actually accepted Kylo’s offer. That was unlike her. There had to be something deeper. 

“So that’s why she’s been in the control room all day?”

“To some extent, yes.” Fel put his hand on the doorknob again. “I need to make sure she doesn’t try to leave.”

Finn nodded his head. “I’ll help.”
As Fel opened the door, he let Finn in first. “Any update on the cannon?” Fel asked, leaning his hands on her chair.

“Yeah…” She messed with some buttons. “I think I sliced into it. I’m not entirely sure, though.”

“Either way,” Finn mentioned, “they don’t look too interested in anything but Master Skywalker right now.”

Jaina observed her brother and Luke stand face to face. Even she knew that Luke was no match for Kylo, no matter how hard the Sith-in-training had developed his skills. Tears clogged in her eyes as Luke dodged his shots and swung his blue blade at him, causing tears and rips in Kylo’s armor. 

“Someone…” she said, standing up. “I need to go out there and help him.”

Finn stood by the doorway. “Master Luke is fine,” Finn leaned against the wall. “He knows what he’s doing, and he has the advantage.”

Jaina reached for her blaster and looked to see if it had ammo in it. Finn used the Force to draw it towards him, stuffing it in the inside of his pocket.

She looked at him in shock. As she looked up at Jag, he didn’t do or say anything. 

“I need that back.”

“No.” Finn crossed his arms. “You don’t. Master Skywalker has a plan.”

Jaina walked towards the door. Jag, however, moved quicker, and didn’t let her pass through.

“No, no,” Jaina crossed her arms. “We’re not doing this. Let me through.”

Finn watched this ordeal happen. To his surprise, Jaina started to lash out on Jag. 

“He’s going to kill him!” All Jaina wanted to do was use the Force to push him out of his way. But if she tried, she knew Finn would jump in.

“They’re not,” Jag said.

“And if they do…that’s a bad thing because…?” Finn intervened. Jaina shot her eyes at him. At that moment, Finn knew that Jag was telling the truth.

“He’s my brother!”

“He killed Anakin,” Finn said. “And he tried to kill me. He’d strike me and Jag down with no hesitation. You keep giving him chances, when he doesn’t deserve any of them.” 

Jaina shook her head. She couldn’t watch her brother die at the hands of her Uncle. She didn’t believe what Jag and Finn was telling her—Luke was out there to end the war and kill Kylo. But she knew that Luke would never do such a thing—at least that was what she thought of him. All she wanted was for him to come back, and that possibility had reached his end. 

Jaina took her guard down, and backed away from the door. As she turned around to face the battle, she immediately looked away. 

“It’s what has to be done…” Jag whispered, opening his arms towards her. Nervously, she accepted the embrace, and clung onto him. 

Chapter Text

As the sun began to set, Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren still fought. The pilots in the remaining TIE fighters began to get restless at the whole ordeal; this could have ended. It was safe to say that all the officers, generals, and pilots on the side of the New Republic were sick and tired of this fight between the Jedi master and the Supreme Chancellor of the First Order. But whoever came out victorious in this war was the one to rule the galaxy. And if that meant fighting for what was right until the moon rose, so be it. 

Kylo’s fighting style, even when he was Ben, was always aggressive and offensive. Luke was a master of both combat styles, and decided to be more calm and defensive; but that did not mean his blade swings were cordial and gentle—by all means, they were quite forceful, sending his nephew off balance multiple times. As Kylo recovered from his nephew’s swing, he tried to swing for his head, but was only stopped by Luke’s agility. 

“I’m sorry, B—”

“I’m sure you’re sorry!” His scream sounded like it echoed through the whole galaxy. 

Kylo held his saber down, trying to get a feel on what his Uncle was going to do next. The sith-in-training flicked his saber in a circle, seemingly trying to intimidate Luke. He thought that if he’d switch his fighting style to one that was defensive, he’d have the upperhand. Luke held a composed posture with his green blade shielding his face. 

“When I kill you…” Kylo continued. “The Jedi will have no leader. The Republic will die.”

“No, Ben. The war is not over until peace is restored. Peace and the First Order cannot coexist. They are a mere paradox.”

Kylo leaned closer. “I will destroy you and Mara…” he said. “I’ll destroy the Solo’s. Each and every one of them,” he said, choking on his words. “All of it will be gone.” Tears dripped onto his lip. 

“You don’t want that.” Luke shook his head. The sound of Luke’s lightsaber deactivating confused Kylo. “I know that Anakin is always with you. You killed him in anger. If you do the same to us, we will be there. You can’t get rid of the ones you once loved.”

The grip on Kylo’s saber tightened. He ran, full speed ahead, towards his Uncle and struck his body. But all Kylo did was run through his body. Slowly, he turned his head back, huffing. His Uncle turned around. What was happening? Luke’s body was there—his capes were flowing in the wind, his saber hits were real ; Kylo heard his voice. They were talking to each other. 

Kylo stepped closer and pushed his blade through Luke’s chest. It went straight through. The Supreme Leader deactivated his saber and clipped it on his belt. Rubbing his head, he looked at the small number of TIE fighters in the sky compared to the dozens and dozens of forces allied with the New Republic and Jedi. He let his anger get the best of him.

“No…” 

“It doesn’t have to end this way,” Luke said, his presence fading in the force. As Kylo stepped away, a body came walking in through the distance where Luke stood. Mara Jade took her husband’s spot, her hood up and saber held tightly in his hand. Force projection; he had read about it years and years ago—he thought it was a myth. He thought it was impossible. 

“Where is he?” Kylo planted his feet in the ground and immediately swung his saber at her. Kylo’s heart pumped faster. He needed to get out. Fast. 

“That, right now, doesn’t matter.” Mara struck him and sent him off balance. But she didn’t wait for him to return back to his battle stance, instead, he struck him again. Kylo grunted and fell to the floor. As he dragged his body backwards, the salt bled red. He just needed to get to his ship. That was all. He could return back to the outer rim and devise a better plan with his generals. He wouldn’t let his emotions rule his choices next time. 

“Give me him!” Kylo yelled.

“People can change.” Mara followed him and deactivated her saber. “I understand where you’re coming from.”

Kylo tried to swing his saber towards her while on the ground, but it did nothing for him. He managed to stand back up and make a run for his ship, trusting in the Force to turn around when he needed to. As soon as he got into the ship, he closed the loading dock, taking a deep breath and recollecting himself. He had never been this scared or fearful in a warzone before. Never. But something inside him knew that it was his entire family who was after him—Luke, Leia, Han, and Mara. They weren’t just sending Jaina anymore.

“Get off the planet!” Kylo screamed, rubbing his head. When the ship didn’t move, he walked into the direction where the cockpit was. As he took a step, he heard voices and noises coming from around the ship. But when he took another step into the ship, unconscious or dead or passed out bodies surrounded the floor. Those were his soldiers. His generals. People that were loyal and dedicated to him. And they were gone. 

Kylo activated his saber, walking through his own ship in fear and confusion. Approaching the cockpit, however, was something he never expected. Luke sat in the chair, looking towards Kylo.

“The war’s over, Ben,” Luke softly said, standing up. “Though I believe in redemption more than anything.”

“It’s too late.” Tears clogged Kylo’s eyes. 

“It’s never too late.”

This was a nightmare. Subconsciously, his hand motioned to pinch his hand. His own saber was Force pulled out of his arm. He turned around to see Mara behind him with his saber in her own hands. 

Although it was a blurry sight, Kylo looked at an X-wing pilot sitting in the pilot seat. It was Poe—the man who tried to kill him back on Jakku. He held a large stun blaster weapon.

“Sorry, kid,” Poe said, setting off the weapon. All Kylo saw was a bright blue ring before he completely lost control of everything in his mind. 

Chapter Text

Jaina watched as Kylo’s ship flew away. The last of the remaining TIE fighters were shot down, and the general’s ships were intercepted and taken as prisoners of the war. She scurried out of the room, no longer worried about Jag and Finn holding her back. 

She climbed up the mountains of Crait, observing the warzone below her. The planet, despite the setting sun and the white grains of salt all over the mountains, had a warm breeze to it. Jaina bundled herself up in her Jedi robes, watching the sunset from above. The war, at least its fighting and bloodshed, was over—she should have been happier. Snoke was dead and Kylo was captured, but both of their lingering presents of the dark side still rested in the atmosphere. 

Thinking back to the moment when Kylo asked her to join him, she didn’t know why she took his hand; the way he wanted to rule the galaxy was not suitable to her beliefs or her ideas of what the world should look like. A part of her was deeply ashamed that she even did that—that for a second, she let her guard down and let her brother trick her into joining him in the dark side of the Force. Even during her battle with Snoke, she thought about how much she could learn and all of the new possibilities and ideas she could learn. But she knew it was never the answer. Joining that would only cause more pain and suffering. 

Leia stood near the mountain. Jaina’s feet swung back and forth as she propped herself up on the edge of the cliff.

“Are you ready?” Leia softly asked, standing behind Jaina. “We are heading back to Coruscant.”

Jaina bit her lip. She didn’t want to go back there. That meant confronting her Aunt and Uncle about what really happened in Snoke’s flagship. She knew she needed to take accountability for going behind the Council’s back, but that was something she needed to do in the far future. Not now. 

“Yeah…just give me a minute.” Jaina didn’t bother looking behind her. 

“Take all the time you need,” Leia said. She felt her mother walk away. 

“Wait,” Jaina said, turning around to face her mother. “Can I talk to you about something?” As she asked that, she couldn’t understand why she did; she was her mother, she knew, subconsciously, that she could talk about anything to her. Leia stopped in her tracks and stood by her daughter. 

“Of course. But let’s get on our way first. Your father is waiting for us.”

“I know.” Jaina stood up and tucked her hair behind her ears. “I just wanted you to know that…that…” All she wanted to do was confess to her about what really happened in Snoke’s throne room. “I’m scared of what comes next.”

Leia stepped closer to her daughter. “There’s no need to be scared; the hard part is over. Being scared is how you get vulnerable.”

Jaina nodded her head. She had fought in many wars before, but this one was different—it felt off. It was a war that seemed to be more personal than ever, one where she lost almost everything and everyone she knew. 

A familiar feeling came flowing in her body. Leia and Jaina turned around, seeing no other than Anakin Skywalker’s force ghost.

“We all have those temptations with the dark side. If not the dark side, then a temptation to question your beliefs and part in this world,” he said, his hands folded against him. Leia tilted her eyebrow up at him. “Except you. You have so much of your mother in you.” He floated closer to the two. 

She took a deep breath and held on to her heart. “I almost joined him—” she confessed, trying to suppress the memory. 

“Kylo?” Leia questioned, holding her daughter’s arm.

Ashamed, she nodded her head. Anakin patted her shoulder. “But you didn’t in the end; you turned around and walked the other way. That was the right thing to do.”

Jaina tried to believe the words coming out of her grandfather’s mouth. He knew the path of the dark side more than anyone else. So she had to trust him. She had to trust herself that she wouldn’t take the same path Kylo did. Before she knew it, his ghost faded into the Force with a small smile. 

“He’s such a character,” Leia said, carefully climbing down the mountain.

“I know.” Jaina jumped off to the next large rock and kept an eye out for her mother. 

Chapter Text

News rapidly spread about the war ending. Once they made their landing in Coruscant, there were an abundance of crowds, festivals, and music. The city was decorated with extravagant lights and ribbons. Citizens danced in crowds with smiles on their faces. Though, Jaina didn’t want to participate in any of it. All she wanted to do was go home, and that was exactly what the family did. 

“I missed this place.” Han took a deep breath and immediately made his way to the living room, slumping on the couch. Leia and Luke retreated to her office, presumably needing to send some messages out to politicians and senators.

Jaina didn’t know where Mara was. And she didn’t want to know, either. Having Luke in the house was more than enough to make her upset. She paced the entrance to wait for Luke to come out of the office. Once he did, she walked straight over to him.

“What happened to him?” she asked. Even though she was still processing everything that happened, it still did not make any sense to her why the Jedi did that. Was Kylo dead? Gone? 

“He’s being held in the prison until further notice.” Luke slid his robe off and hung it on the coat rack. 

Quickly, Jaina followed him. “What?”

“I said he’s being held in the prison until further notice. It is not up to debate, I am sorry.”

Jaina scoffed and looked around the room before settling her gaze back up at her Uncle. “Everyone said that they’d ‘welcome Ben with open arms’ when he came back, and that we can ‘meet him where he’s at.’ You said you believe in redemption—that he would come back!”

“That was before he started going on a killing rampage. He is so far gone in the dark side, that—”

“Your fa—”

“Jaina, let me finish. He is so far gone in the ways of the dark side, that he did not come back to us on his own. I believe in him, I really do, but I doubt he would've came back to the light so quickly."

“But he would’ve if you just let him! You’re forcing him back, and he doesn’t want it.”

The music and cheers from the city outside bled into the foyer of the home.

“I am not going to sit and wait and watch immense bloodshed happen before he suddenly feels guilty.”

“What—what if this was your twin? If Mom turned. Would you do the same thing?”

“Yes.” Luke walked over to the living room to join Han. Jaina simply followed him. “This isn’t fair.”

“War usually isn’t fair, kid,” Han said, his eyes closed. 

Jaina pushed his legs off the couch. “No shoes on the furniture.”

“That is your mother’s rule.” Han crossed his arms and propped his legs right back up on the couch. “And she’s not here right now.”

Luke sat on the armchair, reading through a book. Seeing the two men relax and do nothing annoyed her to no end. 

“Dad,” she said, standing in front of him. “Tell Uncle Luke that he’s being unreasonable.”

“Luke, you’re being unreasonable.” 

“If being unreasonable means ending a war, then fine, I’m being unreasonable.” 

Han put his hands behind his head. “Jaina, you’re being unreasonable.”

She looked over at Luke, who seemed to be completely unbothered; he held up a book with the Force and scanned the pages.

“Your father was infinitely worse than my brother.” Luke rested the book on his lap, his mouth gaping open. “And you forgave him.”

Han’s eyes shut open as he slowly sat up on the couch. “That…that was too far, Jaina.”

She stepped aside from her father and Uncle. “It’s the truth.” No one bothered to respond to her. “All I want is to see him…to make sure he’s alright. Can I at least be granted that?”

“When you calm down.” Luke looked at her. “You are not in the right headspace.”

She threw her arms up in the air. “I have a right to be upset at all of this!”

“Jaina, let it go,” Han said, staring at her. 

“He’s my brother!”

Han cleared his throat, “I understand that, and he’s my son. But, he needs to pay for what he did. Even I know this.”

She couldn’t take it anymore. As she walked out of the archway to head upstairs, all Leia did was stare at her, now dressed in a more formal attire than she wore in the war. The two didn’t say anything, and instead parted their ways, with Jaina heading up the stairs, and Leia heading into the living room.

It was weird walking up the halls and hearing no noise or conversations happening. No music from Ben’s room. No loud talking to friends from Anakin’s room. Just an unmade bed in Anakin’s room and unfinished drawings. Just an open window from Ben’s room and hoards of books. 

Finn and Poe walked through the parades and parties on Coruscant. They got an abundance of free drinks, food, and random things thrown at them. But, at the end of the day, they stopped at a Cantina to wind down, and celebrate their victory. 

“I feel like we barely know each other,” Finn said, taking a sip of his drink. 

“We’ve known each other for a while.”

“I know, but we don’t know each other.” Finn looked over at him. Poe traced the rim over his drink. “Like, your favorite color.”

“Yellow, yours.”

“Blue.”

“Off to a good start.” Poe smiled at him and ordered another drink. 

Finn tapped his hand on the table. “Can I ask you something?”

“Hit me.”

“Why’d you join the Republic?”

“Hm.” Poe took another sip of his drink. “I’ve just…always wanted to fly. My parents were big Rebels back in the day.”

“Really?”

“Really. What’d your parents do?”

“I don’t know,” Finn confessed. “I’ve never met them.”

“Oh…I’m sorry.” 

“It’s not your fault. It’s just—I miss them but…but I’ve never known them.” 

“I get that.”

Finn took a deep breath. “I want to find them one day.”

“I’ll be there to help.”

Finn gave him a warm smile. 

Chapter Text

The  best thing to do for Jaina’s sanity was to get her off of Coruscant. There was too much going on there between politics, the Skywalker-Solo family, and the ending of the war. 

“Is this really the best thing to do?” Han watched as Jaina lugged her bags into her ship. 

“Yes,” Luke responded. “She needs some time to process all of this.”

Leia, Luke, and Mara stood beside Han, watching her put the last suitcase in. They all decided that it was best to send her on a mission to Hapes. There, she could do some humanitarian work, aid citizens, and take time to herself. All on a planet that she was familiar with and where she had some old friends. 

Leia adjusted her dress fabrics and looked over at Han. “Just think about…everything she’s been through in the last day or so. It is a lot.”

Mara kept an eye on Jaina as she stood at her loading dock, waiting to see if they’d all say their goodbyes or not. “If she stays here any longer,” Mara softly said, “she’ll find Kylo. She’s not ready for that, not now.”

Jaina walked over to her family. “I’ll see you all next week…” she said, avoiding eye contact. 

“Send Tenel Ka our greetings,” Leia said, hugging her daughter. Reluctantly, Jaina hugged her back. 

“See you, kid. Fly safe,” he said, hugging her close.

“I always do. I learned from the best.”

Mara and Luke were the last ones in the line—and Jaina did that on purpose.

“I’m sorry…” Jaina said, fidgeting with her Jedi robes. She looked over at Luke, who nodded his head. So, she took that as a sign to elaborate. “I’m sorry for yesterday. You were right. I was being rude and unreasonable.”

Luke put his hands on her shoulders. With that, she noticed that she was slumping her posture, and straightened her spine. “Take a deep breath,” he said. She took a deep breath and relaxed her body. “Hapes will be a nice break. Make sure to meditate.”

“I will.”

“Two times a day, at least. Do it by the ocean or the mountains. It is very peaceful up there.”

Jaina nodded her head at him, and turned to Mara.

“You have everything?” Mara asked with her arms crossed. 

“Mhm.” 

“You know who to call if you need anything,” she said, giving her a warm smile.

With that, she made her way to her ship. 

“I feel like we’re pushing her away.” Han looked into the sky. Quickly, the ship disappeared into space.

“I know, but she’s needed on Hapes. Some time to herself will not hurt,” Luke calmly said.

As much as Han tried to make sense of all of this, he simply couldn’t. 

Luke and Mara stood in front of the security footage of their nephew. His outlashes were worse than they thought. On the video, Kylo paced around the cell, trying to break through the shield. He had no luck. When he started to realize that, he started to throw objects at the Force shield to see if it would break through.

“And this is all from last night?” Mara asked. The video shut off. 

“Mhm.”

“I feel bad for the kid, I really do, but…” Mara scratched her hair. “What the Sith is wrong with him?”

Luke sat down. “I have no clue.”

“What’s your plan for all of this?” 

“As much as I want a say in what happens to him, it’s up to the senators and the government.”

Following him, Mara sat beside him and put her head on her shoulder. “When this all ends, we’re planning a vacation.”

Luke kissed Mara’s head. “I won’t argue with that.”

She interlocked her hand in his. Mara squeezed his hand and leaned over to kiss him.

To an outsider, it would seem like Kylo Ren was getting  even crazier than he was. The prison they held him in was too isolated and cold, leaving him to dwell on his own thoughts for entertainment. To his surprise, he had a couple of amenities; a book, a journal, and a small lamp. But none of that mattered. The intense Force shield around him was too strong to break through, and it, somehow, hindered his own Force abilities. There was no escape. No connection to the outside world. No comlinks. Nothing and no one to defend him. Left with his own mind, all he could think of was his mistakes. But not his mistake of turning to the dark side—still, to him—that was the best choice he could have made for himself. This mistake, then, was the one he made back on Crait. If he would’ve taken a second to think—to use his brain, the war would’ve been his. If he would’ve clung on to the small moment when Jaina let her guard down and trusted him, he would’ve had it. He would’ve had everything he wanted and more.

Kylo sat on the small bed and lifted his knees up to his chin. He rested his head on his knee. Closing his eyes, he heard a low pitch hymn, almost as if music was playing in the background. But it was something more sinister and frightening, as if something was haunting him. 

“Grandfather?” he softly asked, looking around the room. “Please, help me…” he pleaded. “What type of cruel and sick torture is this? They’re trying to kill me here.”

Becoming more and more aware that he was just talking to himself, he tried to look for signs that Vader’s spirit was lingering in the room, trying to figure out a way to help him. But, less and less, his mind drifted away from his grandfather. Instead, he thought of all of the chaos and trauma he endured as a young boy, being captured by enemy soldiers and having to fight for his life, just to see his parents again. He couldn’t stand being locked away again by himself. So he did what he always did, and tried to reach out to Jaina. But he knew he couldn’t get through to her. 

“You left me…” he heard a voice say. He rubbed his eyes, seeing a Force ghost. Anakin. His brother.

“Ani!” Kylo shot up from his bed and ran to hug the figure. But his late younger brother stepped away and punched his face in full force. “Druk…” 

“Get a hold of yourself, please. You killed me and now you’re trying to hug me.”

Kylo held his face. “ No, look, you don’t understand what happened.”

“I do. I was there.” 

Changing the subject, he asked, “How’d you even become a force ghost?”

“Grandfather taught me.”

Kylo crossed his arms. “I need you to get me out of here.” Anakin laughed at him. “No, no stop!” he yelled. “I’m being serious.”

“Absolutely, not. So you can go back and start up the First Order again? No, not happening.”

“Come on, Anakin, please…” He uncrossed his arms and frowned. “I’m not going to do that. There’s just some things I need to handle…” Kylo reached out to touch Anakin’s shoulder but his hand went through the body. Weird. 

“No! You deserve to be here to pay for what you did.”

Kylo sat down. “Would I ever do anything to hurt you…?” He felt a fire ignite in his chest. There was a way out of this drukhole. 

“Yes! Do you not remember killing me? What is wrong with you?”

This was the perfect moment, thought Kylo. He leaned his head back on the wall. “No, I don’t…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Anakin stared at him in shock. But he wasn’t falling for it. “Stop it.”

“No, seriously. I don’t remember.” Kylo clenched his jaw. “It’s all foggy. I don’t remember anything…”

“Huh?” Anakin’s face scrunched in confusion.

“Yeah…it’s weird, isn’t it…” Kylo’s eyes started to dilate. He rubbed them and looked up at the ceiling, trying to avoid eye contact with Anakin’s ghost. 

“I don’t care if you can’t remember what you did. You still did it.”

“That’s not true. I didn’t…I didn’t kill you!”

Anakin huffed. “I’m wasting my time here.”

“No one believes me, Ani.” Kylo took a deep breath and tried to tap into the Force. It wasn’t working. “Snoke made me do all of it.”

“Kylo…”

“Ben,” Kylo corrected, eyeing his brother. “That’s not me. Not anymore.” Anakin looked down at the ground and then back at Kylo. “I need you to get Jaina and bring her here,” he said, lowering his voice. “If I can get out of here…I can help you.” He stood up and stepped closer. Anakin avoided eye contact with him. “I learned some things…like how to bring people back. I could bring you and Tahiri back; just help me get out of here, and I’ll do it. I promise.”

Anakin looked at his brother. There was something near alien-like about him—his eyes were bleeding yellow, and his voice was sinister yet soft, as if he was trying to get into Anakin’s mind. Things in the room started to violently shake. The pitcher of water on the side table almost tipped over, the bed shook, the room shook. 

“Kylo?”

In a panic, Kylo started to tear apart every inch of the room, trying to search for something. He had read about Sith possessing objects to reach back into the world after their death. That had to be what was happening. Frantically, he tried to find a sign that his grandfather was there. Or Snoke. Or a lingering spirit of Emperor Palpatine. He didn’t care. He needed out.

“You look ridiculous!” A voice shouted. He turned to face Anakin. Next to him was no other than Anakin Skywalker, dressed in all black garbs and a cape. He turned to his youngest grandson, and softened his voice. “Go. Yoda said he’d teach you some things.”

Taking one last look at his brother, Anakin faded into the Force. 

Kylo wasn’t ashamed of what he did. He stared at his grandfather and clenched his fist. 

 “I can’t help you,” Anakin said. “No one can help you but yourself.” 

“Go away.” Kylo wiped the tears flowing from his eyes. “You don’t belong here.”

Anakin put his hand on his hip. “Neither do you. Yet we both are standing here.”

In a fit of anger, Kylo reached out his hand to use the Force to push him away. But nothing happened. Slowly, he retracted his hand away and nervously coughed. With a flick of his wrist, Anakin pushed Kylo into the nearby chair. 

“Don’t mess with Anakin again,” he said. That sounded like a threat.  “If I would’ve known he came to see you, it never would’ve happened to begin with.” Kylo wiped his face as he stared up at his grandfather. “You either stand with your family or against them. You can’t have both.” 

“Don’t talk to me about ‘family.’ You know nothing about that,” Kylo said. 

The ghost faded into the distance. Kylo clenched his jaw, and picked up the lamp on the table. He threw it in the direction where both Anakins once stood. 

Chapter Text

Hapes was a beautiful planet. Jaina enjoyed it more than Coruscant or even Corellia. 

“Jaina Solo,” a security officer said, smiling at her. “The Queen sent me to greet you and take care of the ship.”

“Thank you,” she softly said, “I appreciate it.”

The officer nodded his head, and the other officers beside him escorted her into the castle. 

In the entrance of the castle was no other than Tenel Ka. She embraced Jaina in a warm hug, her blonde hair tucked into a sophisticated bun. 

“I’m so happy you’re here!” Tenel stepped away from the hug.

Jaina slid her Jedi robes off, and held it in her arms. 

“They can take that, don’t worry.”

“Oh, it’s fine, really—”

Before she knew it, Tenel Ka’s footmen took it away from her, and walked off with it. 

“We have so much to catch up on!” Tenel exclaimed, taking her over to another room. 

After talking for what seemed like hours, Jaina worked on distributing some aid around the main city. It was only a temporary fix to what the war had done, like packages of water, new commlinks, food, and injury kits. Jaina wanted to do more work that would be more permanent, but for now, it would be helpful. Once she did that, she took a brisk walk by the ocean, wanting to meditate in peace.

Long and behold, a tall man with a black jacket and dark ruffled hair strolled past her. She did a double take, turned around, and met his gaze. Zekk cleared his throat.

“Jaina?” 

“Zekk, uh wow. Great seeing you here.”

“You too. What are you doing here?” He wiped something off his chin. “I thought you’d be caught up on Coruscant after the war ended.”

“I’m here on a mission.” Jaina bit the inside of her cheek. How awkward could this get? Even though she wanted to lash out on him, she didn’t want to make a scene. She wasn’t here for him. She could care less about what he was doing with his life.

“Nice.”

“So, uh,  I heard you’re engaged!”

“Kriff…” He nervously laughed.

“No, no, don’t worry. I’m happy for you.” She smiled and her face grew warm. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” he said. There were imaginary crickets around them. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t be there for you—”

“It’s fine. Seriously…um, we were always better mission partners than we were ever partner partners, I think.”

“Right. I was going to say that I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you when Anakin…when he died.”

“Oh!” Jaina said, folding her hands in her face. She looked back at him and took a deep breath. “Yeah, yeah…that…it’s okay. I get it.”

“I’m sorry,” Zekk said as he cleared his throat. “I just got caught up here in the Hapan system and I didn’t know how to go back to you—”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it, Zekk.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Jaina stuffed her boot into the rubble of the ground, slightly kicking it around. The ocean was near—she could smell its calming aroma and faint breeze flowing through her skin. 

“I'll see you around?” Jaina said, shielding her eyes from the sun.

“Of course.”

The old childhood friends parted ways. The view from the ocean was stunning. Flowers sprung around the beach area, and the sand was warm to the touch. She found a small and secluded area underneath a nearby tree and sat down to meditate. Her eyes slowly shut as she began to enter a trance-like state. Everything around her started to float—the sand, the rocks, the leaves. When she was at the Jedi academy, Luke explained to his students that we each see the Force in different ways. Anakin saw it as a current, flowing through everyone, while Ben saw it as something that was more natural, ecological, and functioned in a way similar to the outside world. Jaina saw it in a similar way to Anakin, but instead of it being a free-flowing current, she saw the Force as a mechanical cycle, where each person had a part to play inside of its survival. And each envisioning of the Force was correct. There was no answer, was what Luke always said to them. 

Finn engaged in a small battle with Luke and Mara. The two Jedi Masters seemed to be causing him to work harder and harder these days, but Finn didn’t necessarily mind it. He needed some sort of motivation to do something in life and to pick up the broken pieces from what his life looked like before. 

“Tighter swings,” Master Luke said, watching Finn duel Mara. “Don’t leave your body exposed.” He did what he said, and tightened his grip on his saber, and kept it steady in front of his face. 

Mara blocked his shot and moved around him. Before Master Luke could even say anything, Finn already knew what he was going to instruct: ‘don’t leave your back open to the opponent.’ So, he quickly turned around and stabled his blade, ready for Mara’s next attack.

“Good,” Luke shouted.

 But then he predicted what Luke was going to say next: ‘don’t wait for the opponent to attack you first.’ 

He swung the saber at Mara, who deflected the shot, but deactivated her own blade. 

“Wow,” she said. “I’m impressed.”

“I think it’s time to build you a real saber.” Master Luke smiled at his student, who smiled back at him. 

“Yes! Finally!” 

“I’ll go take him,” Mara said, looking at Luke. “You need a break.”

Luke laughed. “No, no, I’ll go.”

Finn watched them banter and laughed to himself, putting away the training saber. 

“Nope. Too late,” Mara said, walking towards the door. “I’m already leaving! Let’s go, Finn.”

Luke watched the two leave the room, and sat down by the window. He began to close his eyes and think about Ben’s fall, a thought he dwelled about often. When it first happened, he blamed himself; maybe he was too harsh on him, he thought. Maybe he was too strict. Or maybe he was the opposite, and let too many things slide. Or he thought it was because he let Ben be so philosophical and curious. And other times, he thought it was because he pushed him too hard. He thought back to when he took the twins training in a forest, teaching them how to use the environment to their advantage. 

Jaina leaped from rock to rock, running away from the training device and its abrasive blaster shots. Meanwhile, Ben took the time to think and feel where the blaster shot was going to hit before he moved. Both methods worked well. 

“Very good,” Luke said, standing at the end of the river. “Take a break.”

Ben sat at the edge of the river, letting his fingers run through the water. 

“Uncle—Master Skywalker,” he said, looking behind him. “I’ve been thinking about the Force and the Jedi and all of this stuff,” he said, his words slurring together. “What if we’re the bad guys?” he said. 

“Huh?” Jaina unscrewed a jug of water. “Ben, what are you saying right now?”

Luke crossed his arms and continued to listen to what his nephew had to say. “I don’t know,” Ben said. Ben took his hand out of the water and watched butterflies fly around in front of him. “How are we sure that the light side isn’t the dark side, and that the dark side isn’t the light side?”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Jaina spewed out. 

“It makes perfect sense. You’re never the one to question anything, Jaina.”

The Jedi Master sat down next to Ben and adjusted his robes.  “You have to trust in yourself, your beliefs, and your actions. When you feel the Force as it was meant to be—peaceful, calm, and orderly, that is how you know you are on the right side. The dark side does not offer that, Ben. It never will, no matter how hard people convince you it does.”

Ben picked up grass from the ground “Are you sure?” 

“Yes.”

“Well…” the young Solo clenched his jaw. “Are you mad at me?” Ben asked, taking his sister’s water and drinking it. 

“No—not at all.” Luke gave him a smile. But deep down, he was mad. He was scared. Fearful, even. “Let’s head back. Whoever gets to the ship first gets to be my co-pilot.”

Jaina looked over at Ben and ran across the river, using the Force to jump around and run quicker. Ben gave his Uncle a soft smile. He was going to let her sister win—he never was particularly fond of piloting. As he watched the twins take off, his stomach sank in him. 

When he dropped the twins off back to Han and Leia, that was the first thing he ever said to her sister. Making sure the door was locked and closed, he turned to Leia, who was in a classic white dress with her hair perfectly styled.

“You feel drained.” Leia said, looking at Luke. She leaned against her desk and looked over at her brother. “The twins didn’t give you any trouble, I hope.”

Luke took a deep breath. “I’m worried about Ben.”

“What? Why? What’d he do?”

“Nothing. You know him and his questioning. He asked me how do I know that we’re the ‘good guys’ and not the ‘bad guys.’ Why would he ask such a thing?”

“Oh.” Leia sighed. “He is just a teenager,” she said. “He doesn’t know any better. I had Mon Mothma and her family over the other day. Poor Mon couldn’t catch a break—he had so many questions for her.”

“I know, I know he’s naturally like that…and I would normally pass it off if he wasn’t so gifted in the Force, but he is. It could be dangerous. I’m worried that if he keeps on asking these questions, that maybe he’ll act on it one day.”

“You make a good point.” Leia held onto her brother’s hand. “But he is stronger than that, and he has a good support system between all of us.” Luke looked over at his sister and didn’t say anything. He only gave a small frown. “Don’t give me that look.”

“What look?”

“This!” Leia mimicked his face. The twins started to laugh at each other, enjoying their presence. They didn’t see much of each other due to their busy schedules with the Jedi and the New Republic. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Thanks.” 

Luke walked toward the door, and opened it, only to see young Anakin standing at the door. He was around thirteen at the time, and just started training. 

“Look what I built!” Ani said, showing up a small droid rolling around beside him. 

“Why, that is wonderful,” Luke said, patting his head. “If you keep at it, maybe you’ll be a better mechanic than your sister one day,” he whispered. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

“Roger, Roger!” Anakin playfully ran into his mother’s office, showing her the droid. 

Before Luke left his sister’s apartment, he got a glimpse of Ben in the living room across from the foyer, reading some sort of ancient history book. He hoped everything would be alright with his nephew, but deep down, he felt that something awful was going to happen.

Luke opened his eyes to see the city of Coruscant still celebrating the end of the war. The window was slightly open, causing the curtains and loose fabric in the temple to blow around. He tried to suppress the memory, but he couldn’t. He felt like he was at fault for Ben’s fall to the dark side—he could have stopped it. In another world, he did. But not this one. Truthfully, he was worried about the future for his nephew as he didn’t know what the Republic had in store for his crimes. His hearing was to be scheduled soon. 

“Open-minded about Ben, you must be,” Yoda said. Luke looked beside him, seeing Yoda’s Force ghost. “Hmm…” The Jedi Master said, gripping on to his cane. “The dark side his choice was.” Luke listened to the wise words of his Master. “Your choice, it was not.”

“I know, Master Yoda. I still feel at fault.”

“Hmm.” 

The Jedi Master hopped off the bench and poked Luke’s stomach with his cane. Luke chuckled at him, and pretended that it caused him pain. 

“Controlled him, you did not. Guided him in the Force, you did.” Yoda let out a smile. “Good, you did.” His voice was calm and directed. He was right; as he usually was. Luke looked over at his old Master, giving him a bright grin. That was what he needed to hear all of those years ago. 

Back on Hapes, Jaina settled into a hotel for the night. She brushed through her hair, humming a little tune she heard a band playing on her walk back from the ocean. Her moments of peace, though, were interrupted by a heavy knock on the door. 

“One second!” She put her brush on her side table and walked over to the door, hoping it was no one of importance. She slid on her robe over her nightgown and started to open the door. It was no other than Jagged Fel. She let him walk through and shut the door. 

“I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re even here,” Jaina said. “Let me guess…my mother sent you?” Jaina walked further into the room and tidied up some of her bags. “Or was it my father?”

“Absolutely not. He hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you.” She smiled up at him. “I actually think he is quite fond of  you.”

 Jag shook his head. “No one sent me.”

“Haha, very funny. Was it Mara?”

“Guess you’re not going to listen to me. I’m not shocked.”

Jag held up two bottles of Champagne from behind his back, and placed it on the table.

“What’s the occasion? Did I miss your birthday?”

“Not at all.” Jag looked in the cabinets of the hotel, looking for glasses. He brought out two of them and opened one bottle. “I mean, I guess if you count the ending of the war. That’s a big one.”

Jaina stood beside him and glanced up at him. She hated that she was enjoying this—just the two of them enjoying each other’s company with no war to worry about. 

“I guess that is good enough for celebration.” Jaina took one glass. As she waited for him to pick up another, she looked around the room and then met his gaze. 

“To us?” he asked, holding his drink up. 

She clinked her drink against his. “To us…” Playfully, she rolled her eyes and clinked the glass against his. Her chest warmed as she took a sip of the drink. “Jag?”

“Jaina?” he repeated, already refilling his glass. 

“How did you even find me here?”

“I have my ways.”

Jaina punched his chest. “I’m serious, you little creep.”

“I went to Coruscant looking for you. Your mother told me you were here. After that, it wasn’t that hard to track you down.”

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” She took her last sip of the drink and held it up for Jag to refill. He got the cue, and filled hers to the top, placing it back down. 

“Oh, certainly. My day is packed tomorrow. Meetings, conferences, negotiations, budgeting. It’s like I was less busy during the war.”

The two were always caught up in such different tasks and duties. That, ultimately, was why they broke up the first time. She got such an adrenaline rush from this—like she shouldn’t be with him, but at the same time that was all she ever wanted, at least, in the moment it was. Jaina put her glass down on the table and looked up at him. 

He smiled at her and didn’t take his gaze off her. “I meet with—”

“Shut up.” Jaina pulled him closer to her, and placed a soft yet forceful kiss on his lips. He wasted no time and kissed her back, placing the glass of champagne right back on the table. The two past lovers wasted no time with each other, passionately enveloping their lips together. It was like no time had ever passed between them. 

Jaina rested on Jag’s arm, tangling her fingers in his dark and thick hair. Animal noises echoed through the small room. The window was slightly draped open, causing wind to flow in. Jag pulled the blanket on the bed over her shoulders. 

“Are you cold?” he asked, sitting up.

“No. I like the breeze.”

“Of course you do,” he whispered, kissing her cheek. 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

Jaina turned around to face him and rested her hand on her cheek. “You know…Jag…”

“What’s up?” He placed his hand on her hip and pulled her closer to him. 

“You were pretty kriffing rude to me when I came over to your house that one night. It was when Zekk went missing. Do you remember that?”

He looked up at the ceiling and then back at Jaina. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me.”

“I don’t know either.”

“Sorry.”

“Just…don’t do anything like that again, alright.”

“I promise.”

“Mhm…sure.” Jaina sunk her head into the pillow. 

“I do!” Jag kissed her cheek. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Get some sleep.”

“You need to get some sleep, Emperor Fel.”

Jag kissed her forehead and hugged her close. For Jaina, a part of her thought that she’d wake up and regret this. But the damage was over, and in the moment, she had fun; she didn’t regret any of it. 

Chapter Text

Finn scanned the cave in Christophsis for a kyber crystal. Mara, of course, warned him that he needed to feel the Force in every bit of the cave to find his crystal. So, that was exactly what he did. Slowly, he scanned the premises of the cave, and shut his eyes. It was dark and cold, but he wasn’t scared. Instead, he steadied his emotions and felt the Force flowing. All he heard was a series of low frequency vibrations echoing through the cave. 

As he walked around the cave, he stopped by a large rock and held his hand out in front of it. Soon enough, a light green crystal came floating towards him through the Force. He examined its oval-like shape and held it in his hand. Surprised to feel that it was warm to the touch, he held it tight in the palm of his hand, giving him warmth in the chilly cave. It began to glow brighter and brighter the longer he looked at it. That was it. 

Making it out of the cave, he held it up to Mara. 

“This is the one.” 

“Pefect. It suits you. Step one is complete!” Mara sat on the ground outside of the cave and pulled out a large bag.  

“What’s all that?” Finn asked, sitting across from her. 

“The parts to make the saber. Here, I’ll teach you.” She organized the parts of the saber into small piles. 

Finn looked at all of the choices and spare parts he made; however, he was still a little confused on how this would all come together. He never was a good technician or mechanic. But, that didn’t matter for now. Mara taught him how to construct his own and allowed Finn to piece together his parts. 

The specially crafted saber was a light silver and gold color. Finn swung it in his wrist a few times, practicing his stance and flicks on a rock.

“I like this,” Finn said, turning around to face Mara. The green blade shined on the side of his face, and he continued to swing it around the air. The noises and ‘whooshes’ from the saber echoed across the entrance of the cave. For the first time, he believed that this was the path he wanted to go down—he wanted to protect others and restore peace to the galaxy. He didn’t want anyone to have his fate of being taken away as a young child to train for a regime that lusted for blood, tyranny, and violence. Swinging the saber one more time at the rock, he imagined it was the person at the top of the chain who caused it all: Captain Phasma. She was still out there. He, somehow, still felt her presence lingering over him. 

As the rock split in half, he backed away from it and retracted his saber. 

“You’re improving more and more everyday.” Mara slung the bag over her shoulders and headed to the ship. 

“Thanks,” he mumbled. “I’ll be on the ship in a second. I want to call Poe.”

“Take your time.” 

Finn still stared at the rock on the ground. He couldn’t tell if he wanted revenge for what Phasma did to him and the rest of the other stormtroopers, or if he merely wanted to confront her; to ask her questions and get answers. The latter, it seemed, was what he knew was right. Revenge was never the Jedi way. 

Taking a deep breath, he took out his commlink and called Poe. “I want to track down the other members of the First Order. It's long overdue." 

Poe smiled at him. "Maybe we should rest...the war just ended."

"No," Finn replied, "if we wait, they'll run and escape from any consequences. It's now or never."

Poe took a deep breath. "Is Mara and Skywalker helping you?"

"They don't know anything. And I'm not telling them yet, either."

"So a secret mission?"

"A secret mission. You in?"

"I...I don't know."

"Poe, come on..." Finn pleaded. "I need your help."

"Fine. But we're going to need more than just us." Finn crossed his arm, looked back at the ship behind him, and back at Poe. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Poe asked. 

Finn squinted his eyes. "Not really."

Playfully, Poe rolled his eyes. "Jaina."

"You think she'll be in?"

"Yes? No? Maybe?" Poe softly said. "She's been going through some family drama..."

"Yeah, I know..."

"I'll ask her."

"Thanks. I gotta go. See you later," Finn said, hanging up the hologram. 

Luke and Leia observed Kylo Ren’s lightsaber. Carefully, Luke took it out of the glass box it was in, and rested it on a table.

“He barely got the crystal to properly bleed,” Luke said. The crystal was cracked in pieces, and was a deep orange color with sparkles of red. It, of course, wasn’t as red as any other Sith’s saber would be. Along the hilt, wires and inner components were exposed and visible. 

“It is shocking that it still works.” Leia peaked over Luke’s shoulder.   

Luke held it up again, but this time, he examined the weight. As he touched it, he closed his eyes, trying to think of it. His eyes scrunched together as he felt vibrations and weight in the Force. Quickly, he brought up his sister’s hand to hold it.

“Do you see that?”

Intrigued, Leia gripped her son’s saber and closed her eyes, seeing a vision of when Kylo was assembling it. 

Kylo Ren sat in a dark room, using a tool to piece together the saber. As he tried to use the Force to connect the pieces, every mechanical part and tool nearly broke in his hands. Tears flowed down his cheek to accompany his unsteady hands. Luke and Leia felt, in their hearts, that he was scared of what he was doing—that he was frightened to take such a step towards the dark side. As Kylo worked on the hilt, he abandoned it to go to the kyber crystal. He focused on the blue light emitting from the crystal, and closed his eyes, focusing on all of the things he shouldn’t be—anger, regret, power, greed, desire. But nothing happened. In a fit of anger, he crushed it in his hands, frustrated with himself.

Leia let go of the saber at the same time as her twin.

“He never wanted to go down this path.” Leia shut her eyes to stop her tears from flowing. “I still feel the light in him. I don’t want to lose him.” Luke listened to his sister as he put the saber back in the glass case. “I am worried about the Senate hearing.  From the looks of it, they want to exile him to an unmapped planet.”

“That is gracious.”

“I know,” Leia crossed her arms. “I need to talk to him, I do not care if you think it’s not wise.”

Luke took a deep breath. “Anakin tried.”

“What?” Leia looked over at him and tilted her head. 

“Oh…” Luke bit his lip. “I thought he would’ve told you before he told me—” Leia crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow. “Kylo isn’t well.”

“We know this.”

“He tried to get into Anakin’s head…saying stuff like he’ll bring Tahiri back from the dead. He tried to manipulate a Force ghost, Leia; I don’t know what he’s trying to do. Just—just don’t fall for anything he says, please. Keep your guard up. 

“I always do,” Leia said, walking away and heading downstairs where Kylo was.

Chapter Text

Kylo sat on the floor with his head touching the wall. He concentrated on the book in front of him with his eyes. If he was able to move it just a tad bit, he could work on building his Force skills up. Lo and behold, it floated an inch or two above the ground. But it was heavy, almost as if he was trying to lift a heavy piece of metal up. His eyes blurred and he was forced to drop the item. 

Bored and restless, he began to tap his fingers on the ground and at least try to get into a trance with the Force. So he thought back to when he first met Snoke, and the night he burned down the temple.

He had gone on a night walk; nothing out of the blue or unordinary—it was a part of his nightly routine. As he made his way outside of the Jedi academy, a large roam of animals ran inside of a forest. It was only natural that he'd follow it. A swarm of fireflies led the way for Ben, causing a small path of light and sparkles. It almost put him into a trance—one that felt hypnotic and euphoric. Following all of the fireflies and animals, he found himself at the edge of a forest. But all it led him to was a large, liquid-glass, and dome shaped Force shield. It was full of bright lights and animals and greenery, nearly drawing him in. Ben ignited his saber and looked at the person behind all of this—Snoke. He backed away and checked his surroundings. 

“Don't be frightened,” Snoke said. Ben’s eyes shifted towards Snoke. He held a small cat in his lap. “Come closer, child.” Against his will, Snoke used the Force to pull Ben in. He tightened his grip on his saber, ready to defend himself. With every step he took, the animals all cooed, whined, and screamed in distress. As he readied himself to swing it at him, Snoke put his hand up, and stopped it with the Force.

“What?”

“They don't like these.” The saber flew into Snoke’s hand. He examined the hilt and put it on the side of the throne. 

Ben planted his feet in the grassy area, looking over at Snoke. It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t fascinated or intrigued by all that Snoke could do. The cat jumped off the throne and stepped towards Kylo, rubbing its soft fur against his legs. 

“Go ahead,” Snoke said, standing up from his throne, “it doesn’t bite.” 

Reluctantly, Kylo bent down to pet the small animal. 

“I’ll be here whenever you need me,” Snoke whispered. Snoke, along with the magical dome he created, faded into thin air. 

And so Ben made that his routine to visit him every night. It started out simple and cordial—Ben would tell Snoke all of his questions and thoughts about politics and the Jedi. To Ben’s surprise, Snoke agreed with him; he embraced the unknown, rather than pushed it away like Uncle Luke and Jaina did. 

“I’ve been thinking…” Ben sat in the dome and searched through a history book he was reading. “If the Jedi are so ‘perfect’ and ‘righteous’ and ‘peacebuilders,’ why do they keep tangling themselves in wars? I don’t think war is the answer to anything.”

Snoke stood in front of him and took the book from him with the Force. He scanned the pages. It was about the Clone Wars. “Ah, yes.” Snoke let out a mischievous smile and pushed the book back at Ben. “The Republic and Jedi have always been corrupt.”

“You think so?” Ben placed his hands in the grass and laid down, looking at the stars in the sky. 

“Of course.” Snoke smirked. 

The two continued to talk more about the Republic and Jedi, both drawing conclusions that they, together, could rule the galaxy. 

“You have such raw power in the Force. I feel it.” Snoke reached his hand in front of Ben and shut his eyes. He showed him the abandoned and now nearly demolished Jedi Temple on Illum. The Knights of Ren all sat in a circle by the sight, talking and chanting something. Ben looked around at the vision, but focused on one particular figure—Ren. “How would you like to rule this?” Snoke asked. “A group of fighters loyal to you. Not the Jedi. Not the Sith. Not the Republic. Ben Solo. I can make you as powerful as Darth Vader.” 

The vision erased from his mind. Ben sat up and looked over at Snoke, who now sat on his throne. Deep down, Ben had always had an odd and, admittedly, obsessive fascination with his grandfather. In a sick and twisted way, Ben wanted to be just like him. So, all Ben did was nod his head. 

When he got back to his apartment on Ossus that day, he sat in the kitchen, sipping on tea. He didn’t want to do what Snoke told him to do, which was get rid of the temple. His Uncle had worked so hard to build it and teach new students. Despite all of the disagreements Ben had with his Uncle’s beliefs, that didn’t mean he didn’t respect him. 

“Hey,” Jaina whispered, sitting beside him. 

Ben looked over at his sister, upset that she was there. She was the last person he needed to see. “Hi.” He got off the chair. “Finish that,” he said, pointing at the mug. “I don’t want it.”

“Thanks?” She took a sip of it. “Going back to sleep?”

“No.” He crossed his arms and took a deep breath.

“Oh…are you alright? You look sick.”

Ben looked at his reflection in the window beside him. His eyes were cloudy and face was bright red. 

“I’m fine, Jaina…” he stuttered over his words. “I just…I just need some air.” He hated lying to his sister. 

“You don’t have to lie to me. Didn’t think I would have to say that out loud.” She nervously chuckled. 

For a moment, Ben froze, and almost told her what he was going to do. But he stopped himself, and clenched his fist together. He didn’t want to do this. But he couldn’t lose Snoke—he needed him in his life. 

The short trance Ben had disappeared as he saw his mother in front of the holding cell. He focused his eyes on her, trying to read her emotions. This could be the key out, he thought. But his mother was smarter than him. So, he had to be at least two steps ahead of her. Without the Force, however, it would be hard.

Chapter Text

Jaina woke up to Jag already up and ready. She got out of bed and rubbed her eyes, looking over at him drinking a cup of caf. 

“Are you leaving soon?” she asked, combing through her hair with her fingers.

“Yes.” Jaina sat across from him and picked up her holotab, checking to see if she had any messages. “I’m off to Coruscant.” Jag kissed her forehead.

“Already?”

“I was supposed to leave sooner, but you weren’t up yet. Didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”

“If only I could come with you.” She looked up at him. “But I’m stuck here.” 

He laughed at her and walked towards the door. “I’ll come visit when I can.”

“Sure.” Jaina stood up and followed him. A call on her commlink interrupted their brief conversation. “Safe flight,” she said, watching the door open. 

“I will.” He gave her one last kiss and left the room. 

Jaina accepted the call. It was Poe. 

“You’re going to hate me for this…” Poe said. 

She held the device up to her mouth and got dressed in her Jedi robes. “What is it now?”

“Finn wants to find the rest of the First Order’s fallen soldiers.”

“Oh, no, nuh-uh!” She rubbed her face. “The war just ended.”

“Wow. I thought you’d give me some support.”

“No, not at all. Finn needs to focus on training, and you need rest.” 

Poe scoffed. “She makes a good point—” Poe said. Another voice came through on the commlink. He was with Finn.

“Please, Jaina,” Finn said. “It’s our chance to end this.”

“No. I agree that it’s an important mission, don’t get me wrong…” Jaina clipped her saber to her belt. “But not right now. You need to talk to Master Luke. I have my hands tied right now. I’m sorry.” 

Poe sighed. “She’s right, Finn.”

“Besides,” Jaina continued. She walked out of her hotel room. “Going against Master Luke's orders is not wise. Believe me.” 

“Fine.” Finn groaned. “Fine, I’ll back out of it. But when the time comes, I’m going on the mission. It’s the right thing I can do.”

Jaina let out a soft smile. “Wonderful. When the time comes, I might join you. The time is not now.” 

“I know.” Finn sighed. “May the Force be with you.”

“May the Force be with you, Finn,” she said, putting the small device away.

Leia held a small plate of food in her hand as she approached Kylo’s holding cell. She didn’t want to see her son like this—all depressed, alone, and helpless; but he did it all to himself. She, surely, didn’t want to see Anakin dead either—but she did. She didn’t want to see her husband and daughter distressed and frazzled, but she did. There were a lot of things that she didn’t want to do or see or hear or feel. But she had to. 

Kylo’s eyes seemed to be trained on her as she walked into the cell, as if he was studying her every move. Gently, she kneeled down to put the plate beside him, and stood back up. 

“I’m not hungry.” He looked down at the ground, avoiding further eye contact with her. 

“You must eat something.” Leia’s hands rested at her side. It was a pain to see him like this. “The guards told me you haven’t had a bite of food since you arrived.”

He turned his head away from her. “I don’t have an appetite.” 

Leia turned to sit on the bed. She would be here for however long it took. She intended to get answers. If she was able to talk to him and not only listen to what he had to say, but feel what he’d gone through, she could work with the Senate to come up with a proper sentencing—one that was not too harsh, but one that was deserving of the damage he had done. 

“Mom,” Kylo said, picking up the plate of food. He turned his head to look over at her. “I really missed you.”

The Princess took a deep breath. She needed to be patient. “I’ve missed Ben,” she said, staring into his eyes. “Do you know why that’s your name?”

“You told me this story a million times.”

“Well,” Leia said, “you’re going to hear it again. Ben Kenobi was wise, spirited, and kind. He always did the right thing, no matter what the situation was. He was an old friend of my father.”

“Both of them.” Ben gave a light chuckle. 

“Yes, both of them,” Leia smiled, trying not to tear up. “He was Anakin’s best friend, and worked closely with Senator Organa.”

Kylo sat beside his mother, invested in the story that he already knew. But Leia wouldn’t let him trick her. So, she still kept her guard up, and was skeptical of his interest. 

“Kenobi sacrificed himself for Luke and me, did you know that?” Kylo nodded his head and clenched his jaw. “The poor man lost so much in his lifetime. He lost his old Master, his friends, the Jedi, and his best friend. Despite all of that pain and suffering, he never turned to the dark side. Not once.” Leia took her son’s hand. “That is how I felt about you. You were kind-spirited and wise. You took care of those around you…of Jaina and Anakin. You used to stand up for what was right, Ben. So…what happened?”

Slowly, Kylo put his hand on top of hers. “I still do.” There was no doubt that he was confused about her use of past tense. “Mom…” He squeezed her hand. “I would never do anything to upset you.”

Leia squinted into his eyes and felt his every intention and feeling through the Force. All she saw was a void of darkness. She pulled her hands away from him. “No, no,” Kylo pleaded. “Don’t let go. I’m telling the truth.”

“Do you think I am too blind to see your lies? You killed my son and you turned against the Jedi. The list of your wrongdoings is too long.”

Kylo rolled his eyes. “This again? You weren’t there. You don’t know what happened.”

“I’ve heard what happened. I felt what happened. That is confirmation enough.”

“You heard about Ani through the stormtrooper—2187.”

“Finn.”

“You gave him a name?” Kylo looked around the room and settled his eyes back on Leia. “Who are you going to believe?” He reached for her hands, but Leia used the Force to push him away. Frustrated, she stood up from the bed. “Are you going to believe me, your son?…Or some…some scruffy stormtrooper who came from poverty—from nothing?”

“Ben Solo!”

“That stormtrooper knows nothing, Mother. Nothing. You are choosing to believe him over me. It’s ridiculous, you’re ridiculous!”

“Mara saw you kill him!” Leia held her arms against her chest.

“You believe her? You know where she came from…you know her background. She’s an imposter. They’re all lying and trying to spin this narrative that I’m this horrible person. Mom, I’m not some piece of Sithspit—”

“Ben!”

“I’m not. I don’t believe in that stuff.” He crossed his arms and leaned his back against the wall. Suddenly, he started to laugh. “I’m innocent, Mom. You think that I’m really capable of killing my own brother in cold blood? Of turning to the dark side and committing war crimes? Deep down, you know I would never even think about doing all that…” Leia walked over to the front of the Force shield. “Mom, mom!” She stopped walking, but didn’t turn around to face Kylo. “I’m your son. You and Dad are war heroes, rebels that fought against tyranny…I respect you all so, so, so much, why would I turn against you? Snoke got into my head, that’s all. But, he’s gone now. Jaina killed him. Kylo’s gone. It’s just me, now..”

Leia scoffed and turned down. “You are sick.” She left the cell and walked away. Ben ran up to the shield and banged his fist on it. 

“Please!” Kylo yelled. “Mom, wait—wait!” Finally, Leia turned around to look at him again. It was as if Leia was watching a little kid throw a tantrum. “Bring me dad, please. He’ll understand. Please, I’m not a terrible person, I don’t belong here locked up like some animal.”

“Ben.” Leia took a series of deep breaths and walked toward the shield. She faced her son. All of the life was sucked and drained out of him. “I held out hope for you for so long,” she softly said. “You are trying to be someone you’re not—I raised you to be the exact opposite of him, not to wallow in his footsteps.”

As he listened to his mother speak, his eyes squinted at her. He still tried to punch through the shield. 

“I held out hope for you for so long,” Leia repeated, “for so long. I thought you’d come back.” Ben stopped punching the shield and looked down at his mother. “I don’t know how to save you.”

“Let me out, that’s a start,” he scoffed. 

Leia stepped back. “I will see you at your trial,” she said, her voice deep. Quickly, she turned the opposite direction and wiped her tears. Kylo watched his mother walk away into the distance. That was his key out; if he could get Leia on his side, he’d somewhat have the Republic on his side. As for Leia, she couldn’t understand why her son wanted to be like Vader—someone she so desperately resented. To make matters even worse, Kylo knew everything Vader had done to Alderaan and the Rebel Alliance. 

“No, no! Don’t you dare take another step!” Kylo screamed. “Don’t leave! You’re going to regret it!”

She stopped in her tracks as she walked around the corner, away from Kylo’s eyesight. Leia folded her hands in her face, trying to stop herself from crying too much. 

“Mom?” Kylo shouted, his voice shaking. “Mom, please come back. I need to tell you something.”

“I am here to have a conversation with you, but every word that comes out of your mouth is a lie!” Leia stormed over and tilted her head up to look at Kylo. “Can you get it through your half-witted and stubborn brain that I am trying to help you? What is so hard to understand about that?” All Ben did was let out a snarky smile. “Now is not the time to laugh! What are you so amused at?”

“You’re angry.”

“I am seeing my son turn into my worst enemy before my eyes. Yes, I am upset.” Leia held her burning face in her hand. 

Kylo crossed his arms. “You would not be so angry if you listened to me.” Leia walked away, sick of these banters. “Once you and all of the Senators and politicians get rid of me,” Kylo said, lowering his voice to a whisper, forcing Leia to step closer to the shield. When Kylo was satisfied with his mother returning, he continued. “You won’t be able to have all of the answers.”

“The Sith are alive. I know some of them,” he said, looking at Leia. Leia folded her hands together and started to fidget with her ring. That was not true. He was trying to get into her head. “I’m telling the truth. I promise. I swear on my life.” Kylo cleared his throat. “You can’t find them without me. Once I’m gone, you are all on your own.”

Leia spun on her heel and walked away. She had enough of his pointless lies. 

Chapter Text

“A Sith?” Luke questioned his sister, standing at the holo-table. Mara, Luke, and Leia all glanced at each other. 

“He didn’t give you any other details?” Mara asked, crossing her arms. 

“No. Nothing.”

Mara and Leia both gave each other a concerned look. “I have one thought.” 

“No, she’s gone,” Luke said. 

Nervously, Leia tapped her fingers on the table as she waited for her brother and sister-in-law to clarify what they meant. 

“Lumiya,” Mara said, looking over at her. “Or Shira Brie was her name before she became a Sith lady.”

Leia shook her head. That was a name she hadn’t heard about in a while. Shira was an old Rebel pilot; but, it turned out that she was only there to infiltrate the alliance on behalf of Darth Sidious and Darth Vader. 

“I thought she died. I thought you killed her.”

Luke clenched his jaw. “I know. I wouldn’t put it past Kylo to lie about it. But we must pay more attention than we usually do.” Leia folded her hands in her face. “Leia…” Luke hugged her, trying not to let his own tears fall. 

Leia walked into her house, seeing Han waiting in the entrance for her. 

“Hi sweetheart.” Han engulfed her in a hug. Leia held him close. 

“Han. Hi.” 

“Luke told me that you were visiting Ben—I wanted to go meet you there but Luke said it’s too dangerous. Is our son so bad that I can’t even visit him?” Leia sighed and hesitated to respond. “And…I have my answer.”

Leia walked up the stairs and untied her hair, massaging her scalp. “He’s a real wreck.” Han followed close behind her into their bedroom quarters. “Sometimes I worry that it is my fault. I know I say that all the time, but this time…I really do mean it, Han.”

“Shh.” Han hugged her from behind her back. “Don’t start that up again. It isn’t your fault, and it isn’t mine either. No one but his.”

She turned around. “Can you try and reach him? You’re really our last chance. We’ve tried everyone.” Han shook his head. “Please. There is no harm in trying.” He put his hand on Leia’s cheek and wiped away some of her fallen tears. 

A week had passed, and Finn decided that they could at least try to hunt down some First Order officers, even if it was only one or two. 

“A week isn’t giving it time,” Poe said. “Jaina meant like, I don’t know, a few months? A few years?”

“Well, that’s too bad.” 

“Too bad?” Poe put his hands in his pocket. Usually, he was just as reckless and impulsive as Finn, but he wanted a break from all of this chaos. 

Finn shook his head. “Look, Master Luke and Mara are occupied with Kylo right now. I’m going with or without you—and I’ll take your ship and I’ll throw BB-8 on board with me.”

To Poe’s surprise, he let out a mischievous smile. “You’re so hard to say no to,” he said walking over to his ship.  “You know that?”

Finn shrugged his shoulders and gave his friend a smile. Their first stop was where it all started—on Jakku. As they landed their ship on a small sand dune, the two men grabbed their gear and blasters. Finn’s heart fluttered and he couldn’t tell if it was because he was nervous to be going to Jakku, or nervous to be alone with Poe, or nervous to just be in the presence of Poe. He tried to keep his cool as the ship landed, but his hands began to shake. It was obvious, to everyone, that they liked each other; that they shared some sort of undeniable and strong chemistry for one another. 

“Poe…” Finn said, looking over at him as he stood out of the pilot seat. “I know now isn’t the time to say this…” he said, taking a deep breath. “But I…I like you.” Poe placed his hand on his chest and let out a deep sigh. Finn took that as a rejection. “Kriff, I’m sorry—I don’t want to make things awkward or anything, I just…it’s just…” Poe took a step closer and placed a soft kiss on Finn’s lips. 

The pair got out of the ship and looked out to the city with their binoculars. Ex-stormtroopers marched the streets and First Order military officers guarded the small town. 

“They do know that this isn’t allowed, right?” Finn asked, throwing the binoculars to Poe. “They don’t have jurisdiction.”

“Oh, they know. They just don’t care that the war ended.”

“Yeah.” Finn unhooked his saber from his belt. “You coming?” Finn started to slide down the mountain. 

“I don’t have much of a choice.” Poe followed in Finn’s footsteps and took his blaster out of his holster. Finn didn’t rush into the battle. He had to be slow and steady while approaching the stormtroopers. The two, together, fought off the stormtroopers in the town, doing their best to protect the civilians. 

Luckily for them, the stormtroopers either went down with the cause of the First Order, or completely surrendered. 

“You’re a good fighter with that thing,” Poe said, putting his blaster back. 

“Thanks.” Playfully, Finn spun it around in his wrist. 

Jaina walked into her parents’ apartment on Coruscant, happy to finally be home.

“Jaina, you’re back,” Han said, yelling from the other room.

“Hi.” She slid her robe and boots off and stored them away in the closet. 

“How was Hapes?”

“Good,” she said, walking into the living room. She sat beside him on the couch. “Where’s mom?”

“Still working. She’s figuring everything out with the Judiciary for tomorrow.” 

Jaina watched her father propped his legs up on the table and crossed his arms, staring at the ceiling. 

“Did you…did you at least talk to him?”

Han shook his head. “Your mother wants me to, but it’s just not worth the pain. I just wish…I wish I could’ve said goodbye. To both of them.”

Immediately, Jaina recognized that he was talking about Anakin and Ben. It never occurred to her that he didn’t say bye to both of his sons; that one day, he sent Anakin off on a mission, and he never came back. And, similarly, he said his goodbyes to Ben to go to Luke’s temple, and he too, never came back.

“Dad, I—”

“It’s alright.” Han looked down at her and hugged her. “Don’t worry.”

Jaina took a few deep breaths and shut her eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a long, tough, and emotional day.

Traffic was awful the next day. Getting into the Senate building was a hassle in and of itself. People stood in the streets and yelled from their balconies about the whole ordeal. There was yelling, screaming, and chants, all condemning Kylo Ren’s actions. Jaina looked out the window to see and hear more of what was going on. 

“End Kylo Ren! End Kylo Ren!”

“Terrorist!” someone yelled. 

There were more visual signs, too, with drawings and caricatures of Kylo Ren and Darth Vader. Jag stood beside Jaina, peeking out the window.

“Is it really that bad…?” Jaina asked. 

“You know the answer to that.”

He was right; she knew the answer, and the answer, of course, was yes. He had done an incredible amount of damage on people’s lives and routines. The Skywalker-Solo family weren’t the only ones to experience an irrevocable amount of grief and destruction. 

Jaina pointed in the middle of the crowd. “That sign is certainly something.” It had a picture of Kylo on it with a broken saber and a large frown. 

“Okay, stop looking.” Jag closed the window and pulled the curtain closed. “We should get in our seats.”

Her heart sank. “Is it bad that…” she began to say, walking in the hallway. “Is it bad that I feel bad for him? It didn’t have to end this way for him.” Little light came in from the now curtain-draped windows. 

“No,” Jag said, holding her shoulder. “He is your brother.”

“I just feel like I lost myself in all of this.” 

“I know. You did.” Jag interlocked his hand with hers and stopped by a door. 

“All I wanted was for him to come back.” Jag kissed her forehead. She looked up at him. “I think he still will…eventually.”

Jag looked over at his watch. “We better go. I’ll see you after.”

“Mhm.” 

Jaina watched as he parted ways to walk into the section that held the Imperial empire. She walked inside the door, seeing her Aunt and Uncle sitting down next to each other in the dark room. It looked like a theater with the amount of boxes and seating in the room. Jaina sat beside her father and Chewie.

“Argh!” Chewie groaned with a slight smile.

“Aw, Chewie,” she said, “I know. It’s been a while.”

The chatter in the room started to dim down, and the lights down by a walkway lit up. In the front and center of the room was a floating box that sat Leia, important members of the New Republic High Command. Right beside her mother’s box was a box full of nearly a dozen judges.

Seeing her brother getting sentenced was something she never wanted to see, but it was what he deserved. But no matter what happened, she promised herself that she would never give up on him. There was light in everybody, no matter how dark their soul seemed to be. At the end of the day, her brother was Ben before he ever was Kylo. She watched as her brother walked the walkway in handcuffs, still adorning his black garbs and cape. The first thing Jaina noticed was that he, somewhat, was being compliant. He wasn’t trying to look for a way out or an escape. His eyes were focused on the judges and the Chancellor’s box, not drifting over at anything else. That was a good sign; he wasn’t resisting. Not yet, at least.

Chapter Text

Kylo looked up at his mother. She stood up on a platform, accompanied by other members of the New Republic. 

“Kylo Ren,” Leia said, her hands folded in front of her. “You are charged with treason against the New Republic, the Jedi, and the Imperial Empire. The New Republic Judiciary will decide the outcome of this trial. You may prove your innocence before questioning.”

The room was dimly lit, with only a few lights below the platform Kylo stood on. He didn’t know what he was going to say, despite having nearly a week to prepare for this.

“I did not turn to the dark side from a place of greed, or power, or violence,” he said. As always, his tone was dreary and cold. “I saw it as a chance to get answers…answers the Jedi never gave me.” Kylo looked up at Luke and Mara. “The dark side gave me hope. It gave me something and someone to depend on. Above all else, it gave me a choice. I never had a choice in any of this.”

Han sat up in his chair and leaned forward. “What…” he mumbled.

“From birth I was thrown into this fight. My mother’s political opponents wanted me dead just because of my bloodline. I’ve been kidnapped and forced into hiding countless times. No one here should wonder why I chose to escape such a cruel, heartless, and evil cult that is the Jedi. The First Order was building itself to be a new hope in the galaxy. One that battled that of the Empire.” Kylo looked over at Jagged Fel, whose face was stoic and rigid.

“He’s making a fool of himself,” Jaina whispered to his father. 

Han put his hand on his cheek. “I’m embarrassed for him.” 

Assuming that was all he had to say, Leia responded with a warm, “Thank you. Now, if anyone would like to defend Kylo, please step forward and make your case.

He shook his head. This could not be happening. He scanned the room to see if he had any sort of allies or people who would defend him. Familiar faces from his past all stared him down; he recognized some of the people—they were important figures he defended during his time with the Jedi. They were his parents’ closest of friends. And now, they were all staring him down with faces of disgust, fear, and confusion.  There was only one face that would stand by his side. 

Using the Force he looked over at his sister and tried to get in her head. 

“You have to defend me,” Kylo quickly thought. He closed his eyes to manage the migraine he had. 

“No!” Jaina said in her head.

“Jaina, please. I’m helpless.”

“No.”

Jaina squinted and saw Leia staring at her, her face bright red; there was a chance she sensed the twins' connection. That was a sign that she shouldn’t be corresponding with him at all, so she shut her eyes and tuned Kylo’s thoughts out, and checked to see if anyone was going to defend Kylo. No one did. 

Her brother was helpless and alone. So she stood up out of her chair and walked over to the nearby landing. She wasn’t doing this out of pity or defense for him. 

“Jaina?” Mara tried to reach out for her hand, but she shook her head.

“What are you doing?” Han watched his daughter.

“I am by no means defending Kylo’s actions,” Jaina said, leaning her hands on the railing. The droid cameras flew over to her. “In fact, I believe he deserves to be punished by the full extent of the law for what he has done. However…” Her heart began to pump faster. “There is more at play here. Kylo is not the sole agitator in his plot against the Republic. We must not believe that once Kylo gets prosecuted, the threat against us is gone forever. The threat of war and violence still looms over our heads.” She narrowed her eyes down to look at her brother. “We are all victims of Kylo Ren’s cruel actions; but, if we listen to why he did the things he did, maybe we can learn from our mistakes—and that goes for the Jedi, the Republic, and the Imperial Empire. Now, his ‘why’ and his reasonings for his actions are very much unreasonable and inexcusable, I cannot push that aside. Although, Kylo is the only person who knows the inner-workings of the First Order. I know what he did was wrong, but—I am asking to not punish him with any sorts of cruel punishments like death or…” Jaina took a deep breath. “That is all.” 

“Thank you,” Leia said. She returned back to her seat, and tried to pay attention to the rest of the trial. But the questions were long, lengthy, and almost pointless. Kylo deflected almost every single one and refused to elaborate on his answers. 

“They can’t kill him,” Jaina whispered to her Father.

“They won’t.”

“But how do you know?” She tucked her hair behind her ear. Countless times, her father had lied to her or bent the truth so Jaina wouldn’t feel as hurt if she heard the truth. Now was not the time for those games. 

“Because I do, Jaina. They won’t do that to him.”

Jaina took a deep breath and continued to watch the trial.  

“You are not answering the question,” one judge said, “why did you—or this ‘Snoke’ figure that you call him, create the First Order? You knew it was illegal and illegitimate.”

“That’s a question for Snoke.”

“He’s dead! What do you know about his creation of the First Order?” The judge's voice echoed through the large room. “I’m asking you.”

Kylo stayed quiet for a few minutes. “A little after the Battle of Yavin,” he confessed, “Snoke wanted to rebuild what the Empire and Darth Sidious created, and started up his army and knights. That’s all I know.”

“Okay. What do you know about Snoke? Who is he?”

“I don’t know much,” Kylo said, almost yelling at the panel of judges. There was no doubt that Snoke was the ring leader of everything within the regime. He was at the top of the metaphorical First Order food chain and the master of Kylo and his knights. Kylo knew little pieces of information about Snoke. 

“Go on,” one judge said. “Tell us what you do know.”

So, Kylo took a deep breath, and thought back to when Snoke told him about his past.

The night Kylo killed Anakin on Illum and fought his sister, Snoke’s flagship came in to save him. Snoke and Kylo stood in the small red throne room, trying to reconcile with each other after their fight. A med droid worked on Kylo’s wounds, but Snoke dismissed it.

Snoke extended his hand out to Kylo’s blastershot in his wound, and slowly closed it. He felt all of his muscles contract as the wound disappeared.

“How did you learn that?” he asked, wiping his face of blood, sweat, and tears.

Snoke narrowed his eyes down at him and lightly chuckled. He stood in front of Kylo. “My master. He was a powerful man; he knew how to cheat death, create life, and manipulate midi-cholorians in any way his heart desired. I trained under him in secret…right before his apprentice killed him.”

Kylo looked up at him, confused. Sensing his thoughts and feelings, Snoke began to explain. “Your grandfather’s master, Darth Sidious, killed my master, Darth Plagueis.” 

Nothing was making sense. Kylo knew Snoke was old—ancient, even—but he never thought he was that old. It was apparent that Kylo didn’t know much about Snoke at all—for the longest, he thought he was some sort of alien species, but he soon found out that he indeed was a humanoid whose skin got destroyed from dark Force energy. If Snoke trained under Plagueis, what else did he know that he wasn’t teaching him? 

“Did you ever meet my grandfather?” he asked.

“No. I went into hiding on Exegol after Plagueis was killed. I’ve been hiding ever since; that was until I decided that you were the key to ruling the galaxy.”

Kylo Ren said nothing. The old man only wanted satisfaction, praise, and validation; and Kylo didn’t want to give him that. There was something unsettling about the fact that Snoke trained under one of the wisest Sith lords; if his master could cheat death and create life, what could Snoke do?

“You failed me today,” Snoke said.
Kylo’s eyes shot up at Snoke. Failed him? How did that happen—he did everything he said. “I killed Anakin and I almost had Jaina. I did everything you said.”

Snoke clenched his jaw. “You represent me, no one else. You will do as I say.” 

“I killed my own brother, what more do you want from me?!” Kylo yelled back. “I’m sick of this torment!”

He unlatched his saber and tried to swing it at him. Snoke Force pushed him against the wall and opened his wound back up. Kylo clenched his rib with his hand and grunted in pain. 

“You cannot get rid of me,” Snoke said, “no matter how hard you try. I will ruin you and the Skywalker’s.”

Snoke began to Force choke Kylo and throw him across the room. 

As Kylo recited all of this, Luke looked down at him in shock. These were the kind of stories that occurred in nightmares. Snoke could have lied to him. Kylo could have lied to the judges about all of that. But there was something deeper, and Luke knew he had to figure it out after the heat from the trial died down. He turned over to Mara, who looked back at Luke. 

“This keeps getting odder and odder each second,” she whispered to him. 

“I’m sorry.” He leaned over to grab her hand, lightly kissing her hand. 

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

 The judges didn’t have an answer to such a wild, crazy, and outlandish story. Instead, they shifted gears to something else. “Alright. Let’s move to the night you burned Master Skywalker’s Jedi temple on Ossus.”

Kylo looked over at Leia. Her hands were folded along her lap as she watched the whole ordeal. 

“It was a direct order from Snoke,” Kylo said, looking down at the ground. There was no doubt that he felt guilty for doing that—it was the first thing Snoke ever told him to do, and quite frankly, he was too scared to say no, and wanted to show Snoke what he was capable of.

“So you took orders from him who had no real power in the galaxy?”

Frustrated, Kylo tried to wiggle out of the handcuffs. Guards held him back and tightened the restraints. All he wanted was to get out. “Did you not listen to a word I said?”

“Ben…” Leia said, tuning in to the Force to reach out to her son. “Calm down. Do not make things worse.”

Kylo stopped resisting the handcuffs and guards. “Snoke’s power is in the Force. He told me he’d ruin my entire family if I didn’t follow his rules. He could read minds, possess you, control your thoughts. That’s how he got what he wanted.”

“Where is your evidence of this?”

“You’re joking,” Kylo said, shaking his head and nervously smiling. 

“This is not a joke! You do not have solid evidence that this Snoke person is some mastermind.”

“Me! I’m the evidence! What more do you want?” Kylo rolled his eyes.

If only Jaina was more reliable. This time, Kylo was telling the truth, and his sister didn’t necessarily defend him the way he wanted to. Since they didn’t believe Kylo, the only other person that could provide evidence of Snoke’s manipulation was Anakin. 

“So…” One of the judges adjusted her glasses. “Snoke manipulated you to lead the First Order, kill your family and innocent civilians, kidnap people to serve your political interest, and commit a heinous amount of war crimes?”

“Yes,” Kylo said. 

“But you still did it. You still listened to his orders.”

Kylo looked down at the ground. That was true. Whether he regretted his actions or not was up for debate. In retrospect, thought Kylo, he could’ve said no—he could’ve walked away from Snoke and his odd epistimologies, but he felt like he couldn’t; he felt like if he walked away from him, Snoke would find him and hurt him or his family. So he stayed, and each minute he was Snoke’s apprentice, each minute he’d stray farther and farther from his family. All of the pain and isolation he felt before he turned only amplified after he turned. Nothing got better. Snoke promised—he promised his pain would go away. 

When Kylo confronted Snoke about his feelings, all he did was direct him another order: “let the past go, Kylo. Kill Anakin Solo” or “bring Jaina to me” or order his troops to shoot down innocent civilians on an isolated planet. He didn’t want to do any of those atrocities, but at the end of the day, he did them. It was no one’s fault but his own. 

As the trial went on, Kylo tried to look for more people he knew as he answered the absurd amount of questions. One person caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. He stared at her emerald green dress, braided long hair, and teary eyes. Kylo looked away, but immediately found his eyesight staring back up at her: Tenel Ka Djo. So he drifted into a trance, thinking about all of the memories he had about her. 

“Okay, look, I have another joke,” Ben said, sitting beside Tenel. “What drink does Hoth not have?” 

“I don’t know.” Tenel crossed her arms. 

“Hoth chocolate!” Ben smiled and waited for her to laugh.

“Oh…” she said, giving him a pitiful smile. “I see.”

He sighed. “It wasn’t funny?” 

“I don’t think so.” 

Ben tapped his hands on his chair and turned over to Lowbacca, Chewie’s nephew. “Alright, Lowie. What drink does Hoth not have?”

“Arghhh!” 

“Hoth chocolate! Get it?” Lowie let out a smile and a groan. “See, he liked it.”

“You don’t know that,” Tenel said with a laugh. 

Ben smiled at her, happy to have finally made her laugh. They’d known each other for a little over a year at that point, and that was the first time he saw her laugh. 

Kylo thought back to the last time he saw her before he turned. It was when she was leaving the Jedi order to become Queen Mother. They were on Hapes, looking around at the mountains on the porch of Tenel’s bedroom.

“At least you have a nice view,” Ben said, turning around to face her. She was dressed in an elegant light blue gown, fancy gold earrings, and an elegant braided updo. “You look wonderful.”

Tenel Ka joined him in watching the mountains and ocean. “I don’t want to become a queen,” she said, laying her head on Ben’s shoulder.

“I’m going to miss you.” Ben put his arm around her. “But people love you here. They treat you like a goddess. I’m sure some man is going to throw himself at your feet, and you’ll forget all about me.”

“Ben!” Tenel punched his stomach. “Don’t say that.”

“It was a joke!” He leaned his arms over the porch. 

Her face didn’t crack a smile or a laugh. “Hah…” she scoffed. “Just…just promise me you’ll visit.”

“I promise.”

“Ma’am,” one of her maids said. She gave Tenel a curtsy before walking into the porch. “The coronation will start shortly.”

“Thank you.” Tenel said, watching her walk back into the castle. She turned back to Ben. “And thank you, ” she said, brushing her hand over his hand. 

“For…?”

“Just…being there for me. For being you.”

Tenel’s hand moved to brush his cheek. “I’m really going to miss you.” Tears absorbed into Tenel’s hand. “I love you,” he said, holding her waist.

“I love you too, Ben.” The two embraced in one last kiss, feeling the sun warm both of their bodies. 

Kylo shook the memory out like a bad dream. He could have had it all if he wasn’t so reckless, so selfish, and so full of himself. He could have had his relationship with Tenel. Anakin could still be alive. Jaina could still be his best friend. As he looked up at all of the most important people in the galaxy, for the first time, a massive amount of shame, embarrassment, and regret seeped into his body.

“I’m sorry,” Kylo shouted out, “for all of it.”

Before he knew it, the judges and members of the Galactic Alliance were coming up with a verdict. 

Chapter Text

Kylo turned to all of the judges, watching them send in a verdict through their holopads. It took only a few seconds, and he turned to Leia, who held something in her hand. She stood up and began reading the verdict.

“In a unanimous vote, the members of the New Republic Judiciary deem Kylo Ren guilty of treason, murder, and staging an insurrection against the New Republic. Such counts are punishable by death.”

Kylo’s ears began to ring. He was going to die at the hands of his own mother. He looked around at the courtroom once more. Tenel Ka wasn’t in her seat anymore. Han had his arms crossed. If only he had the chance to talk to his father after all of this. As for Jaina, Kylo could feel her anxiety and anger. 

Leia rested the holopad on a small table beside her chair. “Emperor Fel, Grand Master Luke Skywalker, and I have negotiated terms surrounding your sentencing. We have decided that due to your crimes conducted against the Galactic Alliance, Kylo Ren will be exiled to an isolated planet.”

The whole courtroom started to gasp and yell back. It was all incoherent screams and disagreements with the verdict. Kylo let out a calm breath and tried to get his heartrate down. 

“Thank you,” he whispered to his mother.

Expecting some sort of smile or warm reaction from her mother, she turned around and walked out of her box, disappearing from the public eye. He stared at Emperor Fel who, as always, had no emotion on his face. All of those years in the military did that to a person. So he turned to his Uncle, who, surprisingly, gave him the most grace. He nodded his head down at Kylo, and narrowed his eyes back to the Judges.

A part of him didn’t understand why the Galactic Alliance gave him such grace and hospitality. Nevertheless, he was grateful. 

“Order, order!” The judge yelled. “The court has made its decision. The case is dismissed.”

After the trial, Kylo was sent back to his cell. Both Han and Jaina, finally, were allowed to go talk to him. 

Han and Jaina walked past the guards and entered the room where Kylo was. He looked well—or, at least, better than he usually did. Jaina let out a small smile as she saw him stand up from a chair. Kylo let out a small smile, and walked over to the edge of the Force shield. Jaina used the Force to momentarily open it, which allowed her and Han to walk through. 

Kylo turned his gaze over to his father. Immediately, his face turned red and his smile ripped off of him. “Dad.”

“Hey, kid.”

“I’m sorry,” Kylo blurted out. “I didn’t want to break the family apart.”

“I know, son.” Han took a deep breath. “I just wish you talked to us before this all happened.”

Jaina looked over at her father, who had tears dripping down his face. That was a rare occurrence. Kylo looked over at his sister.

“Hi,” he said with a light smile. 

Jaina wasted no time, and hugged her brother. She felt Ben. Not Kylo. Slowly, Ben hugged her back, feeling their sibling bond strengthen. The small family all reunited, trying to catch up for all of the time they lost. 

The twins sat down on the ground, talking to each other about Ben’s fate. At that point, Han had left to find Leia. 

“Mom said we can visit you for our birthday,” Jaina said, fidgeting with her hands.

“That would be fun.”

Jaina used the Force to grab all of the books and journals on Kylo’s bed. “Did you read all of these?” She flipped through the books, and then flipped through the journals, seeing his legible but somehow illegible handwriting. 

“Just about.” 

“They’re all about plants.”

“Not entirely.” Kylo grabbed one of the books from her. “This one is about animals.”

“Oh, right.” Jaina laughed. But it wasn’t without guilt or remorse—she was sympathetic towards him; he’d done so much to her, and she still forgave him. 

“Do you promise that you will not pull any of this mess again?” she asked, looking over at him. 

“I promise.” Kylo looked at her. For a second, Jaina didn’t believe him. “I promise. I won’t mess it up this time. I’ve learned my lesson.”

She nodded her head and stood up. Of course, “You should get some rest. Your ship leaves in the morning.” Jaina extended her hand out to him to help him up.

Kylo accepted it, and brushed his clothes with his hand. “Thanks.”

Chapter Text

The next day, Kylo arrived on the planet he was to live on for the rest of his life. The only thing peculiar about the remote planet, however, was that he recognized it—he spent parts of his childhood there, on the planet Anoth. It was an unmapped planet, only known by his parents and Uncle. He walked up the mountain, seeing the same cottage he knew all too well. Flowers and various plants all spread across the front of the house. A part of him was happy that he was somewhere where he was familiar with, but a part of him couldn’t stand it; that house was the place where all of his fear, anger, and confusion was harbored. Each step he took led to memories from his childhood springing back to him in full force.

Leia and Han held onto Anakin’s hand, trying to get him to walk up to the small house on top of the mountain. The family had just gotten used to having a stable life on Coruscant. For once in their lives, all of the political threats and attempted kidnapping attacks from the Dark Jedi were finally put to a stop for a few years. Anakin was too young to remember all the times the Solo siblings had to relocate, move, and go into hiding. But, due to the Force, he recalled how scared and frightened he felt as an infant during those times. The twins, however, knew all too well that feeling, and both hated it, but it was what had to happen—they had to stay safe. 

“Okay, kid, you’re digging your nails into my hand,” Han said, trying to let go of the little one’s hand. 

Ben and Jaina looked behind them, seeing Anakin in tears. Leia picked him up in her arms and placed a kiss on his head. 

“You’re getting too old to carry,” she said, resting him on her hip. The princess shut her eyes and connected with her son via the Force, trying to ease his anxiety and fear. Quickly, Anakin started to calm down and wipe his face. She put the young boy down and looked over at Winter, her adoptive sister, and smiled at her.

“Thank you.” Leia gave a warm smile.

“It is no problem, and you know that.”

Leia looked down at Anakin, who was looking around at the house and sky. “Ani, this is Aunt Winter. You remember her, don’t you?”

All he did was shake his head.

Leia sighed and turned back to her sister. She tried to lower her voice to a whisper, but the twins still overheard her. “There’s been a terrible bombing in the Senate Hall on Coruscant,” she said, putting a hand on her chest. Tears built up in her eyes. “Someone destroyed Luke’s ship, and he thinks one of his former Jedi is trying to bring down the Republic.”

The twins stepped a little closer to try and hear more about the conflict, but Han gathered up all of the children and walked them inside the cottage. Anakin refused to leave his mother.

“It’s fine, Han,” she said, holding Anakin’s hand. 

The twins and Han went into the living room, and the twins, of course, were annoyed because they wanted to hear more about what was happening in the galaxy.

“How are you two holding up?” he asked, ruffling their hair. 

“Fine, I guess,” Jaina said, slumping herself on the couch. She crossed her arms and tried to hold back her tears. It was hard saying goodbye—it always was.

Ben sat next to her. “Don’t lie.” 

Their father reached for a piece of candy in a jar on the coffee table, and gave it to the twins. “We’ll be back to check on you in a few months,” he said, unwrapping a piece of candy for himself. 

“Months…” Ben’s eyes blurred as he threw the candy back on the table.

“I want to know what’s going on,” Jaina said, fixing her hair. 

“When you’re older, kid.” Jaina rolled her eyes. “We’re trying to keep you safe.”

“Tell us what’s going on—you’re making us worry!” Ben shouted out.

“It’s fine. You have nothing to worry about,” Han said, “just some diplomatic stuff your mother and I have to take care of. Don’t worry.”

The twins looked at each other, knowing their father was lying to them.

Anakin walked into the room and clung onto Han’s leg. “I don’t want you to leave,” he said, “it’s not fair.”

Han gave him the candy he was going to eat. “I don’t want to leave you guys, either. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Anakin sat beside Ben and leaned his head on his shoulder.

“Hmph…” Ben tried to push his little brother off of him, but Jaina stopped him.

“Just let him be,” Han said. 

“He’s hurting my arm!”

Like every child with younger siblings, Ben was a tad bit jealous of Anakin. He loved having a little brother, but when the family did have time to spend with each other, all of their parents’ focus went to Anakin. Their father let everything slide with Ani, and he always used the excuse that he was young and didn’t know any better.

Han leaned on the wall, watching Leia and Winter walk into the room. 

“We need to get going.” Leia looked over at her husband.

Anakin started to cry again. Jaina’s throat tightened. They would be alone with their Aunt for the next few months. And, besides, the twins couldn’t stop worrying about how their parents were doing out in the galaxy. People weren’t trying to only attack the children, they were going after Han and Leia, too. 

The twins and Anakin hopped off the couch, hugging their parents.

“I love you,” Leia said, holding the twins' hands in one hand, and Ani’s in the other. 

“I love you,” Jaina said.

Ben repeated it back, “I love you, too.”

Anakin mumbled a short, “love you.”

“Be good for Winter, please,” Leia pleaded.

“We will,” Jaina said. 

“And we’ll call on the holocomm every morning."

“Love you, kids.” Han hugged the children once Leia said her goodbyes. “We’ll see you in no time.”

“I love you, too,” the kids said at the same time.

Han and Leia walked over to the door and waved goodbye. The children all watched them walk out of the house, and ran over to the small bay window to watch them hop into the Falcon. The ship soon flew up into the sky and disappeared into the night sky.

“It’s alright, Anakin,” Jaina said, looking at her little brother. “Come on. I think I saw a box of toys in the living room."

Jaina and Anakin ran away from the window, searching for a toy Anakin liked. Meanwhile, Ben looked out the window, looking around at greenery.

“You don’t want to play with your siblings?” she asked, closing one of the curtains beside him. 

All Ben did was shake his head no. Winter looked over at him and gave him a pitiful smile; there was no doubt that he was much different than his two siblings, and it took a little more work to get him out of his shell he so often kept himself in. 

“Well,” she said, “there’s a whole new set of books upstairs for you. Your mother requested it for you. And there’s some card games in the living room.”

“Thanks…” he said, hopping off the bay window. 

The siblings ate dinner and then tried to figure out a game to play. Winter stayed close by, keeping an eye on the kids while also cleaning up from dinner. Jaina and Ben looked through the bin of card games, seeing a card and dice set neatly wrapped with a ribbon. 

Jaina took it out, seeing a small note written by their Father. “For when you get bored, love Dad.” 

“That’s nice,” Ben said, taking the card deck from his sister. He placed it down on the coffee table and tried to arrange them the way he remembered his dad, Chewie, and Lando Calrissian put them.

“So, I don’t really know how to play this exactly…” Jaina confessed, putting the dice in the middle.

“Yeah, me neither.”

Anakin walked over to a box of parts and blocks, and tried to make something out of it. 

“Well, we can at least try,” Jaina said. “How are we playing this? I don’t have any credits…” Jaina said, tapping her hands on the rug. She turned around to see their little brother, Anakin, bursting out into tears. Jaina understood how he felt; she hated being there on the remote planet, as she much rather preferred the stability and freedom of being on Coruscant. The isolation was exhausting, but at some point, she just expected it. Her and Ben, at least, tried to make the best out of it. 

Winter rushed to his aid, and tried her best to sooth him.

“I know, it’s scary,” she said, bending down to look at him at his level. “But your parents will be here soon to visit you.”

“But it’s not fair .”

Winter nodded her head in agreement. “I understand that. It’s not fair at all, but it is what is best for you. Your parents would never do anything to hurt you.” Anakin nodded his head and dropped the toy, but still continued to cry. “You all are extremely intelligent and powerful kids, you know that?” All of the Solo children nodded their heads. “And sometimes, bad people want to use that for the wrong things. So, staying here is the best thing for you.” Anakin finally began to understand, and wiped his tears away.

“Ani, play cards with us,” Ben said. 

Jaina smiled at him. “We’ll teach you.”

Satisfied that Ani calmed down, Winter left the room. Anakin sat between his siblings and looked at the coffee table.

“Okay, so the first thing you do is put credits down on the table. But we don’t have any of those. What do you want to use instead?” Ben asked. 

Anakin ran over to the bin of toys and grabbed some marbles and small blocks. “This.”

“Smart,” Jaina said. “Now everyone takes two cards.” 

Everyone followed her direction and took two cards.

“Great. I don’t know what comes next.”

“What if we just…make up our own rules?” Ben looked over at her twin.

“Yeah, that works.”

Jaina placed her cards down and rolled the dice. “Whoever rolls the most gets to draw a card.”

“Okay,” Ben said, “and whoever has the most cards wins?”

“Exactly.”

Anakin bounced the marbles around. “Can you make them float?” He tried to reach his hand out to make the marbles fly in the air, but it didn’t get too far off the coffee table.

Ben and Jaina reached their hands out towards the marbles, and made them float around the room. Anakin sat up and ran around the room, trying to catch the marbles. The twins laughed at him, and made the marbles higher so that it was harder for Ani to catch them. 

Using the Force drained the twins, especially since they weren’t properly trained by their Uncle. Before it was even that late into the night, the children all crashed on the couch, falling asleep. It was uncomfortable for all of them, with Ben on one side, Jaina on the other, and Anakin squeezed in the middle. Winter let the twins be, and carried a sleeping Anakin to his bedroom.

Eventually, Jaina woke up with blankets draped over her and Ben’s shoulders. She tapped his shoulder. 

“Ben.” No response. “Ben, wake up!” She violently shook him. 

“Hmm…”

“Wake up. We fell asleep.” Jaina rubbed her eyes. 

Slowly, Ben sat up and copied his sister’s actions, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “What time is it?”

“I dunno. I want to go to my room.”

“Why’d you have to wake me up to do that?” 

“Uh…”

“Where’s Anakin?”

Jaina stood up and grabbed the blanket, shrugging her shoulders. She didn’t want to tell him that she was too scared to walk upstairs alone. 

“Come on.”

Ben followed her up the stairs and into their shared bedroom. Immediately, he hopped into bed and wrapped his blankets around him. Jaina did the same, and rested her head on the pillow.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, scaredy cat,” Ben said, closing his eyes.

Jaina threw her pillow at him. “Stop! You were scared too.”

“No, I wasn’t!”

“Uh-huh!” Jaina reached over the nightstand in the middle to grab the pillow from his bed.

“No.”

“Yes you were. I felt it.”

Ben turned to the other side. “Whatever, I’m going back to sleep.”

At that point, Ben wasn’t even tired. He began to think more about what his mom was telling Winter. He shut his eyes, and tried not to think about it more. 

“Jaina?” Ben asked, turning around in his bed. “Are you asleep yet?”

“No.”

“Can I tell you something?” 

“Yeah, anything.”

Ben rubbed his face. He was going to confess that he actually was scared about what was happening with his parents, but he didn’t want to say it. “I’m upset Mom and Dad didn’t let me bring the snake I found.”

“That thing was weird-looking. It would’ve died in the Falcon , and then Dad would’ve made a fuss about it.” Jaina looked at him frowning. “But that isn’t what you were going to say.”

“Yes it was.”

“Ben!”

“Alright, fine, you were right...about me being scared.”

“I knew it!” Jaina yelled out with a smile.

Ben sat up in his bed and turned the lamp on. “I’m scared for Mom and Dad…and Uncle Luke.”

“Me too.”

“Mom said there were bombs. What if something happens to them? What if they’re hurt and no one’s there to help him?”

Jaina rested her hand on her pillow and fluffed it out. “I don’t want to think about those things…”

“But I am.”

“So I have to, too?”

“Yeah. That’s why we’re twins.” Ben let out a small laugh. 

“I think they’ll be okay—I know they will.” Jaina bundled herself in her blanket. “Mom and Dad are really strong.”

“I know they are. I just worry.”

Mischievously, Jaina smiled. “Who is your favorite parent?”

Ben looked around the room. “Mom, I think.”

“Mine’s dad.”

“No kidding.”

“Okay, Aunt Winter or Uncle Luke?”

“Uncle Luke,” Ben said. “He’s super cool. I can’t wait to be a Jedi just like him.”

“I know. I can’t wait to build my own lightsaber.”

“Yeah,” Ben said with a smile. “It’s going to be fun.” Ben turned back around and tried to shut his eyes. “Let’s go to sleep.”

“Or…whoever goes to sleep last gets to talk to Mom and Dad on the holocomm first tomorrow.”

“That’s not fair. I’m tired.”

“Guess I win, then.”

“I’m not letting that happen.” 

The twins tried to stay up and talk to one another, but they started to drift asleep in no time. Neither of them knew which one went to sleep first.

Kylo turned the lights on and opened the dusty curtains. As he walked further into the house, all he saw were remnants of the last time he was at the house with his siblings. The toy bin was still in the corner. There was a stack of dice and cards on the coffee table. He put all of his belongings in the room and rushed outside, taking a view of the nostalgic mountain and greenery. 

That same time the Solo children went to Anoth, Anakin and Ben thought it would be a good idea to get a bouquet of flowers for Winter. Jaina was still sleeping, and Anakin had been wanting to spend time with his brother alone. Naturally, the young boy was upset that he didn’t get to have a twin. 

Anakin ran over to a flower and picked it out of the grass, throwing it in his pocket.

“Hey!” Ben called out, running towards his little brother. “We can’t go too far.” Ben pointed ahead of him. “That right there is a Force shield. It blocks people from coming in and out unless it’s programmed otherwise.”

“I don’t see anything.”

“It’s kind of invisible.” Ben got distracted by a flower. He took it off a nearby bush and stuffed it in his pocket. “See, look.” Ben extended his hand out, but it didn’t go far. “It feels like a wall.”

Anakin tried to touch it, and felt the wall like texture. Ben sat down on the ground and looked down at a little insect. 

“Hi, buddy!” Ben tried to pick it up in his hands. It crawled onto his finger, and watched it wobble on his hand. “Look, Ani.”

“Ew! I’m not touching that thing.”

“Come on, it doesn’t bite.”

Anakin shook his head. Ben put it back on the grass and watched it crawl away. “Uncle Luke told me that even small animals like that have their own function in the Force. Isn’t that cool?”

Anakin, clearly confused, wobbled away to pick up some flowers. “I think Winter will like this one,” he said, showing it to his brother.

“Yeah, me too.” Ben smiled and put his hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “Race you back!”

Quickly, Ben ran away from the Force shield and headed over to the mountain their cottage was on. Anakin followed suit, and tried to keep up with him.

“Hey!” Anakin screamed.

Ben stopped running for a bit and let Anakin beat him. But, Ben ran up to him and playfully tackled his younger brother, causing their pockets of flowers to fall down the hill. The brothers bursted out laughing, happy to feel the morning sun shining down their faces. For Ben, he was happy to see Anakin happy and smiling, especially considering they were all having a hard time with their parents gone. 

Chapter Text

A week had passed, and the family (plus Jag, of course) went to dinner at their favorite restaurant on Coruscant: Naboo Queen. It used to be Padmé Amidala’s penthouse before it got converted to the fancy and upscale dining spot.

Han, Leia, Mara, and Luke all had a table to themselves, right by the large floor to ceiling windows. Meanwhile, Jaina and Jag’s table was a few tables in front of them. They were somewhat hidden by a wall and a massive plant. Jaina looked around at all of the portraits of her grandmother, admiring her grace and beauty. She remembered the first time she found out about her grandmother.

The family went on a short trip to Naboo while the twins were on a break from Luke’s Jedi academy. Luke and Leia thought it’d be a nice trip considering the twins’ birthday was coming, Anakin just finished his first year in Jedi training, Luke wanted to take Mara away from her Jedi duties for just a little bit, and Leia had diplomatic meetings to attend to. 

“Alright, don’t go too far,” Leia said, watching the kids smile as they turned to a large, empty field behind the rental house they were staying in. “And stick together.” She turned towards the twins. “Take care of Anakin.”

“Mom…” the twins groaned. 

“I can take care of myself now,” he said. 

Han held on to Leia’s hand, taking the children’s disappointment as a sign to do something. “They’re fine. You need to let go—they’re old enough to take care of themselves.”

“Exactly,” Anakin said with a smile.

“I know, I just worry.”

“Relax, sweetheart. They’ll be fine.” Han led her into the house, but that didn’t stop Leia from peaking over her shoulder, watching her kids run in the grass. 

Ben, Jaina, and Anakin all made their way to a city, captivated by all of the music, dancing, and art that lined the streets. 

“Wow,” Jaina said, looking around at everything. 

Anakin had already left the twins, finding a stand of trinkets and art. On the other hand, Ben, as always, walked straight over to the railing that showed a beautiful view of water. He leaned over the fence, trying to see all of the fish swim around in the clear-water, and the birds flying right above it. 

His twin sister stood right next to him, dropping a few random pieces of clutter on the railing. 

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Ben dodged the question. “Do you think my pets are okay…?” He thought of his collection of pet snakes, insects, and other little critters that lived in his room and balcony back on Coruscant. Before he left, he made sure his droid Geegee was capable of taking care of it.

“Yeah.” Ben knew she didn’t care about his pets. But he also didn’t care about her obsession with tinkering and mechanics. They knew that about each other, but had an unsaid rule that they would pretend to care about each other’s fascinations.

He looked down at the pieces his sister brought to him. “Is this for me?” All it was was mechanical parts, screws, and a random collection of jewels. 

“No, of course not. I’m going to try and make something tonight. I don’t know what.”

“You have fun with that.” He returned back to look at the water.

The music behind them got louder and louder. Jaina turned to see what all the fuss was about, and saw a giant group of people and Gungans dancing around, all laughing and smiling. Even though the young Solo had little to zero knowledge about Naboo and Naboo culture, she felt an odd connection to it in the Force. Ben did too. As for Anakin, well, he was already in the middle of the circle, dancing with an array of people. 

“Shall we join him?” Jaina asked. Ben squinted his eyes at her and almost let out a laugh. She knew all too well what that meant. “Come on! It’ll be fun.”

He shook his head no. “I’ll watch and send a holo-vid to Mom and Dad.”

That wasn’t the answer she was expecting nor wanted. So, she grabbed her brother by his arm and ran over to the crowd of dancing. It was obvious that the three Solo children were out of place. There was a coordinated way of dancing and moving to the beats of the rhythm—all of which they didn’t know. But the Naboo and Gungans all helped them, twirling each of them around and making them dance in the middle of the circle.

Jaina and Anakin, clearly, didn’t mind being the center of attention. And at first, Ben felt the opposite—he would rather be on the sidelines, watching his twin and younger brother have the time of his life. But it’d be a lie to say he didn’t enjoy being in the center, having all of the citizens of the planet help them learn the dances.

Before they knew it, they were all clapping and spinning to the rhythm, having fun dancing with each other. Flowers petals flew around them in the sky. With the Force, Ben quickly grabbed one and stuffed it in his pocket.

“Keepsake?” Anakin asked as he spun beside him. 

“You know it. I’m going to put it in my journal.”

Anakin smiled at him and twirled away with a girl, smiling and spinning her around. 

“Oooo, you better hope Tahiri doesn’t find out,” Ben whispered to him. Jaina didn’t yet know about Anakin’s small crush on the girl he met at Uncle Luke’s academy.

After a while, they all started to learn the melody and song that was playing, humming along to themselves. Anakin swapped partners to dance with his sister.

“If I grew up here, I don’t think I’d ever leave!” he shouted out, galloping and clapping on beat with Jaina. 

“You’re telling me? I love it here.” Jaina looked over at Ben, who was smiling and laughing with a dance partner. 

After dancing for what seemed like hours, the group all did a round of applause for the Solo children. Ben found his siblings and stood beside them. 

“Do they know us?” Anakin asked. 

“Definitely not; we’re not that special,” Ben said.

“Yeah,” Jaina said. “I think they know we’re tourists.”

Anakin crossed his arms. “We don’t look like tourists.” Both Ben and Jaina gave Anakin a blank stare, their eyes narrowing down at him. “For kriff’s sake, you two are creepy sometimes.”

“Language!” Ben said.

“You two say it all the time. Dad says it every kriffing sentence.”

Playfully, Jaina smacked the back of his head. “Stop.” 

Anakin stuck his tongue out at her. Jaina walked over to the railing to collect all of her mechanical parts and clutter she found.

Ben asked. “Can we do something I want, now?” 

“Don’t pretend like you didn’t like dancing,” Ani said with a laugh.

Jaina laughed with her brother. Ben shook his head. “Fine, what do you want to do, Ben?” Jaina looked over at the water.

“There’s a beach behind the house,” Ben said. “Please tell me you guys brought your swimsuits.”

“Yeah.” Jaina turned around to face Ben. 

Ben looked at Anakin, who was already distracted by something in the water. It was a group of swans. Ben tapped his shoulder. 

“Did you hear me?”

“Huh?”

“Did you bring your stuff to go swimming?”

“Uh…I dunno. I just threw stuff in there.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Fine, you can wear one of mine. Come on, let’s go.”

As they walked back, a woman walked over to Jaina and gently put a flower crown on her head. 

“Thank you!” Jaina said, smiling at her. The woman gave her a smile back and draped necklaces over Ben and Anakin. 

“Wow!” Anakin looked down at the necklace.

“Thank you,” Ben said, “so much.” Ben leaned down to his brother and whispered, “Ani, say thank you.”

“Oh, sorry,” he said. “Thank you!” 

The woman gave them all a warm smile. “Enjoy your time here, little ones.” She walked away, letting the children head back to the house.

After the twins and Anakin went swimming for a while, they decided to take a stroll through the town in the evening. Mara and Luke offered to go with them. Jaina was happy to spend more time with her Aunt and Uncle, since they, unlike her mother, let more things slide. Especially Mara.

Mara and Luke took their niece and nephews to look at the royal palace. The first thing the twins noticed was a large mural of their grandmother in a flowy and gorgeous red dress. Anakin wanted to look around at the architecture.

“You guys can find your way around,” Luke said, smiling at the twins. “I trust you.”

“Yay!” Jaina shouted out. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Ben exclaimed. “Finally…!”

“Just don’t tell your mother I’m doing this.” Luke gave a sly smile to the twins and tapped each of their shoulders.

“We won’t. We promise,” Ben quickly said. 

“Your secret is safe with me.”

Their Uncle smiled at them, and turned around, already seeing Anakin and Mara roaming the side of the building. He caught up with them and playfully stood behind Anakin, trying to scare him. It didn’t work. The Force was too strong in Anakin—in all of the Solo children. 

Jaina returned to look back at the large and stunning portrait. The twins didn’t know much about their grandmother, only things that their parents told them. One time, when Jaina was looking through her mother’s closet, she saw over a dozen old gowns; she felt that it once belonged to Padmé. 

Something was telling her to reach out to it even more than she was, and a spark of visions and memories shot through her and her twin. As she gazed into the picture, she felt tangled in fear, hope, and betrayal. In a few seconds, she saw images of her grandparents rolling on a hill, another one with a room full of senators and Padmé , a fiery planet, and some sort of event—presumably a funeral.

“Did you see that?” Jaina said, opening her eyes and catching her breath.

“Yeah…I feel bad for her,” Ben said with a slight frown. 

“I know. It’s so sad…what happened to her.” The twins sat on the edge of the water fountain beside the mural. 

Something had been annoying Ben for a while at that point. He tried not to care so much about living up to his family’s expectations and hopes for him; he knew he had to be a good fighter and an even better Jedi because that was what was expected for him. But a part of him didn’t want to always have to live up to his legacy as a Skywalker and his legacy as a Solo—he just wanted to be himself, with no external pressure from his loved ones. Even though his parents always said that he didn’t have to be a Jedi, and that he didn’t have to train with Luke if he didn’t want to, Ben couldn’t imagine the disappointment they’d be in if he just quit. And, of course, Ben wanted to become a Jedi more than anything. He just couldn’t help but wonder how different life would be if he didn’t come from such an important and public family. 

Ben looked up at the night sky. “Do you ever think about how different our lives would be if…if none of this stuff happened?”

“Uhh…what do you mean?”

“You know…” Ben looked over at her sister. “Like if our family was normal .”

“But we are normal.”

“Really, Jaina?” The twins shared a laugh. “Seriously, though—if our family were normal people; not royalty or politicians or crazy war heroes or politicians or important Jedi’s or insane Sith lords—normal people. Farmers, librarians, mechanics, just…normal people.”

Jaina took a deep breath. “Yeah, it’d be weird. But Uncle Luke was a farmer, once. And dad was a smuggler. That’s normal.”

Ben turned around and looked at the fountain. “It was just a thought.” 

“I know. You have a lot of those.” Jaina stood up from the fountain and took one last look at her grandmother’s painting. “We should get going.”

“I know.” Ben didn’t budge and looked back at the stars. “Look at how clear the stars are, though.”

Jaina sat back down and looked up into the sky, enjoying the view.

“You really do look a lot like her,” Jag said, sipping his drink.

“Huh?” Jaina stepped out of her trance. “Who? My mother?” 

“No, well yes, you do. But I’m talking about your grandmother.”

“Oh.” She took another quick look at the portrait. “I don’t see it.”

Jaina looked over at her parents, who were staring the couple down and giggling to themselves. 

“Your parents aren’t slick,” he said, quickly looking at Jaina across from him. 

“A part of me thinks that bringing you here with us was their idea all along.”

“You think?” Jag smiled at her. 

“Yes. We could’ve sat with them, but they wanted us to have our own table.” Jaina looked over at her father and made eye contact with him. Almost immediately, he held up the menu to cover his face. 

She shook her head and returned back to her conversation with Jag. All she could think about was Kylo’s exile. “So, you really negotiated the terms with the judges about Kylo? How did you get that to happen?”

“It was what felt right for him. Besides, the death penalty is a little out of date, don’t you think?”

Jaina shrugged her shoulders. “Do you know where he’s staying?”

Jag shook his head. “Only the Chancellor and Master Skywalker knows.”

“You didn’t ask?”

“No.”

“You weren’t even the slightest bit curious about where they shipped him off too?” Again, Jag shook his head, completely disinterested. 

“Not my business.”

“Right.”  

“Let’s stop talking about your brother. He’s fine.”

“I miss him.” Jaina took a deep breath. “Put yourself in my shoes.”

“I’ve been in them, and they’re not comfortable.”

“Metaphorically or…”

“Metaphorically,” Jag said. Jaina frowned, embarrassed that she forgot about his own grief. Nearly all of Jag’s siblings had died during a battle when he was younger.

Jaina tapped her fingers on her chair. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Even though the two shared the same pain of losing their siblings in a short period, Jaina still couldn’t imagine how he felt losing his brothers and sister. 

“What are you doing tomorrow?” Jag asked, trying to divert the question. 

“Not much. My mother is hosting a state dinner tomorrow, so I’ll help her set up, I guess. And my Uncle wants to find some more younglings to train—maybe I’ll help him with that, too.”

“Fun.”

“Mhm.” Jaina twirled around her straw. “Why?”

“I just thought we could do something together.” He leaned back in his chair.

“Don’t you have, I don’t know, work?”

“I do,” Jag said. “It can wait.”

“Jag, no. I’ll be busy.”

“Setting up for dinner is being busy? Come on, that’s droid work.” 

“Jag!” All Jag did was stare at her with a sly smile, his arms crossed along his chest. She waited for him to say something, but she knew he could play this game all day if he wanted to. “Fine. But I’m only free in the morning.”

Jag turned his head and raised his eyebrow.  

“Fine, I’m only free in the afternoon.” 

“Hmm…I can’t do that.” Jag turned away from her and then looked at Leia, who was smiling and chatting with her family. “You really want to go to this state dinner?”

“No, of course not.”

“That’s what I thought. I’ll cook something for you. Then I have two tickets to the opera.”

She sipped her drink. “You always get what you want.”

“Of course. And you always get what you want. Whether it’s through the Force or just you being you.” 

For the first time—ever—she felt a string of embarrassment while talking to Jag. She didn’t want to admit that her feelings for him were stronger than they ever had been. Jaina kicked his legs under the table and raised her glass to his statement, smiling at him. 

Chapter Text

It wasn’t a lie that Kylo was still struggling between the dark and the light; he’d apologized to his family, he was regretful for what he’d done, and above all, he missed his brother. He thought about him everyday—he hadn’t left his mind since he ruthlessly killed him. So, everytime Kylo felt himself reminiscing on his time with the First Order, he felt disgusted—but it was also thrilling. The pure adrenaline and Force energy flowing through him was enough to make him crave all of that power again.

 A few years prior, Snoke had sent Kylo and his beloved Knights of Ren to stage a small attack on a small city in Karaxis. 

“The overtaking of Karaxis is essential to the plan,” Snoke said, sitting on his throne. “Do not fail me.”

Kylo kneeled down to his master, taking all of the information in. “I won’t,” he replied, standing up.

The ship landed on Karaxis, and Kylo and his Knights walked off the loading dock.

When they got to the main city, there was already a large Bramalish creature roaming the area. Though, of course, it was no threat—Snoke had used the Force to manipulate the creature’s mind to attack the people in the city. It was peak day time, where children and their family all roamed the streets, and people were coming in and out of work. 

Kylo and his knights all strolled through the street, watching the Bramalish ‘monster’ chaotically rip down buildings and throw people around the city. They all went mask off to appear more friendly and courageous when they planned to attack the Bramalish and appear to save the day. 

“Sir,” one of his knights said. “Shall we go?”

“On my lead.” Kylo walked faster and rested his hand on the hilt of his saber. “You all tend to the women and children,” he said, looking at parents holding their children close, while local officers shot blastershots at the monster. 

The knights did as he said, carefully disbanding and helping the civilians out. Meanwhile, Kylo activated his saber to face the creature. All of Snoke’s mentoring and teachings echoed in his face. Don’t be too aggressive, be gentle to the thing, make it seem like you’re their savior. 

So, Kylo did exactly that. He leaned over to a young adolescent who backed away in fear—fear from the Bramalish and fear from Kylo himself. As he looked into the child’s eyes, he reminded himself of the main mission he was here: to persuade the Karaxians that he was the rightful ruler, not the leader of Karaxis, named Kelvin Mann. Lucky for Kylo, the child looked just like Kelvin. 

“It’s alright,” he gently said, using the Force to push the Bramalish away from the kid. “Don’t be scared.” Kylo deactivated his saber. The teenager in front of him, still afraid, looked at him in awe.

“What’s your name?” he asked, tuning in to the Force to calm the Bramalish down, and not attack anyone further. 

“Kingston.”

Kylo squinted his eyes at the kid. That had to be Kelvin’s child—the resemblance was almost uncanny. 

“Kingston,” he said, “don’t worry, Kingston. We’ll find your parents soon. 

“How old are you, Kingston?” he asked. 

“Thirteen.”

“You’re very brave. Just stay back, it will be alright.”

Kingston listened and backed away into a small alleyway. The red and crackly saber ignited as he walked closer to the Bramalish. Using the Force, he crushed into the ground, and used his saber to slash the monster. After giving it a couple more seconds to see if it would get back up, it didn’t. That was when Kylo knew that the first part was done. 

He turned back around to view the city all staring at Kylo in awe. Kylo ignored all of the praise, and turned back to the child.

“Can you tell me what your father’s name is?” He hooked his saber back on his belt.

“Kelvin,” the boy hesitantly said.

That was it. That was who he needed. “And do you know where he is?”

The boy pointed up at a tall building. Kylo walked right beside him, and let him lead the way, which gave Kingston a false sense of authority. As they walked further down the city, people thanked Kylo and his knights. All he did was give them a warm smile as he got into a residential building. 

“ID?” A security person said to Kylo. The man let Kingston walk right through and over to the elevator.

All Kylo did was use the Force to push him away into the wall, knocking him unconscious. The rest of the front desk secretaries and security guards put their hands up. His knights walked in, guarding the door and holding them hostage.

Kingston watched in the distance, still fearful. The boy made it into the elevator and pushed the button to close the doors. Using the Force, Kylo pushed it open.

“No, no! Dad!” Kingston screamed.

A part of Kylo felt bad for doing all of this. He was an innocent child that didn’t know what was going on at all. Kingston tried to run out of the elevator, and for a second, Kylo let him. But he couldn’t fail the mission. He couldn’t fail Snoke. So he used the Force to drag the kid over, who was now in tears. 

“I’m sorry,” Kylo said, pushing him into the elevator. “Tell me which floor it is.”

Tears streamed down his face. “I don’t want to d—”

“Tell me which floor it is, and you won’t get hurt, kid.” Kylo, too, shared a face of tears with the child. Kingston tried to run towards the button, but Kylo’s hold on him with the Force was too strong. “And don’t lie to me.”

Kingston’s body froze up completely. He didn’t move or say a single word. So, Kylo reached his hand out to hover over his face, and reached into his mind for the answer. Once he figured out what floor it was, he pressed the button, watching the kid catch his breath from all of the exhaustion and fear. 

In a few minutes, the elevator rang and opened up to Kelvin and his family’s penthouse. Immediately, blaster shots hit Kylo. He deflected them with his saber and used it to shoot them back at the security. Kylo clung on to Kingston’s arm and rushed into the penthouse; no one was there. He used the Force to feel where they could be, but it wasn’t working as fast as he wanted it to. Kingston’s sobbing, however, brought out his family from hiding. The penthouse was completely dark. The only light that seeped through was from his saber and the small window by the kitchen.

Kelvin and a young man, presumably around Kylos’ age, stood up from behind a counter. They held blasters up to him. 

“Give me him,” Kelvin said. 

Kylo ignited his saber and held it up to Kingston’s neck. 

“Help!” Kingston cried out, sobbing. Kingston tried to defend himself, and gripped onto Kylo’s arm to pull him away, but nothing helped. He wasn’t going to hurt the little child—he’d never do something as cruel as that.

“No one has to get hurt, here,” Kylo said. He pointed the saber at Kelvin, but still held a tight grip on Kingston. “Give your planet to me and the First Order.”

“No.” 

Kelvin shot him with his blaster, and Kylo used the Force to stop it. He turned to the man beside him, and, suddenly, a series of low-frequency vibrations echoed in his head. The presence of the Force was in this room—Kelvin’s son was force-sensitive. That made this mission even more important. He needed him. Whether that was in the knights of Ren, or his army of stormtroopers. He needed him. 

“Don’t hurt my family!” Kelvin yelled.

“You,” Kylo said, pointing his saber at the eldest child. “Who are you?” No one answered. “Answer me, now!”

Kelvin took the time to reload the blaster. Kylo swiped it away with the Force and held that same blaster up to Kelvin. 

“Dad!” a young girl cried out. This was worse than Kylo could ever imagine—flashbacks from him as a young child fighting off intruders swarmed in his mind. He had been on the opposite side of this conflict before—it wasn’t a good feeling.

Kylo closed his eyes and looked at the man who was Force-sensitive. He ignored the crying from the young child behind the counter, and used the Force to freeze the older child beside Kelvin.

“Don’t do this!” 

Kylo Ren pushed Kingston away from his arms, sending him flying into Kelvin. Quickly, Kelvin kneeled down to scoot behind the counter with the rest of his family. He needed the Force-sensitive man. If he let him free, there was a chance he could someday fight back against Kylo and the First Order. That couldn’t happen.

“Who are you?” Kylo still had the blaster raised in his hand and deactivated his saber. 

“Uh…” the man cried out, trying to step away. He looked closer at him, feeling the Force flow through his body. It didn’t take Kylo long to learn that the man was never going to answer him. So, instead of waiting, he used the Force to get into his mind, and got the information he wanted. Indeed, the young man was Force-sensitive, but he didn’t quite know how to use it. Either way, he needed to bring him to the First Order. Through the Force, Kylo saw that his name was Kane. Kane Mann. 

With one swipe of his hand, Kylo watched Kane fall unconscious on the floor. “Come to floor twelve,” Kylo said to his comlink, alerting his soldiers. In no time, three of his knights walked into the room, standing behind him.

Kylo extended his saber out once more, slowly walking back and forth in front of the counter, trying to intimidate the Mann family.  

“Don’t make the wrong decision, Kelvin,” he said, swinging his saber around so it’d make the ‘whooshing’ sound. He walked behind the counter, seeing Kelvin holding on to his wife, Kingston, and a little girl. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” The light from Kylo’s saber lit up the family. Kylo was completely engulfed in the darkness. To the Mann family, it looked like a scene from a nightmare or hallucination—a floating red light in the midst of darkness. 

“Please…” Kelvin said, shaking. “Don’t hurt my kids.”

“All you have to do is pledge allegiance to me and the First Order,” Kylo said, moving closer to the family. “Then you can have your family back.” The family felt the heat from the saber. 

“Just do what he says, dad,” Kingston pleaded.

Reluctantly, Kelvin nodded his head. 

“Stand up.” Kylo looked down at him.

Kelvin did so, and held his arms up.

Kylo made eye contact with the leader, and demanded his Knights to arrest him. “Take Kelvin Mann to the ship to meet with Armitage Hux. There, you’ll officially declare your allegiance to the First Order.” A couple of his Knights did so, while the other one stood close by. 

“As for him,” Kylo said, leaning over to look at Kane’s limp body. “Throw him on board. I want a midi-cholorian test done on him.” 

The knight picked Kane up, dragging him out of the apartment. Kylo stood in front of Kelvin’s wife and two small children, the saber glowing in his fist. 

“Kill them,” Snoke said in his head. But he couldn’t. These were innocent people, whose ‘crime’ was being related to a prominent political figure. It wasn’t right. “Do it!” Snoke’s mind screamed. “There can be no witnesses.” 

Kylo’s hand shook as he clenched his fist, slowly raising the saber.

“No!” the mother shouted. “We’ll give you anything…”

“Mom!” Kingston screamed out. 

Sweat dripped out of his hand, and he almost lost grip of his saber. In a quick flash, all he saw was his past.

Leia shuffled the young twins behind her back. They were only two at the time, and had just settled into life on Coruscant. They were in complete darkness in their mother’s bedroom, holding onto their mother’s dress.

Ben wrapped his other hand over Jaina’s, sensing something terribly wrong was happening. They heard footsteps and roaming around the house, and it got closer and closer, until Ben sensed a new presence in the room with them. 

Leia ignited her lightsaber, a weapon that the twins rarely saw her use in person, and defended both herself and the children. 

Kylo returned back to focus on the task at hand. He knew he couldn’t do it. It was wrong. He deactivated the saber; and as he did that, the family all sighed and relaxed their breath. What are you doing?  Snoke’s voice echoed in his mind. Kylo shut his eyes and tuned him out; it was something that he learned very recently—and needless to say Snoke did not take liking to it.

Kylo tucked his saber away and extended his hand over the family, trying to recall a trick Snoke taught him—how to wipe memories. Once he got the hang of it, he did it on all three members of the family, and walked away from the penthouse.

Once on the ship, Kylo didn’t go straight to Snoke as he was supposed to. Instead, he went to the holding cell where Kane stood, getting a blood sample done by a droid. 

“Master Kylo,” the medic droid said, exiting the cell. “The results from the midi-cholorian count is here—”

Kylo looked at the droid and grabbed the device the droid gave to him. Kane sat on the bench, staring up at Kylo in anger. 

“You won’t get away with this!”

Instead of conversing any longer, Kylo looked at the blood test on the table. 

“Sir, it’s estimated that he has a count of—”

“I know how to read.” Kylo was in shock. Kane had five-thousand midi-cholorians. He, of course, didn’t have as many midi-cholorians as Kylo or his family, but it was still enough to be trained by the Jedi or the Sith. 

Kylo took a deep breath and called for his knights, who were waiting for him at the hall. “Take him to Snoke,” he said. 

“No!” Kane stood up and started banging on the glass wall of the cell. “My father will send the New Republic to destroy you!”

“Your father is allied with the First Order. I rule Karaxis now. Not Mann. I do.” Kylo made direct eye contact with Kane. “From now on, you follow my orders.” 

Kane still tried to resist.

Kylo walked away so the man didn’t hear him conversing with his knights. “Tell Snoke he’s highly force-sensitive. I want him in intensive training, and his memory wiped.” 

Kylo walked away so the man didn’t hear them.

Telling Snoke was a no-brainer. But Kylo had better plans for Kane—he wanted him as his apprentice. One day, he’d be on that throne instead of Snoke, and he’d teach Kane the ways of the Force. 

Over a week later, Kane’s mind was completely wiped—he knew nothing of his family and nothing about his home world. When asked about his life before the First Order, he said that he’d always been with them. 

Snoke decided that it wouldn’t be a wise idea to train him to be Kylo’s knight. Instead, he was to be a stormtrooper, and prove his way up the hierarchy of the strict military. It was no surprise that when Kylo told Snoke about Kane, he was furious. He was furious that he didn’t kill them. 

Curious about Kane’s stormtrooper progress, he walked into the training room, seeing Kane holding up a blaster. Captain Phasma was supervising his progress.

“Sir,” Phasma said, bowing her head.

The clumsy stormtrooper turned around, tightening his posture. It was odd seeing him—he felt the Force within him, and above all else, felt guilty for what he did on Karaxian. 

“FN-2187’s progress is slow, but steady. He is improving by the day.”

Every time they said his stormtrooper number, he had to remind himself that that was the force-sensitive man he found on Karaxis. 

FN-2187. FN-2187. Kylo found himself unconsciously sitting by the waterfront, losing touch with the Force from all of the loud noises and memories in his head. He feared Kane the minute he felt his potential on Karaxis; he feared him as FN-2187; and now, more than ever, he feared what Finn was becoming; a Jedi trained by the best warriors on planet, who happen to be his Aunt and Uncle. He took Kane away because if he didn’t, he knew someone would find him—Luke, Mara, another Sith. But it turned out that Finn made his way back to the light side of the Force, no matter what. 

He looked down at his side, seeing his hand crushed into the sand. 

Chapter Text

Curious about how last night was at dinner, Jag, of course, asked her about it. 

“Did they say anything about me?” he asked, chopping fruit on the counter. 

Jaina hovered over his shoulder. “Yeah. A lot, actually.” He turned around and checked the stove, mixing the stew. “My mother adores you; much more than Zekk, surprisingly. She thinks you’re more mature.”

“Hah.” He wiped his hands on his hand towel. 

“And…Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara think you’re quite the catch. I heard them joking about my parents having grandchildren someday.”

Jag turned to look at Jaina and let out a small laugh. “Grandchildren?”

“Grandchildren.”

“Would you ever want children?” he softly asked, going back to the counter. Jaina had no clue what he was making—but from the looks of the multiple ingredients and bowls on the counter, it seemed as if he was making a five course meal.

Jaina wallowed on the question for a little bit. Children were always something she wanted to have, but she couldn’t see herself as a Mother—at least not now. She wanted to have peace in her life and peace in her family, first. Once her life and duties with the Jedi were stable, having kids, at least to her, seemed like a no-brainer. 

“Of course.” She leaned against the counter and took a piece of fruit off the cutting board. “I would love to be a Mom. I just…not now. The world needs to be a little more peaceful, don’t you think?”

“Mhm.”

“I don’t want my kids to have a chaotic childhood and upbringing like I did.” Jag went back to stirring the pot. “How about you?” She took a bite of the fruit and happily took another one.

“Okay, stop,” he said with a giggle. “You’re going to eat all of the ingredients before I can start making the dessert.” He went up to the cutting board and moved it away. Although, he knew that that wouldn’t stop her. 

“Dessert? How many dishes are you making, Jag?”

“Three.” 

She rolled her eyes and stood next to him, smelling the food he was making. To her surprise, it looked and smelled delightful. Who knew a military officer would be such a good chef? 

“Alright, your turn; would you have kids?” Jaina asked.

“Yeah.” Jag turned the stove off and grabbed two bowls. 

“Really? You’d be a strict father,” Jaina said, crossing her arms. 

Jag started to pour the food into the bowls. “You think so?” 

“Yes!” 

“Fine, whatever you think.” He walked over to his dining room and placed the bowls down. 

Jaina waited for him to come back and smiled to herself. “How many kids would you have?”

“Hmm…” Jag scratched his chin and began moving on to another meal. He chopped up some vegetables. “Not that many. Two or three.”

“I was going to say that,” she said, “but I really want twins.”

“The chance for you is pretty high.”

They both shared a laugh. Jaina looked around his house, trying to make sense of her place in all of this. She liked Jag, she really did, and perhaps even loved him; however, she was scared to get so close to him again. They were always busy on separate parts of the galaxy, doing separate tasks on different planets and different causes. It was a relationship that was doomed from the beginning. It was a relationship that could only work in theory and not practice. It was a relationship that she shouldn’t have even started back up, but she did, knowing all of this.

And so she didn’t want to waste his time, so she’d rather confront the obvious now. “Look, Jag. Don’t take this the wrong way.” He stopped cutting the vegetables and looked over at her. She moved to stand right beside him, resting her hand on his arm. “Do you think this is a good idea? I’m sure I’ll have another assignment with the Jedi soon, and you need to get back to your duties with the Empire…”

“I know.” Jag put his utensils down and turned to face her. He placed a hand on her cheek, brushing away her hair strands behind her ears. 

Jaina’s heart softened. “I really want to be with you—I really do. But I don’t want us to leave each other again like last time.”

“It’s okay,” Jag said, “we’ll make it work. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

She took a deep breath. “You’re right.” 

He kissed her forehead and went back to cooking.

“I hate when you’re right,” she said, crossing her arms.

“That…I know,” he said with a chuckle. 

The next morning, Jaina walked into the Jedi temple, surprised to see Finn and Poe chatting with Luke.

“You two are up early,” she said, standing beside Luke. 

“They’re going on a mission to visit Lando,” Luke said. “They’re handling some treaties with Lando’s corporation on my behalf.”

“That’s wonderful.” She nodded her head. “A Jedi-trainee and a reckless pilot on a mission. I love it.”

“One of the best reckless pilots, might I add,” Poe added, crossing his arms.

Jaina looked over at him. “My deepest apologies,” she sarcastically said. “Can I come with you two? I’ll take my own ship to give you some space.”

“Fine with me,” Finn said with a bright smile. 

Poe looked over at him. “We’re going to get a head start.”

“Great, see you there.”

Luke laughed at their conversation and lightly took Jaina by the arm. “They’re cute together, aren’t they?” she asked him, playfully tapping his back. 

“Yes.” He stood by a door. “I found some new recruits,” he said, “would you like to meet them?”

“Of course!” 

Luke opened the door to see a couple of young children, presumably around the ages of ten to thirteen. As they saw Luke enter the room, they all stood and sat in their chairs. 

“Good morning, Master Luke!” they all said in unison. 

Jaina smiled at the small children. “Aww.” Memories of her and her friends sitting in Luke’s lectures came to her mind. 

“This is my niece, Jaina Solo.”
“It’s nice to meet you all,” she softly said. 

“She’s a Jedi Knight, just like you all will hopefully be.”

Jaina put her hands in her pocket and turned back to her Uncle. “Have fun with them,” she said with a subtle smile. As she walked out of the room, she slowly shut the door. There was hope in the Jedi Order—that was all she wanted. 

Finn and Poe made it to Lando in no time. Lando was waiting for them in a small conference room, with two large stacks of physical papers and other important documents.

“Finn?” Lando said, standing up from the chair. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

“Oh–” Finn approached him and extended his hand out to him. “As for you…” He didn’t know him at all except from stories about the Rebel alliance. 

“Luke told me a lot about you. A stormtrooper turned Jedi. What a headline.” Lando looked over at the door, seeing a man in the New Republic pilot gear. “What’s your name? Come in, don’t be shy.”

Nervously, Poe walked into the bright room and stood behind Finn. He was never this nervous meeting new people; but Lando was one of a kind—charismatic, charming, and a somewhat good businessman.

“Poe—Poe Dameron, sir.”

“Poe. I like that name. Where are you from, Poe?”

“Yavin 4.”

“Such a beautiful planet.” Lando turned to Finn. “And you, Finn?”

A moment of silence flowed through the room. Finn didn’t know what to say—there was Illum, or even Jakku, or even Coruscant, where he spent most of his time. 

“I’m—I’m not sure. I’ve been with the First Order ever since I could remember.”

“Oh, that’s terrible.” Lando frowned and put his hand on his shoulder. “How about after we get these peace deals and papers signed, we head over to travel some planets. Do you have any idea what planet you were born on.”

Finn shook his head. 

“That’s okay,” Lando continued. “We’ll do some light traveling. Besides, you need to travel the galaxy a little bit without worrying about a Jedi mission.”

Finn smiled and looked down at the conference table. That was an offer he couldn’t say no to. 

Jaina found her Father in the living room with Chewbacca, playing a game of Sabacc.

“Can I take the Falcon to see Uncle Lando?” she asked, giving a small hug to Chewie.

“Argh!”

Han looked up at his daughter. “We’re going with you.”

“Where’s Mom?”

“In her office.” Han groaned, clearly behind in the card game. “Chewie, go easy on me.”

“Great, she can come with us. We’re piloting.”

All her Father did was look up at her and shake his head. “Nope, not happening.”

“Eh, yes it is.” Jaina shrugged her shoulders. 

Jaina walked over across the living room and knocked on her mother’s office door. After not getting a response, she took that as a sign and entered. 

“Oh, Jaina,” she said, putting her holopad down. “I thought you were with Luke.”

“He was doing a lecture.”

She looked at all of the books on her shelves. Most of them were either about Alderaan, politics, or important New Republic documents bound into a book format. 

“Dad and I are going to visit Uncle Lando. We thought it’d be nice if you came.”

“That’s nice of you. I’ll be on the ship in just a minute.”

Jaina smiled and walked out of the room, heading to the loading dock to ready the ship. She loved the Falcon , even with all of its flaws. 

The family made it to Lando’s, landing the Falcon . Lando waited for them at the loading dock with his classic blue attire and cape.

“The Solo’s!” he yelled out, watching them walk out. “And its most honorary Wookie member.”

Chewie groaned in excitement. Han quickly hugged his old friend, happy to be reunited after the war. 

“Princess,” Lando said, lightly kissing Leia’s hand. “Or, shall I say Chancellor?”

“Hi, Lando. It’s good to see you.”

“I know.” Lando turned to Jaina, who brightly smiled up at him. “My favorite niece is here, too!”

“Hi. Do you have any more of those protein altha shakes I like?” The two embraced in a short hug.

“You bet.”

Soon, Finn and Poe walked over to the family. 

“Wow,” he said, “the whole crew is here!” Poe exclaimed.

“Hey, kid,” Han said, looking over at both Finn and Poe.

Lando looked over at Finn. “We’re going to do some flying. He doesn’t know his birth planet, isn’t that terrible...?”

Leia, Han, and Jaina all looked at each other, and then back at Lando. 

“We know,” Leia said, giving Finn a sympathetic smile. “It is very kind of you to do that.”

Han looked over at Lando. “I’ll tag along.”

Jaina forgot that Finn didn’t know anything about his birth family. The one person that could know was exiled in a far away part of the galaxy. 

Lando smiled at his good old friend. Chewbacca, of course, groaned in agreement. 

“My wife is at the house,” Lando said, turning to Leia and Jaina. “Jaina, have you met Tendra?”

“No, I don’t think I have.”

Lando wrapped his arms around the two women and led them over in the direction of his house. “She’s very sweet.” 

Leia turned towards her husband who waved her goodbye.

“You two…” Leia said. “You two better not get in any trouble while we’re gone.”

Jaina looked over at her mother, confused as to what she meant by that.

“Me? Han? That’s past us, Princess. Don’t worry.”

As they arrived at his house, he opened the door and led them in, calling for Tendra. 

“That means no gambling,” Leia said, tilting her head up to Lando. 

“Okay.” Lando charmfully smiled.

“Dad doesn’t gamble anymore. He only plays Sabacc with fake credits,” Jaina said to her mother. She looked over at Tendra who walked down the stairs with a bright smile.

“You haven’t seen Lando and your father together.”

Jaina snarled and walked over to Tendra, greeting her. She had enough of Uncle Lando and Leia’s sibling-esque bickering. 

Luke and Mara watched all of the younglings walk down the steps of the Jedi temple. It was their first lecture and first full day at the temple with the Jedi Master.

“By the looks of it, I think it went well,” she said, watching the kids run over to their parents. R2 followed closely behind Luke and beeped a few times. 

“They loved it.” Luke closed the doors of the temple, and walked down the steps with his wife. 

“I’m glad.”

“How was your day? Were the younglings you taught fine?”

“Mhm. A little restless. I can’t lecture as good as you; you make it fun.”

“Don’t say that. I’m sure—”

R2 started to zoom around Luke, setting off alarm bells in his mind. 

“What’s wrong, R2?” Luke asked, bending down to the droid. R2 showed a hologram of Anoth; it was about Ben—it had to be. Luke had programmed R2 to all of the security footage on the planet. He clicked a few buttons to look into it. 

“Someone’s on the planet,” Luke said, looking at the heat sensor map. 

“Oh no.” Mara and Luke ran down the steps, ready to hop into their ships. “I’m sure there’s no reason to panic—maybe it’s just Jaina…or Leia and Han—”

“They went to visit Lando.”

Mara and Luke hopped into the ship, their hearts beating a hundred miles an hour. 

“I’ll alert Leia,” Mara said, flicking up controls and connecting to the comm system. 

Ben’s day started and ended the same way. He got up, walked to the beach, meditated, and walked back. But this time, it was different. The weather was too windy and cold for a walk, but he did so anyway. By the time he got to the beach, the water was too chaotic and loud to meditate. So, he opted for the grass field right beside the cottage. 

As he floated over the grass and meditated, he soon felt an odd, cold, and distant presence in the Force. His heart began to beat faster.

“Kylo…” the voice called out. He knew it all too well who that cold, soft, and sinister voice was. It was from his past. Scared of turning around to face what was calling him out, he reached for the saber on his belt, but there was none, forgetting that the New Republic took it. 

Chapter Text

“We don’t have much time,” the woman said, unmasking herself. “They're gonna come any minute now.” It took him a while to gain the courage to turn around. “Kylo?” Lumiya shouted. “Let’s go.”

Finally, he stood up and turned around, looking at the Dark Lady of the Sith who now stood in front of him. He didn’t understand how she got to the planet—he didn’t know how she found him at all. Kylo was too stunned and too afraid to speak, so he didn’t—he froze, looking at her.

The first time he met her wasn’t pleasant. It was the day after he burned down Luke’s temple and officially turned to the dark side. Snoke gave Kylo coordinates to fly to Exegol, a dark and shadowy planet that Snoke had lived on for decades in secret. There was no life on it—no animals, no water, no plants, nothing. But Snoke knew how to trap Kylo all too well at this point, so he used the Force to haunt the planet with wildlife and creatures, making it seem less fearful than it actually was.

As Kylo walked into an old and stone-filled building, he felt remnants of his grandfather. It was odd, but he ignored it, following the voices he heard down the hall. Small birds flew in from the exposed windows. 

He heard Snoke’s deep and cold voice, and another one, more sinister and soft. He got to the voices, seeing Snoke on an old, rusty, and dark throne. Snoke was laughing and smiling with the woman. It had been the worst day of his life, and the only person he could turn to was smiling and enjoying himself. The day before, he burned down his Uncle’s temple, killed his brother’s girlfriend Tahiri Veila, and lost his family. All in one night. He needed Snoke’s guidance—he needed the softness and kindness that Snoke had shown Ben when they first met. That was why he was so drawn to him; Snoke created a space for him, with animals and plants and books, and a space where he could think. 

But that Snoke disappeared once Ben turned to the dark side. For that reason, he expected Snoke to be in a bad mood when he entered the room, since he was always in a bad mood; however, he seemed to be quite cheerful—oddly cheerful at that.

“Ah, there he is,” Snoke said, laughing. “We were just talking to you.” Kylo folded his arms in front of him. Snoke looked down at him and squinted. His smile turned into an angry frown. 

Forgetting the ‘proper’ way to address his master, Kylo fixed his ‘mistake’ and kneeled on one knee, and tilted his head to the floor. He thought it was rather ridiculous—all of the rules and decorum—but it was too late to turn back; even though he missed his family, they’d never accept him. Not after what he did. 

“There,” he said with a chuckle. “Lumiya,” Snoke said, standing from his throne, “meet Kylo Ren, my new apprentice.”

Kylo looked up to see her. Half of her face was wrapped and masked with a dark cloth. Lumiya walked over to him and circled around him. He didn’t like this at all—he didn’t enjoy being towered over as if he was some pet or wild animal in a zoo. Instead of keeping his head on the ground, he picked it up, making direct eye contact with Snoke.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Snoke said. He used the Force to tilt his head back down to the ground. “Know your place.” 

“You got a Skywalker before me,” she said, crossing her arms. “Good work.”

“I don’t need your praise.” He returned back to the throne.

“I always thought Jaina or Anakin would be the one to turn; I guess not. They’re very emotional, don’t you think, Ben?”

“Don’t talk about my family like that,” he uttered.

Snoke scoffed. “Be nice to our guest.” 

Kylo took one last look at Lumiya, skeptical of her whereabouts and thoughts about his family. He knew he was trying to get into her head. So, he stood up, grabbed his saber and slung it at her. The Sith lady was too quick and defended herself with her own weapon; it was an oddly shaped lightwip that was long and flexible; confused on how to fight back, he accidentally left his body exposed, causing Lumiya to hit his shoulder.

In pain, Kylo dropped his saber and held his arm. 

Kylo looked up at his master as he began to speak. “Don’t look at me. That is what you deserve.” The silver hilt of Ben’s saber came flying into Snoke’s hand; he hadn’t bled his crystal yet. “You’ll get this back when you deserve it.” 

Now, Kylo faced Lumiya on the field. He didn’t want to leave the planet—and especially not with a Sith like her. Somewhat, he enjoyed his time on the isolated planet. He had just gotten on solid ground with his family. There was no way he could ever betray them again; he didn’t want to betray them again. 

“No.” He shook his head and shut his eyes. This was all a terrible dream. Soon enough, he’d wake up in his bed, recovering from the nightmare.

“No?” What was going through the Sith’s head was that she was so desperate to get Kylo? “Stop playing around.” 

“Leave.” His eyes sprung open. “Just go!” Using the Force, he tried to squeeze Lumiya’s throat, but she realized what he was doing, taking out her weapon and tying it around his wrist. She looked up into the sky, seeing a flash of ships enter the planet. His body soon relaxed as he felt his family enter the planet. He saw the Falcon swoop down and hover over the field.

Despite the act that Lumiya put up, fear leaked through her into the atmosphere. She ran towards her ship and dragged Kylo along with her. He planted his feet on the ground and tugged the light wip—though it quickly burned his hands, and he was forced to let go. Out of the corner of his eye, a man rushed out of a ship, his tan capes flowing against the harsh winds of the brisk morning. 

He reached his hand out with the Force, pulling Lumiya farther and farther away from the ship. That was the first time, in years, that he felt pride and joy while watching Luke expertly use his powers in the Force. Believe it or not, Kylo greatly missed that spark of hope. As a kid, he looked up to his Uncle more than anyone. That same nostalgic feeling had started to flow back into him. 

Jaina and Leia joked around with Lando’s wife in the living room. Leia had already been good friends with Tendra. Jaina was just there for the fun of it; although, socializing and making connections, at least to her, was nowhere close to being ‘fun’. 

As Leia chatted with her, she stood up from the sofa getting a call from Mara. 

“Excuse me for just one second—” Leia said, walking into the foyer.

Tendra gave Jaina a sympathetic smile as she followed her mother. Leave it to Jaina to be curious about her mother’s business. 

“Come quickly to the coordinates I sent you. Someone is on Anoth.”

“What?!” Leia ran over to the door and grabbed her vest, sliding it over her grey-toned jumpsuit. 

“I don’t have many details. Luke and I are on our way now.” 

Jaina followed suit and said her goodbyes to Tendra. The mother and daughter duo ran out of the house and off to the loading dock. 

“Pray that your father didn’t take the Falcon .” 

“Oh, I’m praying.” Jaina ran a bit faster than her mother, but made sure to routinely check on her. They made it to the loading dock. Alas, the Falcon , in all of its glory, was shut off and in the middle of the room. 

“Come on.” Leia took the lead and unlocked the ship, immediately heading to the cockpit.

Jaina had never seen her mother fly the ship in person; she knew that her mother flew it, of course. 

“I can’t believe your brother!” Leia shouted in frustration, flicking switches and flying out of the dock.

On the other hand, Jaina was upset that she had to be the copilot. Jaina worked on calculations while her mother steered the ship. 

It took a while to get to Anoth, but they still managed to make it to the planet. There, Jaina saw her brother in a field and a lady in all grey garbs, wrapped in some sort of thick fabric or metal; it was hard to see from the window of the ship. 

Luke was on the ground, using the Force to buy some time. 

Leia put her hand on her forehead. It was something she always did—especially when she was disappointed or in too much pain to put on a front to people. 

“Should we go down and help him?” Jaina softly asked, standing up. Jaina rested a hand on her mother’s shoulder.

“I don’t know…I really don’t.”

The former princess recalled the moment she confronted her son in his cell. He said there were Sith roaming the galaxy. At that point, then, she didn’t believe him. Who would? Her own son stood there and lied to her, constantly. All Kylo did that day was try to manipulate Leia and get under her skin; that whole conversation enraged her to no end—it angered her to the point that she promised herself that she’d never talk or see him again. Even though she arranged the terms of his exile with the New Republic Judiciary, that didn’t mean she had much sympathy for him. 

Leia took her hands off her face. “I don’t know what to do or who to trust.”

Jaina took that as an insult. What did she ever do to her mother? How would she lose trust in her own child? Leia’s daughter knew very little about her encounter with Kylo, and it was safe to say that Jaina made it out easy when she got to talk to him. Jaina closed her eyes and thought about her brother. Connecting with Kylo with the Force was always a risk, especially since she sensed her mother’s disdain for him. 

“Jaina,” Kylo thought, flicking his head toward his father’s ship.

“I’m going to get you out of this.” Jaina looked over at him. 

 He tried to get out of Lumiya’s restraints. Luckily for him, Luke took all of Lumiya’s attention, and allowed his nephew to free himself. Lumiya didn’t even notice. As the two battled out, the twins got a sense that he knew her and she knew him; this wasn’t the first time they had fought. Luke dodged all of Lumiya’s flicks of her weapon, and eventually tore the mask on her face.

“Mom.” Jaina said, watching the battle. Sparks of thoughts and ideas flowed through her mind. “You need to trust me.”

Leia already sensed the twins’ connection. Reluctantly, and rightfully so, she shook her head no. 

“Mom, mom, please. I know how to get us out of here. Trust me.”

Leia looked into her daughter’s eyes, seeing Jaina tear up and squeeze her hand on her shoulder. 

“I do trust you! It’s just—”

“Mom.” Jaina took her hand off her mother’s shoulder and clenched her fist. “Please.”

She nodded her head. That was enough to satisfy the young Jedi. 

“Tell Uncle Luke to stand down.” 

“Jaina, no.”

“I know what I’m doing.” Jaina straightened her poster. “In five minutes, tell Uncle Luke to stand down. You have to trust me.”

“I know you love your brother—I do, too. But he has shown—over and over again—that he is not sorry for what he did.”

Jaina walked away. “You need to trust me, Mother.” 

She rushed out of the cockpit and walked into the center room. Her father had a bin of spare mechanical parts that he collected just for her. As a kid, she would get bored of the long trips across the galaxy, and needed something to fidget with. Under the seats held everything she needed. Quickly, she tried to tinker with pieces and parts to create a small tracking device. She searched around the ship for more spare parts to create it. The whistles of the ship floating in the air eased her. Once the device was partially created, she used the Force to once again reach out to Kylo. 

“I’m using you as bait,” Jaina said. “Where’s this lady trying to take you? Do you have any idea?”

“I don’t know.”

“Fine,” she said, “it doesn’t really matter.” Jaina held a wire in her mouth while she communicated with him. “Come closer to the ship.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea—”

“Ben, just do it. Uncle Luke is distracted with the fight.”

“Mara has a close eye on me through the ship, though.”

“Mom!” The wire in her mouth fell into her hands as she quickly twisted it into the device. “Tell Mara to stand down.”

“Jaina, sweetheart, I don’t quite understand this plan!” Leia screamed from the cockpit

“Trust me!” The expert mechanic waited to hear her mother talk to Mara. After that, she went to the cockpit. “Lower the ship.” 

Leia turned in her seat. “What is that?” 

Jaina held up the small device. “A tracker.” She threw her hair in a low bun. “I’m giving it to Ben to put on the ship. Then we’ll watch where it goes. We need answers.” 

The chair twisted around to the controls and Jaina felt the ship go down. As it landed, Leia smiled up at her daughter. 

“You make me go insane, sometimes, do you know that?” Her daughter looked at her mother’s braided updo and perfectly fitted outfit. “Good thinking.”

Jaina smiled at her mother and ran over to the loading dock. Her brother stood in front of it. She walked off and faced her brother. Surprisingly, he looked well—healthy, even; his hair was still shoulder length, but he looked calm. Not frazzled and stressed and dark as it did when he turned. 

“What’s that?” he asked, looking at her hands. 

“It doesn’t matter what it is.” The twin still kept her guard up; that was something she learned the hard way. Still, even though Jaina was confident in her brother’s journey back to the light, there was a possibility that Lumiya was Kylo’s saving grace off the planet and into the world of the Sith. There was a chance that Kylo was really trying to escape. “Go to Lumiya’s ship. Bring this with you.”

The commlink on her wrist rang. It was Mara. 

 “What is happening over there?!” she asked, her tone confused and, understandably, anger. 

“Nothing, I have it handled. Tell Uncle Luke to stand down.” Jaina motioned for Kylo to go.

“Why would I do th—”

Jaina hung up the call. But before he left, she picked up his hands, seeing blood seep down from it. 

“How’d this happen?”

“It’s just a small injury. It’s from her lightwhip weapon,” he said, walking away. 

“No, come back.” She tore a part of her cape off and used it as a bandage, and then put the tracker in his hands. “It won’t do much, but it’s something. Now go. Hurry.”

Her brother ran off the dock and ran into Lumiya’s ship. The plan, so far, was working. As Jaina made it back to the cockpit, she saw Leia nervously watch as Luke stood down, and let Lumiya go back to her ship. She was visibly injured—her prosthetics and technology that kept her alive were ripped off by the Jedi Master.

As Lumiya’s ship took off, Jaina dug in her pocket for her holo-device. “Perfect.” It showed a list of coordinates that updated with each inch Ben moved. “I have his coordinates!”

Leia swung her arms around Jaina. Jaina sunk into her mother’s chest, happy to have her approval.

“I am a terrible mother,” she said, holding her close. “I shouldn’t have doubted you.” 

“Don’t say that…you were only being cautious. That’s important; you taught me that.”

Her mother, who was only a little bit taller than her, backed away from the hug. “I am proud of you.”

“Thanks.” Jaina sat in the copilot seat. “I don’t think Uncle Luke will be happy with me, though.”

“You think so harshly of him; he doesn’t hate you, Jaina. It is only that he would handle the situation differently—that is all. Both ways work.”

She smiled at her mother. Out the window of the Falcon, he saw Luke’s ship steer beside it. 

“Here’s the moment of truth!” Jaina said, glancing over at her mother. A call came through on the comm system. “I’m sorry.”

“Your first mistake is apologizing,” Luke said.

“Oh…” Jaina smiled. 

All Leia did was tilt her head, and smile at her. That was her classic ‘ I told you so’ face. Luke chuckled. “So, does Han have a bunch of trackers on his ship now? That would’ve been helpful back in the day, you know.”

“No.” Leia couldn’t contain her pride. “She made it. She made a tracker from scratch, Luke. A tracker, can’t you believe that?”

“Great thinking.” Luke swung his ship in the other direction. “Let’s see if we can scout them out; they had a good headstart.”

“Of course.” Jaina flicked some switches up and watched Leia steer the ship toward her brother’s. “And if not, we have the coordinates. Should we send for backup?” she asked.

“No, let’s not cause a scene,” Leia said. “News of Kylo’s escape would not be good.

That was understandable. The crew flew into space, unable to immediately track down Kylo’s ship. Instead, they stayed on autopilot for a while, waiting for the coordinates to stop moving. And soon, their wish came true: Jaina showed her mother the stagnant coordinates, and read them to her Aunt and Uncle. No one knew where that planet was. 

“Threepio!” Jaina called out. The droid had followed Leia everywhere—overtime, Jaina learned to tune it out completely. Perhaps that was rude of her—a potential weakness of hers. She’d work on that…eventually.

“Master Jaina!” The useful but clunky droid wobbled over to the cockpit. How can I help you? I am—”

“Do you know what planet this is?” she asked. Leia and Luke started to take off to the coordinates. 

C-3PO took a few seconds to process the coordinates. “Ah, yes—that is Exegol. It does not appear on any modern maps or star charts. I had to scan it using an ancient map, dating back to—”

“Thank you,” she said, sitting back in the copilot chair. 

What was so special about Exegol that a Sith lady was going there? Jaina, however, didn’t have to worry long, watching the ship enter hyperspace.

Chapter Text

Lando Calrissian and his friends all hopped back into his ship. After travelling to over a handful of planets, Finn found nothing about his parents. Even with the help of the Force, he felt no connection to the former planets that the First Order ruled; he felt nothing to link him back to his ancestry.

Once in the cockpit, Lando piloted the ship with Han as his co-pilot—just like in the good ol’ days. 

Sensing Finn’s disappointment, Poe put a hand on his knee. “It’ll be okay,” he said, “we’ll find them eventually. Luke could know.” 

“That’s true.”

The ship set off. “Leia’s going to be so proud of me,” Han said to Lando. “No gambling, no smuggling, none of that old junk.”

“The standards are low for you.” Lando laughed and looked at his old friend. 

“Eh.” Han spun his chair around to face Poe and Finn. “Sorry about your family, kid,” he said, turning to Finn. If anyone knew how and what Finn was feeling, it was Han Solo. Growing up, he never really knew his family or origins or upbringing—it was just him, having to fend for himself. But Han couldn’t imagine just how out of place Finn was. At least Han got to make his own choices—he wasn’t whisked away into the hands of the enemy at birth. But, Han knew how bad it felt to just not know anything—to only remember certain glimpses of childhood. 

“I know what it’s like,” Han said.

“Thank you.” Finn smiled over at Han. “It means a lot.”

They landed on the planet Socorro. Walking off the ship and into the loading dock, Han’s bright smile ripped off his face. His Falcon was gone. Chewie growled, imitating his friend’s disappointment. As he tried to calm down and not go into a sphere of panic, he looked at each and every single one of the ships, hoping it’d magically turn into panic. Maybe it was some sick trick or prank.

“Where’s she?” He didn’t want to point fingers. But he did. “What’d you do to her?”

Lando’s face dropped. He didn’t know—why would he? “I was with you the whole time—how would I know where your ship is?” 

Turning towards Finn, he glanced down at his saber. “Do you know? Use your Jedi tricks.”

“That’s not possible,” he calmly said.

Okay—okay; all Han had to do was calm down and think. Perhaps Jaina or Leia took it. He walked over towards the direction of the town, trying to recall where Lando lived. Once he got to the doorstep, he let himself in, looking everywhere for his family. 

“Do you know where they went?” Han asked Tendra. 

She shook her head. “They just left…no explanation, no goodbyes.” 

Something felt off . His family would never do that to him—they’d tell him if something was wrong. 

Lando, Finn, and Poe all stood by the door, equally confused. Chewie was the only one to stay close by Han’s side. Han took his blaster out and stormed outside. 

Finn and Poe knew what to do. “I’ll get in contact with Master Skywalker,” Finn said, running towards Poe’s ship. 

Poe followed suit and caught up with Han. “Don’t worry, sir, we’ll find them.”

The scoundrel didn’t answer—his ears rang, his heart sank, and his mind spun. Times like this was when he so desperately wished he had the Force. 

Chapter Text

Jaina’s tracking device rested in Kylo’s pocket. As they landed, Lumiya walked off the ship, having a tight grip on Kylo’s arm. Lightning poured down from the sky on the dark and shadowy planet. He didn’t understand why she was here. Nevertheless, he tried to resist her pushing and dragging him into the large castle, but nothing was quite working in his favor. 

He channeled into the Force and tried to lift the rocks. Slowly, they flew over in her direction, crumbling over her. The ship. That was all he needed to do—if he could get into the ship, that’d be enough. So he made a run for it while the rocks flew in her direction and successfully got into the ship.

It had been a while since he piloted one. Like muscle memory, all of the skills and functions came back to him. Flip the switches on. Shields. Lift off. Easy. As the ship lifted off the ground, he saw Lumiya extend her injured arm out to the sky, trying to bring the ship down from the air. What the kriff?

The ship started to crunch and break down; she couldn’t bring the ship down completely—that was a skill only one Force user had successfully mastered—Darth Vader. Instead, she used the Force to throw rocks and disable the engines and hyperspace unit. 

This wasn’t going to work—at all. All Kylo wondered, at this point, was where in the world was his family? What took them so long to help him out of this mess? 

Kylo steered the broken ship into the ground. If he couldn’t escape, she couldn’t either. Hopping out of the vehicle, he travelled through the planet, seeing old and partly constructed star destroyers. This was a part of the planet that he hadn’t seen before. It was unsettling.

The dark sky and the lightning suddenly stopped. A cast of sunshine spread across Kylo. Instead of rocky and depleted soil under his boots, he looked down to see grass and flowers and insects crawling and frogs jumping in lakes and trees growing in front of his eyes.

He turned around, expecting to see Lumiya. But, instead, it was his father in the distance; instead of his wrinkles and greying-white hair, though, it was him as he remembered him in his childhood. 

Kylo took a step forward, but was pushed back, causing himself to fall back on the ground. As he tried to get up, he couldn’t. All he saw was a flash of his memories. Han and Leia sat on the grass. His mother was younger, now, her hair still brunette. His parents watched the twins in front of him. They were small toddlers.

“Look!” Ben shouted, showing his parents a bug he picked up. 

“Oh, that’s adorable!” Han exclaimed, ruffling his hair.

Kylo shut his eyes. What was happening to him? Trying to stand back up, all he did was fall and twist and turn into a deep and dark hole. Nothing helped him from the feeling. As he fell, all he could see were more memories. 

Luke engulfed Ben in his arms and swung him over his back. They were in a jungle of some sorts. As Luke picked up the pace and ran throughout the forest, Ben couldn’t stop giggling. He looked behind him and saw Jaina on her mother’s back, all happy and gleeful. 

Ben clung onto Luke’s blonde hair. 

“Ow,” he said with a slight smile. Letting go, the child clung onto his shoulders instead. “Alright…this is Red leader, checking in!” Luke switched to a more ‘serious’ voice, but still kept the same softness and playfulness in his speech. “Blue Leader, where should we go?”

The small child pointed in front of him to a tall mountain. “Up there!”

“Roger, Roger!” Luke yelled out, running up a hill. Luke, even, spread his hands out to imitate the wings of a ship. Ben copied his actions and lifted up his arms. 

“Together, we make an X-wing!” Ben shouted out. And, sure, it wasn’t an actual X-wing, but he used his imagination. 

“We do.”

With a loud thud, Kylo’s head slammed into the concrete floor. The memories faded away. All he saw was black—no light. No greenery. No rocks. Just a deep, black, and isolated void. But a beacon of light—a beacon of hope—came as he viewed a familiar silhouette walk up toward him. His fear calmed down. 

“Mm…” Kylo rubbed the knot in his head. “I’m glad your tracker worked.” The figure didn’t say anything. “Jaina?” he called out, coughing. Looking down at his hands, he still had her cape tightly wrapped around his palms. He unwrapped it. There wasn’t any more blood on his hands. Not even a scar—not even a scrape, like nothing ever happened. 

The figure finally stepped in front of Kylo. Gold robes draped on the floor. That wasn’t Jaina. “No…” He should’ve known better. Kylo backed away even more in the void, but he was trapped. Stuck, even. A wrinkled, uncanny, and pink hand reached out to him. 

“Your past haunts you, doesn’t it?” the former Supreme Leader said. “But you still hold on to it. Let go.” 

Kylo used all of the Force tricks in the book—push, pull, choke, but nothing was working. Repeatedly, Snoke threw his former apprentice around the room, taking all of the breath out of him. 

“You’ve proven yourself to be too weak to wallow in Vader’s footsteps,” he said. Slowly, Kylo’s body was raised from the ground. “You couldn’t just let go yourself, Kylo. I have to do everything myself, don’t I?”  A smile came out of Snoke’s lips. Kylo looked up above him, feeling the life suck out of him. 

Chapter Text

The Skywalker-Solo family made it to Exegol. It didn’t come without its challenges, of course; finding Kylo and bringing him back wasn’t going to be easy—they knew that. Lumiya stood by a fallen ship and looked up at the sky. Despite the Dark Lady of the Sith’s broken gear and injured limbs, somehow, she still had the urge to fight. 

Jaina looked down on her datapad as Leia landed the Falcon. The coordinates were getting closer and closer.

“I don’t see him,” she said, scanning the planet. All there was was rocks, eroded ships and old technology, and a cloudy sky. No sign of Ben. 

Leia looked, too, but couldn’t find him. They walked off the loading dock and saw Mara and Luke step out of their ship. Artoo tried to follow Luke.

“No, stay in the ship, please,” Mara said to the droid. R2 didn’t listen. Luke’s droid never listened to her. Threepio, sighting his old friend, wobbled off the ship.

“It is good to see you, Artoo!” Threepio said. R2 circled around Threepio, but found it hard with the bumpy rocks and dirt. The droid beeped around. C-3PO interpreted it. “Oh dear, that is not good!” Luke turned to the droids. “Master Luke,” Threepio said, “I am afraid to inform you that there is no signal to send transmissions on this planet.”

Luke took a deep breath. “That is okay, Threepio. We should be out of here soon.”

A sharp falling sensation bundled in Leia’s chest. Leia turned around, sensing a brief pull of the wind drape on the back of her neck. 

“Leia,” Luke whispered, “what’s wrong?”

Mara and Jaina peaked over their ships to get a view of Lumiya. Slowly, she was inching closer and closer to them, swinging her weapon back and forth. It made a harsh slapping sound, scaring her. Jaina had no clue at all how to fight that.

It was hard for Leia to accept that she could forgive her son. After all that he did to her and her family, it seemed that he never could be forgiven. To her, she thought there was too much Vader in him; and it took Leia years and years to forgive. That was another thing that set the Skywalker twins apart: Luke was more forgiving, more accepting, and more redeeming than Leia was. Luke saw glimpses of light in Vader. He saw Anakin Skywalker in the Sith lord, no matter how cruel or demeaning he was. Leia, on the other hand, had to learn to accept the mistakes her father made throughout his life.

She looked over at her brother, who now had a hand on her shoulder. It was almost as if she could hear the wise words of her brother in her mind as she focused on the falling sensation: “trust yourself, Leia. Use the Force; what is it telling you?” 

Leia took one deep breath and saw her son falling and falling into a deep hole. She felt the light inside of him—she felt a spark of hope. So, she thought of memories of her childhood, and used the Force to remind his son of the warmth and love he had. It wasn’t much, but she hoped it’d be enough to bring him back. A part of her wondered if he was really trying to escape, or if he was innocent in all of this. She wanted the latter to be true, but time would reveal the truth. The Force, however, didn’t run on time. It told her that her son was indeed trying to come back to the light. 

A loud beep caused her to lose connection with her son.

“It’s Ben…” Jaina said, looking down at her datapad. They had reached his exact coordinates. However, he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “I don’t understand. It says we’re here.” 

Luke looked over around him, and quickly saw Lumiya inch even closer. “We don’t have much time.”

Leia looked down on the ground. Wiggling her boots in the dirt, her foot didn’t go very far into the ground. The Sith were ‘smart’ in the sense of combat and Force, but they certainly were not smart about constructing this ‘hidden’ planet. Her foot reached some sort of concrete or thick stone. It wasn’t actual soil and dirt from the planet’s interior core. In other words, Ben was either directly above or below her; the latter was more plausible. 

“I know where he is.” 

Luke looked over his shoulder and felt Lumiya creep behind them. He used his saber to deflect the shot and back her away from her family. 

“Kriff,” Mara said. She got her blaster out and shot at Lumiya’s shoulder. It deflected from her lightwip. Sensing it, Jaina hit the shot back with her saber. Mara knelt upwards. “Jaina, stay here with your Uncle,” she said, crawling over to Leia. Her aunt swung out her saber and began to dig into the ground. 

“I don’t know how to fight against that thing! She’s going to kill me.” 

Mara looked at her former apprentice. “Have I ever put you in danger?”

Reluctantly, Jaina shook her head no; even when they went on risky missions together when Jaina was in training, her aunt always had her back—no matter what the occasion was. For that, she was always happy to go on missions with Mara in comparison to Luke, who was more cautious and protective.

“Exactly.” Mara looked back at Leia and continued to cut the ground with her saber.  “I need to make sure your mother is safe.”

“I’m perfectly capable of doing that.” 

“No time to argue.” 

Mara stood up and aimed her blaster at Lumiya again. She returned back to digging into the ground. Soon enough, the ground opened up, and Leia and Mara jumped in. The sounds of Luke’s saber and slashes from Lumiya’s whip crawled in Jaina’s ears. 

“Where’s Artoo? Or Threepio?” Finn asked. “If we can get a signal to one of them, they could help us .” Han was an acclaimed general and war hero. Although, he certainly was acting in a panic, now. Lando and Chewie flew off into the galaxy, with absolutely no coordinates or flight path or any idea of where the other Solo’s were. 

“BB-8, you can do that, right?” Poe asked his droid. The droid swirled around and beeped. “He’s working on it.” 

Finn crossed his arms. “Mara and Luke might still be on Coruscant.”

“Do you think so?”

BB-8 circled around Poe and Finn. The small droid’s head rested down. “Oh druk…” 

“What? What’s wrong? Did he find something?” Finn put his hand on Poe’s hand. 

Poe shook his head. “Worse. The droids are completely shut off from receiving transmissions.”

“Both of them?” Finn asked.

“Then that means they could be together. If C-3PO and R2 are both shut off, maybe that means Luke and Leia are together? What about Jaina’s droid, Sparky?” 

“She didn’t bring him.” Han crossed his arms and walked up and down the hall. “Sparky’s back on Coruscant.”

Finn put his head on Poe’s shoulder. “I’m out of ideas.”

Poe looked down at Finn, who did seem pretty defeated. “You don’t think that maybe—”

“Leia wants nothing to do with him anymore?” Finn whispered into Poe’s ears. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe we should rule it out…” Poe phrased that as a question. He kept a steady eye on Han pacing back and forth. “Jeez, the old man’s nervous system must be a wreck.”

“I know.” Finn picked his head up and crossed his arms. “But, I’m not going to be the one to address the bantha in the room.” 

Rolling his eyes, Poe stepped away. “Hey, Han…” The New Republic pilot cleared his throat. “Sit down. You need to take a deep breath. You’re going to have a heart attack, and I don’t know if this Lando guy would know what to do if that happened.”

Han stopped pacing back and forth on the ship. Annoyed, he sat down and rested his hand on his cheek. Even Han couldn’t understand why he was acting this way—he’d been forcefully separated from his wife and children on multiple occasions, but those times it was by an enemy—Thrawn, the empire, rebels trying to overthrow the Republic, and more. This time, he just didn’t know anything at all. 

“I don’t know how to say this, but I’m just going to, alright?” Poe looked up at the ceiling. “Is there a possibility that…I don’t know—maybe, just maybe…Leia is mad at you at something? Did you have an argument or a fight or—”

Han’s eyes darted at Poe. All he wanted to do was take out his blaster and turn it towards him. But that was irrational, and he knew that. 

“How could you say such a thing?!”

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger!”  

“My wife doesn’t just run off, okay?” He took a deep breath. “Jaina, sure. But Leia?” 

“Arghh, wawooo!” Chewie exclaimed from the cockpit.

Han stood up and ran over to his friend. “What?”

“Argh…” the Wookie exclaimed. 

Lando turned to face his friend. “Any luck back there with the droids?” 

Han shook his head and turned back to Chewie, trying to understand what he was saying. Quickly, he translated the speech in his mind. “You want to go back to Coruscant?” Chewie groaned in approval. 

Finn and Poe stood beside Han. “That…” Repeatedly, Poe snapped his fingers. Finn looked over at his partner, clearly angered by the gesture—he hated the sound. “Oh, right, sorry.” Poe cleared his throat. “That’s a good idea, Chewie. If we get a squad together within the New Republic—”

Han lightly hit Poe’s chest, signifying him to stop talking. “No. If the New Republic finds out Leia is missing it’d be a hot mess.”

“So you’re keeping this between us?” Finn asked him. 

“Yup.” 

Lando broke his silence. “We’re all out of ideas, Han. Do you want your wife or not?”

He did. He wanted his family back more than anything. Although, he had to think about everything around him and the chain reaction that would happen if news broke out about Leia’s disappearance: if her government had known she randomly went missing, they’d launch an investigation into Lando’s security, asking why the Chancellor wasn’t properly taken care of. Then, eventually, they’d launch an investigation on his corporation itself. Although Lando’s companies and corporations were well-respected in the galaxy, Han had certainly made some not-so-legal and backdoor deals to secure more support in the New Republic when it was first created. Weapons. Pilots. Ships. All classic deals between good old friends. And after that, they could look into Han, and then after that maybe his family and the Jedi—it was all too much.

It didn’t take a mind reader to figure out that Han was being delusional, dramatic, and anxious. None of that would happen, and Han knew that. He just wanted to find his family sooner rather than later.

Chewie began to ramble on about something. Han decoded his words. He asked if Jaina’s droid knew how to communicate with ships it had in its memory logs. “I’m not sure.” The wookie then asked if Sparky ran any test or did any comms on the Falcon. “Yeah, of course. Plenty of times.” Then, Chewie explained that if Sparky could somehow send a transmission to the Falcon or the droids even if the comms were off, then maybe, just maybe, they could get through to his family. Han, himself, didn’t even know if that was possible; but his daughter knew how to build the possible out of the impossible.

“Oh my stars, Chewie, you’re a genius! If this works, I’ll get you all of the cookies you want.” For the first time in a while, Han let out a soft smile. “Punch it,” he told the pilots. 

“Where…?” Lando asked. 

“Coruscant. Hurry.”

Back on Exegol…

Jaina let fear creep into her body. Which, of course, was the first rule a Jedi learned: don’t let fear consume you. She stood up from behind the ships and watched Luke battle Lumiya on the dark planet. 

Suddenly, Jaina felt the Force attack her body; it wasn’t a good feeling like it usually was. Nor was it an ecstatic feeling—the Force didn’t feel like a calming force of ocean waves, or light wind breezing through her skin, or a melodic tune from an orchestra, or even the feeling she felt when putting together a new device. Instead, the Force was harsh. It was a lightning bolt stabbing through her heart. It was a needle pricking her finger. It was a rush of blood grasping onto her cells and not letting go. Every bone in her body hurt. Ben was gone. She felt him fade away in the Force, just like Anakin did. Jaina turned towards the fallen ship beside her, then turned around to Lumiya. She did this. Now, the Sith lady was going to pay for what she did. Her purple blade ignited and she charged at the Sith lady. 

Chapter Text

Ben didn’t understand how Snoke was still alive. He stabbed his chest with his saber—Jaina sliced the man in half. He saw, with his own eyes, his master’s dead body on the floor of his throne room. “You really want to know?” Snoke saw every thought, image, and idea stirring in Ben’s brain. So the skilled dark side Force-user transferred the memory of that night to Ben’s mind. 

Snoke’s body split in half on the ground. A large gaping circle rested in his chest. But none of that mattered—it was his mind that overpowered his body. Despite his body being completely severed on the floor of the fiery throne room, his spirit still lingered. He watched as Jaina stepped over him and grabbed her commlink, getting in some sort of argument with her brother. None of that mattered. For the most part, he stopped caring about the siblings bickering about the war. While they were distracted, he used the Force to regenerate the wound in his chest from Kylo. It was the same trick his old master taught him. Snoke thought back to his own childhood, trying to remember how to repair the wound. 

“Spin the tissue,” Plagueis said. The young man was always afraid of his master’s dark eyes, gaping face, and harsh tone. Snoke couldn’t understand his vague directions. Instead, he held his hand on the wide saber wound in his shoulder, trying to keep the blood in. “No, no!” his master yelled. “Take your hand off it.”

“It hurts,” Snoke snapped back. “I don’t understand what you're saying.” 

“Do as I say. You don’t need to understand! Just do it.”

Snoke let go of his shoulder and focused on the feeling with the Force. Using his mind, he thought about all of the muscle tissue and tried to wrap it all together. It took a lot out of him. As the wound slowly but tightly closed up, he was out of breath and dizzy. He did it. Expecting a happy response from Plagueis, all he did was look down at his apprentice, and walk out of the room, leaving him in the isolated room on Exegol.

“Where are you going?” he asked, following him. 

“What did we talk about…all of these questions. I am the master. You are the student.”

With that, Plagueis left the building, leaving Snoke all alone.

A spark of fire ignited in him that day. He wanted to end Plagueis, once and for all. But he needed his strength and knowledge. So, when news spread that Sidious killed him, a part of Snoke was joyful. 

Spin the tissue. As he focused on the hole in his body, the muscle tissue, cells, and skin all started to tighten back up. Soon, Snoke focused on Kylo, who had just finished choking Hux to death. Thank goodness—Snoke never liked that general, but he kept him around because he was too loyal and efficient. As Kylo and the stormtroopers rushed out of the room, Snoke regenerated his body and limbs. Standing back up on the ground, he used his emergency escape pod to exit out of the falling ship. 

To Ben, everything started to make some sense. At the same time, though, if Plagueis could cheat death, what if he was still roaming around the galaxy somewhere? What if Sidious didn’t actually kill him?

“Stop it with the questions,” Snoke growled. Snoke’s hold on his mind was too strong. All of his Force powers were shut off. He was in no way capable of resisting. No ability to rebel. Just acceptance—acceptance that Snoke was doing something to him that he couldn’t even comprehend. 

As he tried to take a breath, he couldn’t. His body wouldn’t move at all. Snoke softened his grip on his mind, allowing his apprentice to take a deep breath.

“Let go…” he yelled.

All Snoke did was laugh. He held him higher and higher, choking and reaching deeper and deeper into his mind, taking and taking so much out of him.  

But he felt a new hope entering the room—his mother and aunt. With one hand, Snoke reached into Ben’s mind, thinking and feeling about everything he had grown severely attached to—the light, nature, his parents, his family, his legacy; all of it he tried to take and erase it completely. It was a real struggle, though, as the Jedi Mara Jade attacked him, and Leia shot off blaster shots towards Snoke’s limbs. Snoke's plan was getting ruined. Instead of erasing all of Ben’s memories, he, instead, thought of something more useful. 

He used Force lightning to shoot at the two women with his other hand. Ben tried to resist Snoke’s mind tricks, screaming and yelling in defiance. He couldn’t think anymore. Everything was just darkness. He could barely see—as if he was going blind. 

“Mom!” Ben screamed out. He felt like a zombie trapped in a hivemind. “Help!” he screamed, before falling completely on the ground, unable to think or see or breathe or feel. In that moment, it felt like Snoke had completely entered his body and mind, controlling him as if he were nothing but a clone. 

The room now had light from Mara’s saber. Snoke turned around to face the Princess and Jedi Master. Mara stood in front of Leia with her saber, deflecting the lightning back at Snoke. But it did nothing. 

“Chancellor and Princess Leia Organa Skywalker Solo. Is that the right order?” He chuckled. “Such a mouthful.” Immediately, Leia aimed the blaster at him and shot it off. It hit his shoulder. Nothing happened to him. No reaction. Leia looked down at her son who looked lifeless on the floor; his eyes were rolled back and head slumped against the wall. Snoke got a kick out of her confusion. “Ah…the mighty and wonderful Mara Jade Skywalker. Such a shame what happened to you.”

Mara squinted over at him and tightly held her saber. “Don’t.”

“You were such a charm, back in the day. Emperor of the Hand, skilled assassin. And now look at you. A real fall from grace.”

Leia shot off a few shots from her blaster at Snoke’s head. He deflected them and it shot into the wall. All they needed to do was get Ben and leave this planet. Mara ran over to Snoke, trying to get an upper hand on him. With a swipe of his hand he sent Mara across the room; she got up as if it was nothing, and attacked his exposed body. Leia took the opportunity to blast his shoulder, which had some sort of impact on him. Snoke pulled a lightsaber from his robe pocket. It was Kylo’s. 

It would be an understatement to say that Leia was quite perplexed on how he got that. It was locked up on Coruscant. Surely it was a decoy.

Snoke shot Force lightning at the women to distract them for a bit, and extended his other hand to the fallen Kylo. Slowly, Kylo sat up from his trance. The brown of his pupils were entirely gone; instead, his eyes were completely rolled back into his skull—he looked completely possessed and zombified. Snoke threw the saber at Kylo, who caught it with the Force, activated it with a short flick of his wrist, and swung it around. Mara attacked her nephew and blocked his shots.

There wasn’t much space to have an actual fight in the room. Recognizing this, then, Snoke used the Force to unlock the hidden doors in the underground layer of the planet. It revealed a long stone hallway with ancient Sith artifacts and books. Leia didn’t have a chance to fight against Snoke or her zombified son, not without a lightsaber or a better weapon. She needed to get on the defensive side of this fight. She took the chance to hide around the bookshelves and climb up on top of them, aiming her blaster at Kylo. 

Mara Jade walked backwards as Kylo, aggressively, hit her and slammed all of his weight with each hit. Meanwhile, Snoke stood at the front of the room, using the Force to control and strengthen Kylo’s hits. 

“You don’t have to do this. I know it’s rough, I know—trust me, Ben.” 

He didn’t speak. It was as if she was watching some awful zombie lunge towards her. Mara, with her back facing the wall, struck him and sent him off balance. Quickly, Kylo circled around her. Instead of waiting for his hit, she pushed him into the bookcase, causing some of the books to fall on top of him. She didn’t know how to undo this odd spell he was in. 

Leia aimed her blaster at Snoke. He was the head of the dragon of this whole ordeal. And she didn’t quite understand who he was or how he was alive—she thought Jaina killed him. That was what she told her; and maybe Jaina was lying or maybe it was all a truce by Kylo and Snoke all along. Whatever the reason was—she didn’t care. She shot him in his shoulder once again. Injured, but still, able to put up a fight, he extended his hand out to Leia. She shot him again. This time, he stopped the shot mid air, and threw it back at the Chancellor, causing her to have a small wound in her shoulder. All of the adrenaline from the fight caused the pain to briefly stop. 

“Mara!” Leia yelled. Mara looked up and threw her blaster. Catching it with the Force, she jumped off the bookshelf. Snoke didn’t have any combat skills, Leia thought. If she was going to win this, she had to play by the rules of his own game. 

Luke used the Force to send Lumiya flying into the rocks behind her. Jaina and Luke combined their powers to throw all of the rocks toward Lumiya’s direction. 

“Surely that got her…” Jaina squinted. Lumiya struggled to stand up, but nevertheless, she still tried to get up. 

“Give it a minute.” Luke took a deep breath. “We need to be smart about this,” Luke said. He had fought Lumiya on multiple occasions—too many times to count, of course. 

“I know,” Jaina said. “That lightwip is…something else, to say the least.” 

“Tell me about it. If we corner her, it shouldn’t be too hard.” 

“Are you sure we shouldn’t call for backup? There has to be someone out here in the outer rim that could help.”

Luke shook his head. “Transmissions can’t be sent here.”

“I could whip something up.”

“I know you can, but I need your help.” Jaina nodded her head. They turned to Lumiya to see her pull herself from under the rocks. “Alright, let’s end this fight.” 

Jaina nodded her head and moved to move behind Lumiya, while Luke fought in front of her. One lightwip fought against Luke’s saber, while Jaina blocked her shots from the other. Lucky for her, Jaina had a slight upperhand since the Sith Lady couldn’t pay much attention to what was going on from behind her. Because of that, Jaina was able to scrape some of her armor off. Lumiya made the mistake of turning around completely. Now, her back was to Luke. 

“For kriff’s sake!” Lumiya screamed, lunging at her with her lightwhip.  

Jaina gripped onto her saber and hit her lightwipe. It retracted immediately, almost hitting her leg. She backed away and watched Luke approach her. Jaina turned back around to stand side by side with her Uncle. A nearby cliff was by. Quickly, Luke lunged to attack her and caught her off guard. She stumbled on a rock and fell, losing grip of her lightwip. Just like that, she was defenseless.

Han rushed into his penthouse to find Sparky roaming around the house, an old R2-unit she crafted when she was a young girl. The droid was cleaning up dust around the floor. 

“Wait…” Poe said. BB-8 rolled behind Poe, but peeked its head out to look at the odd droid. “Is that…is her droid cleaning…?” 

“Arghh!” Chewie exclaimed with a laugh. 

“Does that mean yes?” Finn asked, looking at Han Solo.

“Mhm.”

“How is that possible?”  

Han shrugged his shoulders. “The kids programmed it so they didn’t have to do chores.”

“Smart…so it’s an astromech droid and it can clean. What else can it do, wield a lightsaber?” 

Poe kneeled down to look at Sparky. BB-8 followed him and rolled to Sparky. 

“Waweee!” Sparky exclaimed. BB-8 circled around and playfully bumped the other droid. Han motioned over to Sparky. It was clear that the little droid was happy to see him. 

“Aw, look. A new friend. He needs that,” Han crossed his arms. Lando was already back on the ship, fiddling with the comms and controls to see if any signal can be sent to the Falcon. “Let’s get going.” 

As Han walked out of the house, both Sparky and BB-8 followed behind him. Back on Lando’s ship, Han fiddled with the droid and connected it to the control system on board. Poe and Chewie worked on connecting some wires to see if they could, somehow, get a better connection.

“Alright…” Han said, crossing his arms. Sparky started to blink and beep around. “Come on, buddy, come on!”

Anxiously, Han tapped his foot on the ground, hoping the droid would help them. 

Threepio and Artoo stood side by side at the edge of the Falcon’s loading dock. Jaina and Luke were fighting off Lumiya, and who knew where Leia and Mara went off to.

“Oh dear!” Threepio shouted. “I cannot watch this…I am getting on the ship.” Artoo’s beeping noises almost sounded flat, as if it was some musical instrument. “What was that?” he asked the R2 droid. R2-D2 repeated himself. “No, no. We’re not going to help Master Skywalker! We’d get crushed. Let’s go!” 

Despite his wishes, Artoo walked on board with Threepio. The two droids stepped inside of the cockpit, watching the fight take place. It started to rain heavily. Suddenly, R2 happily screamed.

“What’s wrong?” 

Artoo projected a hologram of Han and Chewie.

“Where are you? Are you alright?” Han asked. 

Threepio walked in front of R2. “Master Solo! We are on the planet Exegol, an unmarked planet in the unknown regions. It is not marked on any maps, though—”

“Oh, Chewie!” Han screamed. “You’re a genius. Threepio, send me those coordinates. We’re getting there as fast as possible.”

With that, the transmission went out. 

“Odd…” Threepio said. “How did you get that message?” R2 beeped. “Ah, Sparky. A clever one, isn’t he?” 

“I’m sorry,” Luke said, looking at his longtime enemy.

“You won’t win this. We’re playing the long game,” Lumiya said, gripping her multiple injuries on her body. Lumiya stood back up and backed away from the two Jedi. They stepped closer. She was outnumbered. 

Jaina tried to feel her brother through the Force again. Gone. Nothing. Just pain. 

“You took him from us,” Jaina said, her breaths now audible. 

Lumiya smiled at her. “He was vulnerable and weak…he had potential with the dark side.” 

Jaina lifted her saber and thought more about the lady that stood in front of her. Ben was doing fine on Anoth. Good, even. It was their birthday, soon, and she was going to be able to finally spend time with him. She was going to make memories with her brother again, just like when they were kids. And she took that away from her. She took that away from her entire family. Rain drenched her hair and face. With one swing of her arms, she groaned and swiped her saber, cutting the Sith Lady’s head. Kriff, she thought. She didn’t mean to do that, it just happened.

Luke stood in between Lumiya’s decapitated body and his niece, clearly in shock. Jaina wiped her face. “I’m going to find Ben,” she said, walking back to the spot where her mother and Aunt ran off to.

Leia hid behind a bookshelf. Snoke’s mind tricks were smart, but there was no doubt that he did so out of fear. To some extent, Leia doubted herself and her Force abilities. She needed to push that thought out of her mind. 

“Your son is trying to be your biggest enemy!” Snoke yelled. His voice got closer. She held onto her blaster. His deep voice echoed through the room. “I know what you’re thinking.” He didn’t, she thought. He was getting in her head. She couldn’t be frightened or startled by it. “You look at him and you see your father. Darkness; fear; pure evil.”

“Stop!” Leia yelled. She revealed herself and shot him multiple times—one in the chest, one in the shoulder. Perfect. 

Kylo looked over in front of him, seeing a secluded room. Snoke’s voice entered his mind. It was the only voice he heard; no one else. Trap her in there. Kylo did as his master said, fighting and flicking his saber to block her aggressive hits. She was a skilled fighter—almost too skilled. It was getting harder and harder to fight her without taking the defensive side, backing away from her. Trap her in there, now! 

Quickly, Kylo used the Force to open up a door at the end of the hall. It was a small and well-lit greenhouse that housed tiny organisms, poisoned plants, and dust-like particles. Kylo pushed his Aunt into the room and used the Force to choke her, hoping it would hold her off. But she swung her saber over at him, swiping off a piece of his clothing. He groaned in pain and started to cough from the living organisms in the room. 

“Spores…” Mara said, her eyes widening. The grip on her saber loosened, and it was pulled out of the room by something or someone. Backing away, Kylo rushed out of the room and shut the door. He heard Mara bang on the door, coughing and struggling to breathe. He dragged the bookshelf over to barricade the door. Just like that, she was gone. 

Turning around, she saw Snoke holding the saber with a large smile. Kill her! Kylo aimed his saber at her mother, who was now in front of her. He aimed it at her chest, trying to strike it through her. But Leia wouldn't have the same fate as her son. She used the Force to pull Mara's saber from Snoke's hold, and blocked his son's saber. A lie would be to say that Leia was better at lightsaber combat. But she could try. Her son ran over to her with his bright red blade, hitting his mother. 

As Luke and Jaina walked over to the hole in the ground, a ship soared into the sky. They held their sabers in front of them and looked up at it landing. 

“Finn…” Luke said, taking his guard down. 

“Wait, that’s Lando’s ship.” 

As soon as the ship landed, Lando, Han, Poe, and Finn ran out of the ship. Han ran over to his daughter, engulfing her in a hug.

“Don’t kriffing do that again, do you hear me?” he said, his voice soft. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Is your mother alright?” he asked, backing away from the hug and holding her shoulders.

“I don’t know.” Jaina pointed to the hole. “She’s down there with Aunt Mara.”

Han was the first to jump into the hole, then Luke, and then the rest of the crew.

“Where are they?” Jaina said, using her lightsaber as a light source. Luke stood in front of her and tried to find another entrance. Putting his hand on the dark wall, they heard lightsaber clashes and Snoke’s distinct, cold voice. Finn’s blood rushed to his head. 

“How…?” Jaina shook her head. “I killed Snoke.”

Luke looked over at her and used the Force to open the door. In a sudden attack, she cut Snoke’s head, arms, and legs off, and stabbed his back, trying to aim for his heart. She turned over to her mother who was in a duel with her brother. However, as soon as Snoke fell to the ground, Kylo dropped his saber.

Leia deactivated her saber and watched as Kylo’s eyes fell back to normal, and his face relaxed.

“Mom…” Ben said, crying. He held his head down and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly, her son fell to the ground, unconscious. 

“Ben!” Leia cried out. “It’s okay,” Leia cried out. “I got you.” She deactivated both sabers and kneeled to the ground, holding her unconscious son. She felt a familiar touch on her shoulder. It was Han and Jaina. She looked up at him in tears. At that moment, all she thought about was how Luke must have felt holding their dying father in his arms.

Han and his crew ran into the room, all holding their blasters as a weapon. “Sweetheart…” Han said, comforting Leia. It looked like a warzone—a warzone in a library. She felt a familiar touch on her shoulder. It was Han. She looked up at him in tears. At that moment, all she thought about was how Luke must have felt holding their dying father in his arms. Jaina joined them, trying to wake her brother up. 

Frantically, Luke looked around the room. “Mara…?” Tears stuck in his eyes and he felt as if a large rock was stuck in his throat. His heart pumped at a thousand beats per minute. “Mara?” His voice echoed through the hall. Slowly, he walked past Ben laying in his sister’s arms. Han engulfed her in a hug, also in tears. 

“Mara?” He shouted again. He looked through every aisle, every pile of books, every corner in the room. He got to the end of the hall, a bookcase blocking a door. So, he moved it with the Force and opened the locked door. 

A part of him wishes he didn’t, as he hoped that Mara was just playing a prank on him, that she would show up behind him and try to scare him. His heart shattered in a million pieces as she saw Mara laying on the ground, her body cold, and limp.

“Mara…” he said, bending down to her. Gently, Luke picked his wife up, holding her close to his body. He moved his hand to feel her pulse on her neck and wrist. It was there, but it was slow. The war ended; the pain was supposed to end.

Chapter Text

“A medic…” Luke mumbled to himself as he ran into the Falcon . “We need to find the nearest medic.” The crew all split up into different ships; Poe and Finn piloted Luke’s ship, Lando was on his own, and the Skywalker and Solo’s were all in the Falcon. 

Leia, holding her own blasterwound, rushed over to her brother. “Our best bet is travelling back to Coruscant,” she softly said, trying not to panic too much. If she panicked, Luke would panic. Then Jaina. Then Han. She couldn’t have that happening—not right now. So as much as she wanted to let her grief and confusion overcome her, she couldn’t. 

“I don’t know if she can…” Luke couldn’t finish the sentence. Luke put down a limp and cold Mara on a bed in the medic section of the Falcon. It wasn’t much at all, of course, but it was something. He put his hand on her forehead. “She’s burning.”

Leia shut her eyes and looked over at her daughter, who was watching over Ben. The mediscan unit was almost done scanning him. 

“How are you?” her daughter asked, looking at her shoulder. 

Leia put pressure on her wound with a cloth. “Fine. It’s like it’s barely there.” She lied and looked down at her son. 

“What’s going to happen to them?” Jaina looked over at Leia. That was something the Chancellor didn’t even start to think about. The rest of the New Republic and the Imperial Empire must have gotten alerted that he wasn’t in exile anymore. In that case, the solution might be finding another planet for him to stay on, or holding him in a cell back on Coruscant—it was hard to tell. 

As for Mara—Leia had no clue. Luke kneeled down beside her, clearly in distress. She had never seen him so upset and worked up. 

“They’ll wake up.” Leia looked back at the mediscan device. 

A light chill shuttered over Jaina’s body. Not sure if it was from the ship or her nerves, she shook it off. Jaina picked the device up and tried to decipher the results of the test. 

“Damaged optical nerves and a small cold,” Jaina read out. She took a deep breath of relief.

“How are they?” Han walked in and leaned against the door. His face was inflamed, red, and puffy. 

Leia turned to her husband. “Ben should be fine.” Jaina handed over the mediscan device so he could run it on Mara.

“Good news. We’ve been cleared to make a landing to Hapes. We should be able to get some medical assistance there.”

Overhearing the conversation, Jaina stood beside her dad. “Does Tenel Ka know?”

“Of course.”

It was hard to tell if that was a good or bad thing. “Wait…” she said, glancing over at Ben. “How much does she know…? Did you tell her Ben’s injured?”

“Nope.” Han crossed his arms. Jaina went over to check on her brother. Softly, Han kissed Leia’s head. “Are you alright?” He took over caring for her wound. 

“I can manage—”

“Shh, you need to rest.” 

He sat her down and got a new, clean cloth. Leia took a deep breath and rested her head on the wall. However, she still kept a strong eye on her brother, worried about him. He wasn’t the one to directly discuss his feelings with her when he was feeling distressed and frazzled. 

Standing up, the Jedi Master approached Han and Leia. “It can’t detect the exact medical condition…” he said. “It just says that she has some sort of fungal or virus infection from the amount of spores she inhaled.”

“Oh, Luke…” Leia shot up and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close. Finally, Luke shut his eyes, a few tears falling from his eyes. Han joined the embrace, trying to comfort his old friend. 

Jaina walked over to Mara, holding her hand and looking at the medical devices. She didn’t know much about health and medicine, but she was determined to help her Aunt and brother. Somehow, she felt that this was all her fault. If she didn’t stall fighting Lumiya, maybe she and Luke could’ve gotten to Leia and Mara quicker. 

None of this was fair. She hated that word, she really did, but Jaina couldn’t comprehend why her life had been a living hell for the last couple of years. It was like a curse was implanted on their bloodline. If that wasn’t bad enough, Snoke just wouldn’t die. 

“What’s—ouch.” Ben held his eye and head. It felt like the whole ship was folding in on itself and crushing. 

“Hey, hey, be careful.” Jaina rushed over to her brother. “Don’t sit up yet.”

He ignored her and swung his legs over the bed. “What…?” The room was too bright. As he tried to open his eyes, he could only get one open. He saw his parents and Uncle Luke to the side of the room. Shifting his head forward, he saw Mara laying down and Jaina in front of him. This was a dream. Why wasn’t he back on Anoth?

Han and Leia walked over to their son. Ben looked around the room, still confused about his whereabouts. He got a look at the window. They were on the Falcon. 

“Why am I on your ship?” Ben asked, looking up at his father. His eyes and head felt like they were going to explode at any given moment. “What happened?” 

Jaina sat beside him. “You don’t remember?” Nervously, he shook his head no. “Oh.”

Leia took a deep breath. “What do you remember? Let’s start there.”

“Uhm…everything up until Exegol…with Snoke. Then he just—I don’t know. He just drained me of everything; everything just went blank.”

Han and Leia looked at each other, both not knowing if they should believe him. Jaina patted his shoulder. 

“I thought he died.”

“I…I thought so too,” Ben said. 

Han rubbed his head. “People come back to life, now?” 

“He said he learned it from his Master.”

Luke turned around and looked at his nephew. “What? Who?”

“Snoke.”

“I know that,” he said. He stood beside Han. “Who was Snoke’s Master?” 

“Darth Plagueis. His apprentice killed him.”

“So, Snoke killed him?” Luke put his hand on his chin. 

“No. Sidious.”

Luke, Leia, and Han all exchanged a nervous look. 

Ben laid back in his bed, embarrassed to be in the company of his entire family. It was odd—he enjoyed the isolation on Anoth. He had time to himself—time to think for himself without judgement. 

Jaina sat on the floor beside Ben’s bed. Turning over, Ben looked over at his sister. 

“Hi.”

“Hey,” she said, leaning her head on the wall.

“What’s wrong with Mara?” He peaked over to only see Mara’s eyes closed and Luke sitting on the edge of the bed, holding her hand. 

“Mom said you trapped her in some greenhouse…it had poisonous plants and spores and stuff—I don’t know.”

Ben closed his eyes and tried to remember. But nothing was coming back to his mind. “Why would I do that?” Ben asked, horrified at his actions. 

Jaina shrugged her shoulders. 

“Were you there?”

She shook her head. “I was with Luke fighting Lumiya.”

“Is she dead?” Jaina nodded her head. Ben shut his eyes, fighting his tiredness. 

“You seem tired,” she softly said. “Go to sleep.” Tears clogged in her eyes. 

“I’m sorry.” He sat up and opened his eyes, rubbing his face with his hand.  

“For…?” 

“I don’t know. I just—I don’t know. I feel bad.”

“It’s…” She didn’t want to finish that sentence; it wasn’t fine. “Just get some rest, alright?”

Of course, he was being stubborn. “Where are we going?”

“Hapes.”

Ben groaned into his pillow. That was the last place he wanted to go. There was no way he would be welcome on that planet. All he thought about was Tenel Ka. 

“It’ll be alright,” she said. “Get some rest.”

He turned over in bed and shut his eyes. 

Chapter Text

Once the ship landed on Hapes, they settled Mara and Ben into the care of medical droids. 

Tenel Ka Djo was, of course, confused. After Jaina caught her up to all that had happened, she was still in shock. They stood by a glass window, watching tests be run on Ben. Jaina leaned against the wall, her arms crossed, keeping an eye on her brother and the hall. But familiar footsteps creep into the hall. 

Turning her head, the tall man stood right next to Jaina, but stayed silent.

“Zekk,” Tenel said, turning around. “You got the message.”

Jaina shared an annoyed look at her, but didn’t allow herself to get too upset at the whole ordeal. After all, Tenel didn’t know much about Zekk and Jaina’s former and rather short relationship. 

“Yeah…” He looked over at Ben through the glass. “What happened?”

“It’s a long story,” Jaina said. She uncrossed her arms.

Zekk shrugged his shoulders. “I have time.” Sighing, Jaina recalled the story to him. After hearing the story, Zekk nodded his head. “Sheesh. That’s a lot.”

Tenel turned to the two. “Zekk, just make sure news doesn’t get around about Ben’s arrival. Can you do that?”

“Mhm.” Zekk stepped away from the two women. “It was nice seeing you,” he said to Jaina. 

“Yeah,” she said, looking at him and then turning her gaze back on the ground. 

Nervously, Tenel smiled. “Thanks, Zekk.” With that, Zekk left the room. “Talk about being awkward.” Tenel stood beside her friend. 

Jaina rolled her eyes. “I haven’t seen him in a while.”

Tenel put her hand on her shoulder and then walked over to the glass. Ben was awake and conscious, and finally looked up at his former lover and best friend. It was hard, knowing everything they had been through, and now looking at him knowing what he did to his family and friends. She put her head on the glass, thinking about happier and ‘simpler’ memories back at the Jedi academy. They were all such good friends—Ben, Jaina, Zekk, and of course the kind-hearted Lowbacca. And it hurt more realizing that that dynamic would never happen again. 

Slowly, Mara Jade started to wake up. Her husband stood right beside her, having a tight grip on her hand. He lightly smiled at her. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine…” A sharp pain struck in her lungs. 

“You sure?” Luke combed through her hair. It was a mixture of light-red and grey strands. Even though she nodded her head and gave him a smile, Luke wasn’t a fool; he knew how she actually felt. 

“Where is everyone?”

“Leia’s getting her wound fixed up—Han’s with her.”

“Huh?” Mara slid up in the bed, letting out a small cough. “Is she alright? What happened?”

“Just a blaster hit her shoulder. She’ll be alright—just like you will be.” He interlocked her hand in hers and brought it up to his lips. “I promise.” He put her other hand on her forehead and neck. “You’re cooling down.”

Little did he know, though, that Mara was using the Force to tame down the effects of her illness. 

“Is Lumiya and Snoke gone?” Mara let out a deep breath. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. 

Luke nodded his head. “Lumiya, yes. But I don’t know about Snoke. I saw Jaina kill him but—I don’t know. Ben said he knows how to cheat death.”

“He’s immortal?”

“No one’s really immortal. There has to be a way to get rid of him. I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.”

Mara laid back down and started to shut her eyes. Luke bent down to kiss her cheek before sitting down in the chair beside the bed. Once he saw her completely shut her eyes, he felt his sadness rise back up in his heart. Warm tears flew down his face. She’ll be alright, he kept telling himself. 

Anakin Skywalker’s Force ghost stood beside him, putting a comforting hand on his son’s shoulder. Luke looked up at his father, and finally let himself feel his sadness and grief. 

“I’m going to check on my mom,” Jaina said, taking a deep breath.

“Okay.” 

Tenel turned to her friend and saw her walk out. Taking a deep breath, Tenel walked into the room Ben was in. She was angry at him, there was no doubt about that, but she couldn’t show it. He was in pain, too—perhaps the same amount she was in. 

“Tenel…” Ben said, looking at her. The medic droids walked out of the room. He seemed to be fine. 

“How are you?” She let out a teary smile. She was mad at him, of course, but she missed him. She missed who he was. 

“Good…” Softly, he smiled before looking over at the ceiling. 

The queen mother of Hapes stood by the door, afraid to take a step closer. But she wanted to. “How is your eye?” 

“It’s…it’s better.” 

Ben tilted his head over to her. She looked exactly how she did the last time he saw her before his turn to the dark side. If only he talked to her—had one last conversation before he fell. If only she stayed in the order—she always listened to him, no matter how absurd the joke or question was. 

“I saw Zekk and Jaina out there.” 

“Mhm. Zekk is just going to make sure that no one knows you’re here.”

“Oh.” He wiped his eyes and stretched his arms. 

“Jaina went to check on the Chancellor.”

Ben massaged the back of his neck. “That’s right…”

“I should get back to the palace; I just wanted to check on you.”

“Thanks. I—I appreciate it.”

Tenel nodded her head. “I’ll see you around…hopefully on a better occasion?” She put her hand on the knob, but still faced him. 

“What do you mean?” He shrugged his shoulders. “This is the perfect occasion. A reunion in a hospital—it can’t get better than that.” A warm smile and slight laugh crossed her lips. Ben’s heart warmed up. “You found it funny?”

“Not at all.” Tenel laughed even more, but shook her head. Ben laughed at her; he couldn’t contain his happiness. “Bye, Ben.”

“Bye,” he softly said, watching her walk out of the room. 

Chapter Text

The biggest surprise about Ben’s turn wasn’t that he turned to the dark side. That, of course, was shocking, but not as shocking as who he was trying to be. When the twins eventually found out that their grandfather was no other than Darth Vader—Ben and Jaina were terrified to say the least.

Ben, Jaina, and Anakin dragged their blankets across the floor in the hall. The twins were around eleven, and Anakin was only nine. 

“Do you think they’re sleeping?” Ben asked Jaina, holding on to Anakin’s hand. 

“I dunno,” Jaina said.

Their family just sat them down and told them stories about the war. At the end, they revealed that Vader was their grandfather. The kids had mixed reactions. 

 For Anakin, he couldn’t understand why his parents named him after a ruthless, intimidating, and evil man; someone who he somewhat resented, despite not knowing much about him. However, his mother assured him that he named him Anakin and not Vader. “There’s a difference,” she said, her voice calm and soothing. That was enough for Anakin Solo to understand, and just like that, he wanted to be just like his grandfather—a great pilot and an even greater Jedi. 

For Ben, he didn’t know what to think or what to believe. Vader frightened him—he had nightmares about the fallen Sith lord, and on multiple occasions, he thought that his ghost was haunting him when they went into hiding on Anoth; but it was all in his head, and he tried to tell himself that. On the flip side, there were occasions where he was fascinated by his grandfather, and thought it was ‘cool’ that he descended from such a powerful man. He kept those sick and twisted obsessions to himself, though—up until he turned to the dark side. 

As for Jaina, she was the bravest out of the two, and seemed to understand the most about Anakin Skywalker’s redemption back to the light. The young girl knocked on her parents’ bedroom door, hoping they’d wake up. Even though two out of three of the children took the news in a positive light, they still found themselves too scared to sleep alone.

 In all honesty, the kids weren’t even sure if their parents were still home; they often ran off in the middle of the night to handle some last minute tasks with the government, or a new threat arrived and they had to get up and leave. The children hated it when that happened, because it meant they had to stay under Threepio’s care. Sometimes, on lucky occasions, Uncle Luke would stay with them. 

“I think they’re asleep,” Jaina said after getting no response. 

Ben stood right beside her and twisted the door open. No sign of their parents. Their bed was perfectly made. The children all turned the light on for confirmation. 

“They left…” Anakin said with a frown. 

Jaina turned to her little brother. “I’m sure they’ll be back tomorrow. We should go to sleep. They’ll be back sooner.”

The children heard footsteps coming from the stairs. The twins' hearts stopped as they froze in the middle of the room.

“Is it another intruder?” Ben thought, communicating with her sister via the Force. Jaina held Anakin close behind her. 

“I’m not sure.”

As they hid beside their parents bed and flicked the light off, they were in complete confusion of who could be in the house. The kids didn’t have much Jedi training under their belt, and certainly didn’t know how to properly wield a lightsaber (however, that didn’t stop the twins—they always snuck around and swung Luke and Leia’s saber around when they weren’t looking). 

“What if it’s Vader?” Ben asked, his heart racing.

“It’s not!” Jaina shook her twin, trying to get him to come back to his senses. “He’s dead.”

Ben shrugged his shoulders. “Force ghosts are a thing—”

“Then that’s Anakin’s force ghost,” Anakin said, “not Vader. Mom explained this.”

“Kids?” a deep voice said. It was no other than Uncle Luke. 

“Uncle Luke!” Jaina shot up from her hiding spot to hug him. He hugged her back. The brothers walked out too, hugging him close. “It’s good to see you.” 

Luke flipped on the light switch. Mara Jade stood by the door frame and smiled at the kids. She had just married their Uncle a few months ago, and it was clear that the children were still trying to get used to her being their Aunt. They’d known her for a while, but there was no doubt that the kids were shy. Jaina was the exception; she loved Mara right from the beginning. She was beautiful, smart, and strong; Jaina wanted to be just like her when she grew up. 

“Mara!” Jaina ran over to her and gave her a hug. 

“Hi, sweetie!” 

Luke smiled at the interaction and looked back at the boys. “Boys, say hi to your Aunt.”

“I don’t bite.” Mara stepped away from Jaina and kneeled down to their level. “You’ve grown quite a bit since I last saw you, Ani,” she said, ruffling his hair. 

“I know!” Anakin brightly smiled. Some of his teeth were growing in. “Dad said maybe I’ll be as tall as him one day!”

“That’s wonderful. Just don’t grow up to be him.” She laughed. “Hi, Ben.”

He waved to her and then looked down at the ground, sad to see that his parents weren’t there at all. He knew that they didn’t abandon him, and that something needed to be handled, but nevertheless, he felt like he was being abandoned. And at that point, that was all that mattered to him. Ben wanted order; order in his family. To wake up, see his parents, eat meals with them, and repeat the same process the next day. That was one trait, among others, that he felt like his grandfather embodied—discipline and order. 

Instead of greeting Mara, he looked up at his Uncle. “Where’s mom and dad?”

“They had to take care of something, don’t worry about it.”

That was always the excuse. 

“Well, since you all are up,” said Mara with a smile, “I made cookies. They’re downstairs if you want a snack.”

“Yay!” 

Anakin, Jaina, and Mara all walked downstairs. Ben watched as his siblings ran down the steps, giggling and talking. Tears clogged his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked with a slight frown. “You love cookies.”

“Nothing. I’m just tired.”

“Oh.” Luke stepped out of the room. Ben followed and headed over to his own room. “I’ll tell Aunt Mara to save some for you.”

“I don’t want it,” Ben said. 

“Ben…really, what’s wrong?”

As he entered the doorway of his room, Luke followed.

“Nothing!”

“Something is clearly troubling you. You’re crying—”

“Just leave me alone!” he yelled, using the Force to shut and lock his door.

Ben felt guilty for getting mad at his Uncle, but he couldn’t take his pestering anymore.

Things were changing too fast. For starters, Mara was now officially a part of their family. He just didn’t understand her at all. She was one of the empire’s best assassins and trained under her grandfather, and—somehow—went back to the light. That was what was confusing Ben the most; how could someone so far gone in the dark side just choose to come back? Wasn’t there still a part of them that craved what the dark side gave them? His Uncle always told him that anyone can be redeemed and saved. He said do not give up on people, no matter who they are. But Ben was skeptical—could anyone really be redeemed? A part of his curiosity stemmed from himself, of course. Everything he found out about Darth Vader only complicated everything. He didn’t know how to feel. He was terrified of him but also oddly fascinated; and for that, if his family ever found out how interested he was in Vader, they would’ve been so upset at him. Ben couldn’t imagine how angry they’d be. So, he kept his curiosity contained to himself. He researched everything he could about his grandfather and his life on the holo-net. With each piece of information he found out, he got more and more sucked into an idyllic and fantastical version of Vader he crafted in his head. 

And an idyllic and fantastical version of Vader it was; he crafted this image of who he thought his grandfather was and spent his whole adulthood aspiring to it. When he actually came across a ‘ghost’ of his grandfather, it nearly killed him. But he held onto it anyway; he held onto Snoke’s vision of Kylo as Vader, and as Snoke as Emperor Palpatine. Snoke and Kylo always said that they were “letting go of the past,” but they did the exact opposite. 

A little after Ben’s turn to the dark side, Snoke sent him to kill Ren to rightfully claim himself as the Master of Ren. 

“Help me, grandfather,” Kylo pleaded, blood dripping from his mouth. Ren was a better fighter than him—beating and cornering him on the snowy planet of Illum. Kylo hid away in a corner of a cave, trying to think about ways to outsmart his opponent. “Grandfather, I need your guidance.” Kylo shut his eyes and thought about Vader and his red saber, destroying his enemies from left to right. There had to be over thirty rebels in a tight hallway, shooting his blasters at him. But his grandfather attacked them like it was nothing; fighting, to him, was as easy as breathing. 

“Wow…” he said, his mouth gasping open. “Help me, please. I need your help. Please, listen to me!”

Kylo opened his eyes to see the dark, tall, and frightening figure in front of him. His cape flew in the wind. 

“You want help? How dare you ask me?” 

“You—you understand where I come from,” Kylo said, “teach me the ways of the Force. 

“No,” a deep voice said, sharply inhaling and exhaling. "You're nothing but a foolish and weak-minded child."

Kylo wiped his face. “Please! No, no—” He felt Vader slip away and fade into the air. With that, all the anger consumed him once again. The walls of the building where the Knights of Ren congregated fell and tore apart; Ren, the first master of the knights, had been crushed to death.

Back on Hapes, Ben woke up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat. It was just memories. They couldn’t hurt him. He sat up in his bed, holding his head in his palm. What had he done with his life? 

 Hapes had not been a pleasant place for the Skywalker-Solo family after the fight on Exegol. Anxiety ran high within the family, it always did, but with Mara severely injured, sick, and frail, Luke could barely keep it together. On top of his nephew, he had to worry about one more person—and that person was the love of his life. They had been through too much to see her in so much pain. 

They had been on the planet for over a week, now. Ben, at least for what it was, was ‘safe’ on Hapes—Tenel Ka, Zekk, and Hapes’ security made sure of it. As for the Galactic Alliance and the New Republic—well, things were not going quite well. Ben’s temporary exile to Hapes was only a quick fix to the wound he inflicted in the galaxy. 

Leia, Han, and Jaina sat in a conference room with their allies: Mon Monthma, Jagged Fel, a few judges that prosecuted Kylo, and a hologram of Luke. Although, Jaina wasn’t paying much attention to the whole meeting, and chose to sit quietly and think more about her fight with Snoke. 

“So, how did Kylo get away?” Mon Mothma calmly asked, looking at Leia. 

“An intruder—or, rather, a Sith Lady,” Leia answered. “She no longer poses a threat to the New Republic or Kylo Ren; Master Skywalker handled her.”

“I see.” Mon looked down at the data-pad on the table. “And Kylo is on Hapes, currently?”

“Yes.” Leia looked at her old friend. 

“But that is only a temporary fix—”

“Of course,” Han said, jumping into the conversation. “There is no denying that.”

Jag cleared his throat. “Is he still to be exiled back to Anoth?” He leaned back in his chair. 

“There is no threat from the Sith,” Mothma said, looking over at the Emperor. “Why is he not back on Anoth if the Sith Lady is dead?”

Luke looked over at the group. Tired of watching from the sidelines, he said, “ that is the issue. The threat still is imminent."

“Oh…I am afraid I do not understand.”

“Snoke—the former Supreme Leader of the First Order is the threat, Mon. I have reason to suspect that he has mastered the skill to be immortal.”

“I assume he’s after Kylo, then,” Jag said.

“Exactly,” Leia sighed.

“If he’s after Kylo, then he’s after all of us.” Mon took a deep breath. 

Han put his arm around Leia’s chair. “If we cannot keep him dead, then what if we lure him somewhere and contain him there?”

“You’re on to something…” Luke said.

“Jag?” Solo asked, standing up. He walked over to the middle of the circular table and turned on the hologram. It showed Exegol. “How equipped is your military to surround a planet?” The whole group turned to look at Jagged Fel.
“Uh…” 

Not sure of what Han was thinking or conspiring, he waited a bit to answer. There was no doubt that the Imperial Empire’s armies and troops were intensely loyal, determined, and grand. But sending his troops to Exegol seemed like a tough and rather irresponsible task, especially considering how things on Bastion had been going for Jag. 

“They are,” Jag said. He felt Jaina’s eyes glance up at him. “But it would not be a good idea. My hands are tied with the Moffs right now. They are not taking my succession to the Empire lightly.” 

Jag, however, thought of something else to track down Snoke. He missed commanding ships and flying around freely, just as he had been doing for his entire life before he became Emperor. If it was a mission between the Jedi and him, then, they might be able to track him down. They didn’t need Jag’s military, or even the New Republic’s military. 

“Fine,” Han said with a large sigh. “I’m out of ideas.”

The alliance tried to think of what to do about Kylo’s exile and Snoke. But they were getting burnt out, and decided to break off for the day.

Jaina, on the other hand, had different ideas on how to handle Snoke. After the meeting disbanded, she ran out the room, heading to the door. 

“Jaina…” Jag called out, grabbing her hand. 

“Hi.” She continued to walk. But he refused to let go, meaning he was getting dragged along with him. 

“Are you alright? You haven’t talked to me in over a week.” 

Jag squeezed her hand and pulled her closer. They stood in a secluded hallway. “I know, and I’ve missed you, but—” He held her face and placed a short kiss on her lips. Jaina kissed him back, happy to see him after all of the time she missed with him. Although she quickly pushed him away with the Force “Not here!” Comedically, he put his hands up to show him he meant no harm. Jaina laughed at the gesture and put her hands in his. “You know that I’ve been busy.”

“Yes, but a call would’ve been nice.”

Playfully, she rolled her eyes. “I can say the same about you. The comlink works both ways, Jag.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

“I’m sorry.” 

Jaina nodded her head. “I’m sorry, too.” She looked away and then back at him. “The Moffs don’t seem pleasant…from what you said.”

“Not at all. Do you want to know what they call me back there?”

“What?” She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

“Duusha.”

Caught off guard, she laughed but quickly covered her mouth. “Like…the—”

“Like the kriffing cheese, Jaina.”

“That’s terrible.” She patted his chest. “They’ll come around to like you, I’m sure. You’re bringing about some real change within the Empire.” 

Jag nodded his head, clearly wanting to change the subject. “Where are you off to?”

Jaina couldn’t contain her smile. “I think I might know how to go about tracking down Snoke.”

“I have a plan too. It’s not well thought out.”

“Wonderful. We’ll talk about it on the ship” She dragged him by his arm and left the building with him. 

Helplessly, Jag followed Jaina into her ship. “And where are we going, exactly?”

Jaina made it to the cockpit and threw on the headset. “Hapes.”

Chapter Text

Jaina and Jag stepped into Hapes. “Stay on the ship,” he ordered his officers as he walked off the loading dock. They were on a secluded island of some sorts, far far away from any sort of town or city. Ocean waves sprinkled onto the sand, wetting Jag’s boots. 

“I hate this feeling,” he said, looking down at the sand. 

Jaina laughed at him. “It’s nice.” She took her boots off and threw them on the sand, taking a step closer to the water. The only thing they could see across the water was a large forest of trees. Behind them was a small cottage where Ben was being kept. Jag grabbed Jaina’s boots to prevent them from getting more water and sand in them. 

He quickly walked over to the rocks and stepped over it, watching Jaina take her sweet time. The ocean breeze and its cold touch calmed her down. Part of her was jealous that Ben got to stay on a whole island by himself while the Galactic Alliance figured out what to do with him. 

“Can you go get Ben?” Jaina shouted out. The waves drowned out her voice. She threw him a set of keys that was in her pocket.

He dangled them in the air and hiked up to the cottage, fiddling with the door handle.

“Ben?” he called out. The cottage was small and held the basic necessities—a kitchenette, refresher room, and a small bedroom. All of the windows in the building were draped open, causing the thick scent of the ocean and wind to flow throughout the room. 

Jag dropped Jaina’s boots off at the door. 

“Huh?” Ben walked over to the entrance, seeing Jagged. Someone else was with him, and he already felt who it was through the Force. “What are you guys doing here?” Ben knew his sister was dating Jag at this point, even though Jaina never told him. Nevertheless, he was happy for her. 

The Emperor turned behind him and then back at Ben. “Not entirely sure, to be honest. Jaina wants to see you.”

Peaking over the door, he saw Jaina standing in the water, the sun pouring down on her. “Aha,” he chuckled. “Are you sure she wanted to see me? Not just swim around?”

To Ben’s surprise, Jag let out a small chuckle. He wasn’t sure if he ever saw the man laugh or smile the entire time he’d known him. They walked out of the cottage and onto the beach front. Jag, though, decided to stay back and sit on the rocks.

“He hates the beach,” Jaina said. Ben stood beside her. A tide was coming in, and harshly splashed the twins.

“Why?” Ben turned to look at the Emperor and turned back to face the sun. 

“I don’t know, ask him.” Jaina dove into the water and started to swim around. It felt nice—the water enveloped her skin as she floated on her back. “Remember when we’d take trips to Naboo and swim around on the beach there?” She shut her eyes and remembered her childhood. And Ani would try and collect all the seashells he could?”

All Ben did was frown. He missed those times, surely, but even more, he missed Anakin. Sensing his disappointment, Jaina swam over to him and nudged his shoulder. 

“You know…” Ben said, taking a deep breath. “There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about him.” That, of course, was true. He deeply thought about ways he could somehow bring Anakin back to life; it was a form of using the Force that was extremely complicated and near impossible. He read about it in Snoke’s library years ago, but without Anakin’s body, it didn’t seem possible. 

“I do too,” Jaina said. Salt water from the ocean mixed with her tears. 

“I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me.” Jaina shook her head in disagreement. The twins started to swim towards the shoreline. “No, you don’t understand; the last time I talked to his Force ghost, I wasn’t in the right headspace and I—

“What did you do?” Jaina stepped onto the sand.

“It was when I was waiting for the trial.” Ben followed her and stood by the shoreline for a bit. “I, uh…”

“Spit it out.”

“I tried to trick him into taking my side and to get me out of the cell…so I could go back to leading the First Order.”

“Ben…”

He took a deep breath. “Embarassing, I know.” The twins walked over to the cottage, passing Jag on the way inside. Kylo combed through his wet hair with his fingers. “And then grandfather’s Force ghost came. He wasn’t too happy.”

“Really?” 

Kylo walked over to his closet and threw Jaina a towel. She wrapped it around her arms and shivered from the temperature change.

“Yeah.” Kylo sat down on the couch.

The wind from the windows only made the twins’ even colder. Jag went ahead and shut it. As they all walked into the living room area, it was an organized mess. Open books scattered across the floor, loose papers, and spare parts covered the floor.

“Are you trying to become a librarian or something?”

“No, just researching some things.”

Jaina shook her head and returned back to the conversation they were having, but she couldn’t remember. “What were we talking about again?”

“Grandfather.”

“Right.” Jaina sat beside her brother. “What’d he say?” Jaina asked.

“Uh…” He tried to remember Anakin Skywalker’s words. “Just that…that he couldn’t help me get better—that I needed to help myself, and…and that I ‘either stand with our family or stand against them—I can’t have both.’”

“Wise words,” Jaina said. 

“Yeah. I just wish I listened.”

“But you did, eventually.” Anakin Skywalker’s Force ghost arrived in the room. The twins were startled at first. Ben’s face ran hot. He hadn’t been more embarrassed and scared in his life. Jaina looked up at her grandfather with a bright smile. 

“You always show up at the right moments, don’t you?” Jaina asked.

Confused, Jag stood up. “Who are you talking to—”

“My grandfather.”

“Oh, I see. Well—I’ll leave you alone. I’d rather leave than be confused.”

Jaina chuckled and watched him leave the room. Jag viewed the Force differently from most. The Force, to him, was just another responsibility or burden to have. Sure, it would be nice if he could communicate with his loved ones via ghosts, but it was frightening to say the least. Besides, he rejoiced in having such strong pilot skills without the guidance of the Force.

Anakin watched as the man walked out. “Who is that?” 

“Jaina’s boyfriend,” Ben revealed with a laugh.

“He’s not my—”

“Yes he is. Stop denying it,” Ben said, nudging his sister with his elbow. 

Her cheeks grew warm and she leaned back on the couch, crossing her arms. 

Anakin crossed his arms. “But who is he?”

“The Emperor…” Jaina said. 

“You are dating the Emperor…?” He shook his head. “What…?”

Seeing his confusion and utter shock, she tried to reassure him. “Don’t worry. Things are changing—he’s a good guy, trying to bring peace to the galaxy. I promise.”

“Your mother is okay with it?” Jaina huffed. Who cared what her mother thought? It was her life. “Jaina, it was just a question,” Anakin softly said. 

“I know, sorry. The New Republic is allied with the Empire now. Mom and Dad love Jag.”

“And you're happy with him?”

“Of course.”

Their grandfather relaxed his shoulders and sat next to Ben. “I am so proud of you.” 

“Thanks.” He avoided eye contact, still a little embarrassed. Ben should have learned from his grandfather’s mistakes, but instead he followed in the same path. “Is…is Anakin alright?”

He smiled over at his two grandchildren. “He is doing just fine.”

“Tell him we miss him.” Jaina fidgeted with her hands. 

“Of course.” 

Ben tried not to cry. Everything seemed to be overwhelming him. His grandfather put a comforting hand on his back. “Anakin will come to you when he is ready.” 

“I don’t know…he probably hates me; I would hate me too.”

Anakin stood up. “Hate is a mighty strong word. He will come around, I promise. Everyone does.” The Force ghost faded away. 

“I swear he does that on purpose…” Jaina said.

“Does what?”

“Says something philosophical and wise, and just fades into thin air.” She stood up. “Jag, come back!” she screamed.

“It probably makes him feel cool.” The twins shared a look and started to laugh. 

After winding down from swimming and talking to their grandfather, they all stood in the room, trying to come up with a plan on how to track down Snoke. Jaina put her commlink on the table and it displayed a holographic image of Snoke. 

As Jag got a closer look at the seven-foot, alien-like humanoid, a memory sparked in his brain. Jag didn’t remember much of his childhood, partly because he simply didn’t have much of one. Being raised with the Chiss didn’t allow for one. So, he resented seeing other kids play around and enjoyed being a kid. Growing up with the Chiss had its perks—he was efficient, disciplined, and a fighter. It had its difficulties, though. And surely it taught him what not to do whenever he was going to raise his own children. They were going to have the best childhood he could imagine. 

One of his earliest memories he had was when his family had to relocate in the unknown regions. Upon their arrival, a tall Chiss man, who he’d later find out was Thrawn, had a long conversation with his father. 

Jag was in his mother’s arms, looking over at his brothers and family. Thrawn and his father seemed to be getting into some argument, but he couldn’t quite understand what was happening, other than the fact that little Jagged was scared and upset. A small hologram appeared in Thrawn’s palm. He saw an old man with pink scarred skin. Quickly, he closed his eyes and leaned into his mother’s shoulders, letting out a soft cry. It traumatized him for years until he finally pushed it out of his mind completely.

Now, Jag wasn’t entirely sure if that was Snoke. But the resemblance sure was uncanny. Ben looked at the hologram and then glanced at his books on the floors. 

“I have a theory. I’ve been reading up about planarians.”

“What’s that?” Jag asked, leaning against the table. 

“It’s a type of worm. They can grow back any body part—head, limbs, organs, it doesn’t matter.”

Jaina crossed his arms. “So you’re saying Snoke is a planarian.”

“No. That’s where it gets tricky.” Ben used the Force to bring a book over to the table. He flipped through the pages and showed everyone a diagram. “This is the Amani species. They’re a group of sentient planarians based out of the planet Maridun.” Jag put a hand on his chin, and waited for Ben to continue explaining. He closed the book and rested it on the table. “Some view the species as ‘immortal’ since they can just regenerate old body parts when they get old.”

Jaina paced around the room. 

Jag looked at her and then at Ben. “So, is he Amanin?”

“No?” Jaina looked at her brother for confirmation. He nodded his head, and allowed her to think. “He’s definitely a human—or maybe some weird hybrid.”

Ben took a deep breath. “Or, maybe he studied their biology and was able to learn something from it.”

She stopped pacing the room. “I think we might be thinking about the sciences way too much. What do we know about Darth Plagueis?”

“He knows—or at least tried to cheat death,” Ben said. “And he knew how to generate and make midi-cholorians.” Jag let out a confused sigh and sat down on the couch. “But Sidious killed him, and Snoke went into hiding. Maybe Snoke was trying to finish what his master started and succeeded.”

“Yes,” Jaina said. “But there has to be a way out. Are the planarians really immortal?”

Ben shook his head. “No. They just live longer than most. Snoke isn’t a planarian or Amanin, but using their biology as a theoretical background will help us.” Jaina smiled over at her twin. Finally, after all of these years, they were working together and using their expertise to solve their problems. 

The twins took another look at Snoke. “Do you want to know my theory?” she asked.

“Have at it.”

“All of those scars he has…what if they’re from all of the times he tried to grow back his missing body part?” Ben’s eyes lit up. He nodded his head and walked over to his bookshelf. “I’m listening.”

“That massive scar on the top of his head looks like a cut from a lightsaber.” She pointed at it, and then moved to the holes in his neck. “And those holes…it’s like every cut and hole in his body is a battle scar.”

 He threw over a book at Jag, who quickly caught it. 

“What’s this about?”

“Skim it. See if it says anything about stem cells.”

Jag did as he said, and Ben turned to listen to Jaina. “His skin, too.” Jaina turned to look over at Ben and Jag. “Doesn’t it look like…or…hmm.” 

Ben stood beside her and flipped through a book. “I think you’re on to something,” he said, reading through the book and smiling. 

“His skin is so odd.” Jaina finished her thoughts. “Maybe, just maybe, there was a fire of some sorts and he barely made it out. It looks like all of his skin was burned off and he couldn’t regenerate all of the skin tissue and cells.”

Ben looked at the image. “That’s possible.” 

“Right here!” Jag stood up and gave Ben the book. “Is this what you’re looking for?” 

He glanced at it and then shook his head. “Thanks,” he said. Ben let out a huge smile. He looked at the ground with a blank stare. In his mind, everything was shifting together and computing—it finally made sense. If his hypothesis was right, there might be a way to get rid of Snoke.

“You guys know what stem cells are…right?” Both Jaina and Jag shook their heads no. “They’re just cells that can generate into any sort of cells—blood, skin, nerves—it doesn’t matter. The way planarians can regenerate their parts so much is because of their excess stem cells.”

“Ahh,” Jag said, standing next to Jaina. “So Snoke has an absurd amount of stem cells?”

“That, I’m not sure about it. It’s one of two things: he has an excessive and powerful amount of stem cells that regenerate into whole limbs; which isn’t possible for humanoids.”

“So scratch that out.” Jaina tapped her fingers on the table.

Ben nodded his head. “The other thing is that maybe he’s able to manipulate midi-cholorians in a similar way Plagueis could. We know that Plagueis could create life out of midi-cholorians. So, what if Snoke can make midi-cholorians? What if his stem cells are turning into midi-cholorians, and that’s why he can manipulate things?”  

“Wait…” Jaina shook her head. “That’s not possible. All of our cells have midi-cholorians in them.”

“But Snoke is different,” he said. “I think all of the times he re-generates his limbs or tissue, it damages his ‘normal’ cells, which causes all of the midi-cholorians to stay housed inside the stem cells for protection; or, rather, he manipulates and forces the midi-cholorians to be trapped inside of a certain number of cells, rather than flow equally throughout the body. The stem cells and midi-cholorians mix together to build back his body parts. Half biology and half of the Force.”

Jag held his head. This was all too confusing. Jaina put a hand on his shoulders. “Think of it like this: the cells that give us the Force are called midi-cholorians. They’re in every single cell in our body.”

“I get that part.”

“Great. If something happens to those cells, the midi-cholorians ‘team’ up with other cells in the body so it's still habitable and equal. It’s a natural process.”

“Okay…”

“But for Snoke,” Ben said, “each time he loses a body part, he’s losing midi-cholorians. To make up for it, he uses the Force to artificially create midi-cholorians, which just end up in his stem cells—not his actual cells; because if he actually housed those ‘pseudo’ midi-cholorians in his actual cells, it’d kill him. There's not an equal balance of cells per midi-colorism like Jaina and I have, or any other Force user. Does that make more sense?”

“A little.” 

“So…” Jaina said. “He has to run out of stem cells somehow.”

Ben crossed his arms. “Enough damage to the body can cause stem cells to lose their regenerative potential, I think.”

“But how do we know when he doesn't have the ability to keep regenerating?” Jag asked.

“We don't.”

Jaina and Ben looked over at each other. The two, together, had the ability to move around midi-cholorians in nature; they did it before on Illum to turn water into ice. The twins thought the same exact thing: what if we get rid of his stem cells? 

Ben nodded his head. “That might work. But there’s no way we can get Snoke unconscious enough to even think about doing that”

“What might work?” Jag asked.

“If we somehow find a way to remove his stem cells entirely. If we can’t kill him, we can remove his powers.”

Jag cleared his throat. “But how do you know this is going to work? What if we’re overcomplicating things—what if Snoke cloned himself, and that’s why he keeps coming back.”

The twins looked at each other. They didn’t even consider that to be a possibility. 

“Okay,” Jaina said. “That’s—that’s possible.”

The Emperor sat back down. “Or, if you’re going with this complex biology stuff…how do you kill planarians?” 

Ben looked up at the ceiling and then back at Jag. If Snoke was just cloning himself over and over again, that was another issue. They’d have to find where he was housing all of his clones. But if Ben’s theory was right, and that Snoke was taking a book from planarian species, then they might have a better chance at fighting him. 

“Radiation and high heat,” Ben responded. 

“High heat…” Jaina said, looking back and forth between Jag and Ben. “That’s it! He can’t regenerate his skin cells; that’s why his skin looks like that!”

Ben nodded his head. “So we need to lure him somewhere.”

Jag pulled out his commlink. “Somewhere with fire…” 

“How are we going to do that?” 

Ben thought back to all of the lectures Snoke gave him. 

Kylo sat down inside of the ancient Sith building on Exegol. He slid his gloves off, threw it on a nearby table, and pet a small cat that rubbed against his legs. He named it Geegee, after his old droid; he missed him. 

“The first thing you need to know,” Snoke said, walking into the dark room, “is how to take.”

“Take?”

“Take.” He used the Force to pull the cat away from him. All of the butterflies and birds flying outside instantly disappeared, and the sun fell into the sky. Outside it was now dark and rainy. “Like that. The more you take things away from people, the more they’ll rely on you.”

Kylo crossed his arms, frustrated that his master could take things away so easily. “That’s what we’re going to do, son,” Snoke said.

“I’m not your son.” Kylo said, snapping back. 

Snoke squinted at his apprentice, and pushed him into the wall. That was enough to know for Kylo to stop talking. “We’re taking everything. The galaxy. The Sith. The Jedi. The New Republic; everything will be ours.” 

“Snoke’s epistemology is all about taking,” Ben said. He pressed a button on Jaina’s commlink and it showed a map of the outer rim. “That’s what he cares about the most. 

“Okay, well, what are we going to take from him?” Jaina asked.

“I don’t know.”

“What does he care about the most?” 

“The past.” Ben groaned. “But the past is already taken from him. His main goal was for him to be Emperor of some sorts…like he wanted to be Palpatine, and me to be Vader.”

Jaina repeatedly snapped her fingers and smiled. “So…what if we ‘give’ him what he wants?”

“That’s what he did to me. He lured me in—gave me what I wanted, and immediately took it away.”

“Then that’s what we do.” The twins communicated with the Force and thought about a plan.

“We give him Vader’s throne,” Ben thought to his sister. “It's on Mustafar. The only people who have access to Vader’s castle are the Skywalker bloodline.”

“How do you know this?”

“I went there; it's a long story. There's an old man who maintains the place, Vaneè—Vader’s old servant. I can get you, Luke, Mom, and Dad in there. And we can get more help, too…like the old crew: Lowie, Tenel, Zekk, Jag if you want—though he'd be zero help on the ground. We can end this.”

 They looked at Jag, who was comfortably sitting on the couch, assessing their conversation.

“What’s that look for…?” 

She ignored Jag and gave Ben a comlink. “Call Mom and Uncle Luke. I’ll catch Jag up to speed.” 

“Will they want to speak to me?”

“Mhm,” Jaina said. “You’re overthinking.”

Her brother walked upstairs with the comlink.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Jag asked. 

Jaina sat beside him and slightly smirked. “Nothing.” She put her hand in his short and slightly curled hair. “Are you going to buzz your hair off again?” 

“Stay focused,” he said. “What are you two planning?”

“Just a little truce…” she said. “We’re going to lure Snoke into Mustafar and try and defeat him there.”

“Oh. And how are you going to—”

Jaina put her hand over his lips. “We’re going to use Ben, of course. That’s who he wants more than anyone.”

Gently, Jag pushed her hand off him. “Fighting Snoke is dangerous…it almost got—”

She put her hand back over his mouth. “We know what to expect this time, Emperor Fel .”

“Mmmph…” he muffled. Jaina took her hand off him. “Don’t call me that.”

“But that's what you are.” She leaned a little bit closer to him. “You said you missed flying.” Jaina smiled. “Come to Mustafar with us.” She held his hand. “And command some troops to keep an eye in the sky.”

“I won't say no to that.” Jag leaned into her and kissed her. Her hair was still damp from the ocean. 

Jaina slid away from the kiss. “I knew you wouldn’t.” She smiled. “Now, the next obstacle is hoping my parents are on board with the idea.”

“Which is the hardest part, I’m sure.” 

“Just about.”

Ben walked down the steps and into the living room. “Mom and Dad are on their way. They want to talk about it in person. Uncle Luke and Mara will be here soon.”

“Good.” Ben joined his sister and sat across from them. “This might work,” he said with a bright smile. For years, he was going to be somewhat free of all the torment he went through during his time with Snoke. 

Chapter Text

Leia, Han, Luke, and Mara all stood in Ben’s cottage, listening to the twins recount their plan. Mara was doing much better than she was before—the spores, while still there in her body, stopped spreading. She was able to use the Force to contain them, and with the help of doctors, it seemed like there was no long-term harm to her body.

Even though Ben didn’t remember anything from his fight with Mara, he still felt guilty. He wanted nothing more than to apologize to his Aunt; to apologize to his whole family—sincerely, this time—but he didn’t know how. To them, of course, actions were much stronger than words. He was trying to show that he really was sorry—and, hopefully, they noticed.

“You’re confident this plan will work?” Luke asked, staring at the hologram in the middle of the living room area. It showed Mustafar, a planet that he had never dared to go to. The heavy burden of knowing what awful things Vader did already weighed strong. So, he couldn’t imagine how heavy the Force was on that planet—especially with the knowledge of the fight between Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi. 

He looked down at his nephew, who stood against the wall, inching farther and farther away from the rest of the family. There was no doubt that the young Solo felt rather out of place with everyone there. Besides, he had personally hurt each one of them, one way or another. Luke knew there was good in him still, as there was in everyone. 

Instead of waiting for his nephew to answer, he walked over to him, lightly touched his hand, and smiled. Ben quickly looked away before turning his gaze back at his Uncle. Defeating Snoke, for good, would mark an end to the war. Sure, the war in its entirety against the First Order ended, but did ‘ the war’ between Luke’s family ever stop? He hesitated even calling it a war, since such a term insinuated endless bloodshed, fighting, and chaos. But that was what was going on with the Skywalker-Solo family, even if it was just the doing of Kylo Ren. It tore them apart, and they were never the same again. For starters, Anakin was the first to feel Kylo’s ruthlessness. 

The day Kylo burned down Luke’s Jedi temple marked an end to the Skywalker-Solo family dynamic. It had its flaws. All families do. But they were supportive of each other, and above all else, they loved each other. No matter what happened, they would have each other’s backs. 

Anakin sat on Luke’s ship, his hands bloody and face covered with ashes. The poor kid went into shock—he had fought off pilots trying to attack him for no reason, watched his girlfriend Tahiri die, and saw his brother turn to the dark side, all in one night.

“He killed Tahiri,” Anakin repeated. It was the only phrase he said. As Luke set the ship into hyperspace, Jaina tried to keep it together, but started to break down. “He killed Tahiri…” Anakin wiped his face off. Luke grabbed a spare cloth from a cabinet in the ship, and took his nephew’s hands. He started to wipe all of the ashes and blood off. 

The Jedi Master tried his best not to show his emotions. He was upset at Ben, for there was no warning that he would do such a thing. If only he talked to him. To make matters even worse, it was hard feeling all of the pain of his family welled up in his body. He felt Leia’s despair and Mara’s shock, even though they were on Coruscant, far away from his presence. He also felt Jaina’s sadness, Anakin’s frustration, and Ben’s confusion. Every single one of their feelings, plus his, all at once. 

“Why’d he do this?” Anakin cried out. Luke put the cloth on the floor and took a deep breath. 

“The ‘why’ is a hard question. I don’t have the answers.” 

“I just want her back…” His eyes were clouded. He fidgeted with his hands and anxiously tapped his foot on the ground. 

Anakin was never the same after that. Leia wasn’t either. She had mourned the loss of her parents, her home, and her planet. Everything she had ever known was taken away in an instant. But there was a certain type of pain that came with losing a child. And she lost two. 

Luke snapped out of the memory as he saw tears stream down Ben’s cheek. He saw so much of his sister in his nephew’s face. In that moment, it finally clicked in Luke’s head that Ben was just a man who was thrown into the chaos of war from such a young age. From the very beginning of his life—before he was even born—he was targeted by the remnants of the Empire. The Jedi Master shut his eyes and thought back to when he joined the Rebel Alliance. He was just a boy—a nineteen year old farmer who knew nothing outside of a small Tatooine. He heard the soft yells of his Uncle Owen call out his name, telling him to do chores and clean up for dinner. At the time, he hated that life. But he appreciated the things he learned and the love from his Aunt and Uncle.

Those were simpler times—where’d he escape his house to look at the two suns, and have small conversations with good old Ben Kenobi. Those were the times he wished his niece and nephew had; those were the times he wished his future children could have. No matter how hard it would be, he was going to fight to make that a reality for the future generations in the galaxy.

“I’m sorry.” Ben said, his voice cracking.

Luke nodded his head. “I know.” He turned back to the hologram and looked back at his nephew. 

“I didn’t want to—” He stopped his speech, and turned to Mara. “I’m sorry…” 

His Uncle held his face in his hand. “I know you are.”

Quickly, Ben swiped his tears off with his sleeve. He was shocked at how forgiving Luke actually was. “But I—”

“Ben, It is okay. I promise.” Luke backed away. “Can you go and reach Snoke? Try and tell him to meet you on Mustafar.”

He nodded his head, and sat down on the floor to start meditating. 

With Snoke gone, the threat against the Galactic Alliance would be (somewhat) subdued. Threats against democracy and freedom would always reign high—but it would be controllable; he would feel peace. He could teach students at his Jedi Academy with Mara. And maybe, just maybe, he’d have children of his own. 

Ben nodded his head at his Uncle, walked over to the porch, and started to sit down to meditate.

“Where is he going?” Leia asked, her voice full of worry. 

“To reach Snoke.”

She took a step closer to the window and watched her son. Meanwhile, Luke sat beside his wife, who was skimming through one of Ben’s books. 

“I think…” she said, looking through the front pages. “Aha! This is the one you gave him for his birthday years ago.” 

Luke looked over at her with a confused face. “How do you remember that?”

“It’s on the front page.” She showed him a small handwritten note in Luke’s handwriting. “To Ben, love Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara.” He smiled and took the book from her, flipping to the cover. “Is he doing better?”

Luke nodded his head. “Much better.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

He kissed her cheek. 

Beside the couches where Luke and Mara sat, was a small sofa where Jaina and Jag sat. Jag had his arm around Jaina, talking and laughing about something. Ever since the family arrived at Hapes, the young couple couldn’t take their hands off of each other. It annoyed Han to no end, but he’d have to remind himself that that once was him and Leia. How could he forget the first time he kissed Leia in the Falcon, and Threepio casually walked in on them?

However, Han didn’t have much patience or an open-mind, especially when it came to his children. To his dismay, he didn’t have the Force to call out to extend his patience, either. 

It took him forever to be okay with Anakin dating Tahiri. Practically, Leia forced him to be okay with the pairing, just like he did with Tenel Ka and Ben, and now Jaina and Jag. 

“Ahem, excuse me…” Han said with a fake cough. The accredited pilot squeezed himself in between Jaina and Jag, breaking up their little cuddle session. 

“You don’t mind, do you?” The pilot smiled over at Jag.

“No, sir,” Fel said. All of his protocol and rules from the military eased right back into his speech. 

Jag, somehow, felt a little nervous as Solo made that gesture. Awkwardly, Jag scooted over to give Han Solo his space. Jag was an Emperor, after all—he had the power of the Imperial remnant in his hands, but he still got nervous around Han Solo. Maybe it was because of how protective Han was over Jaina, or the fact that he had hundreds of connections over the galaxy, or the fact that he felt like he hated him. But Jaina insisted that that wasn’t true. 

The room erupted in silence. Jaina crossed her arms and looked around in the room, a little bit embarrassed. Mara and Luke were off having their own conversation, and Leia was too focused on keeping an eye out for Ben. 

It wasn’t that Han didn’t like Jag—it was just that he was skeptical of him. The man was almost too perfect: he came from Chiss, Corellian, and military background, was an excellent pilot, mature, and an Emperor. For crying out loud, Han thought, it couldn’t get better than that. But a part of him was nervous about Jaina and Jag’s relationship—he was almost as reckless as her. What if she got hurt because of him?

Jag, still wanting to continue his conversation with Jaina, wrapped his arm around the couch and brushed his hand over her shoulder. She leaned back and rested her head on his arm. 

“I’m sorry…” Jaina whispered. 

Han rested his feet up on the coffee table. He put his head back, causing Jag to immediately move his arm to prevent getting crushed by the man’s head. 

“Okay, this is getting ridiculous!” Jaina looked over at her father and stood up.

Han put his hands behind his head. “What, princess? Can’t a guy relax? I’ve been flying all day.”

Jaina put her hands on her waist and raised her eyebrow. Right there, she looked exactly like her mother. Before her father could even say anything, she spoke up. 

“Relax somewhere else.”

Letting out an annoyed groan, Han looked over at Jag. “Jagged, you don’t care, do you?”

“No, sir.” Jag ignored eye contact with the man and only looked toward Jaina. 

“See?” Han pointed to him.

Jaina groaned. “Can’t you see?”

“I can see just fine.” Han smiled.

“No, dad—can’t you see that the poor man is terrified of you.” 

Han let out a slight laugh and threw his arms in the air. “Who would ever be scared of me?”

Rolling her eyes, Jaina extended her hand out to Jag. “Let’s go.”

“No, you’re perfectly fine here. Don’t Luke and Mara need your Jedi skills?” Han asked. 

Finally, Luke and Mara broke off their conversation to look over at their stubborn, stuck up, and protective brother-in-law. “We’re fine,” Mara said with a smile. She gave Jaina a slight wink. “Once Ben is finished with luring Snoke to Mustafar, then we’ll need her. But for right now, she’s fine, Han.” 

Han let out a small laugh and turned to Jag. “Isn’t it crazy how they always get their way?” he asked, lowering his voice.

Jagged Fel, cleared his throat, and looked between Mara, Jaina, and Han. “I’m not sure, sir…” At that moment, he wished Leia was there; she knew how to keep Han in his place.

Han lowered his voice to a whisper. “It’s okay, kid. You don’t have to lie to me. We’re the only two in here without ‘the Force.’ Those Jedi tricks are something else, aren’t they?”

Somewhat relieved but also frightened, he nodded his head. At least they were agreeing on something. 

Mara groaned. “Jaina, go and rest—we’ll tell you when Ben comes back.” 

“Thank you.” She smiled at her Aunt. “At least someone here is sensible.” 

Jaina kicked her father’s leg off the table, and held Jag’s hand, walking over to the other room. 

A light breeze carried through the room from the windows. Jaina peaked over to see her mother walk into the cottage. She looked better—as better as a busy Chancellor and anxious mother could be. Leia stood in front of Jag and Jaina as they held hands, sitting on the bench seat by the stairs. 

“Aw,” she said with a warm smile. There was nothing that made her happier than seeing Jaina, Ben, or Anakin all cheerful. “I heard bickering all the way from outside. Please do not tell me that your father is giving you trouble.” She slid her vest off and put it on the coat hanger. 

“Only a little bit.”

“Of course he is. I told him not to—”

“It is alright, Chancellor,” Jag said. “I promise.”

“No.” Jaina looked into Jag’s eyes before looking back at her mother. “Don’t lie to her!” 

Leia laughed. “I’ll talk to him.”

Leia walked into the living room and gently hit Han’s arm.

“Now what was that for?” 

“You know what it was for.”

Mara let out a small laugh and turned to Luke. “Is that what we used to look like…?” 

Luke examined his sister and Han, bickering at each other. Somehow, after all of their arguments and fighting, they still loved each other. Like every other married couple, Luke and Mara weren’t immune to fights or arguments. After all, a former top-notch assassin and Jedi was bound to have some arguments and problems, especially at the beginning of their relationship. Even though it was a classic case of ‘opposites attract,’ Luke didn’t want it any other way.

“I hope not.” The two shared a laugh, and returned to watching Leia and Han fight. 

“Oh, come on.” Han held Leia’s hands.

She looked down at him and shook her head. Although, she tried to hear him out. Jaina needed something stable in her life—at least that was what Leia thought. When Leia was fighting the Empire, she knew how important having a good support system was. Where would she be without Han, Luke, and Chewie? 

“Let her be. She’s not a kid anymore.”  

“I know,” said Han, “I just worry.” He brought her hands up to her lips and kissed them. Softly smiling at him, she sat down beside him, and waited for Ben to finish meditating in the Force.

Ben floated above the ground and gently shut his eyes. Around him, rocks and loose flowers began to level with the Force, flying and floating around his body. Meditating was something that he loved. Mindlessly using the Force felt as if he was transcending to a whole different universe. As he focused on the blank state feeling he felt in his mind, he was ready to reach Snoke.

A sharp pain flowed through his body as he thought of his old master. His stomach began to crumble in together and his throat closed in. However, without opening his eyes, he felt his mother step outside. Calming down just a little bit, his body relaxed. Thank you, he thought, hoping his mother would feel him through the Force.

That was just what he needed to be ready to connect with Snoke. 

Chapter Text

Ben sunk into complete darkness. All he felt was his mother closely watching him outside of the cottage, and Snoke in the distance. 

“You came back,” the dark voice said. 

A slap of harsh wind engulfed him. He could barely breathe. “I need your guidance,” he said. His heart raced more and more. 

“Open your eyes.” The young Solo hesitated to follow his old master’s orders. “I said open it!” 

He heard a woman yell out and scream. It was his mother. Quickly, Ben opened his eyes. He wasn’t on Hapes anymore. Instead, he was in a dark room with a long pathway and a large throne. It reminded him of the interior of the First Order. Snoke sat on the throne, holding his hand up. As Ben walked further, he tried to suppress the fear built up in his stomach. The closer he got, the more he saw. Snoke shot Force lightning at his mother. 

He started to panic. All he wanted to do was yell out for his mother and help her—but if he did that, Snoke would’ve known that he was lying about needing him. So, he reminded himself that this was all fake—it was all coming from Snoke’s imagination. Nothing was real. His mother was fine—she was back on Hapes. If anything happened to her, their family would be right at her side.

So, Ben said nothing. He had to give Snoke what he wanted. That was the key to winning this. 

“Kill her,” he said, staring straight into Snoke’s eyes. “I don’t care.” It hurt for him to say that—he cared more than anything. The vision of his mother screaming for help haunted him. Instead of looking, all he did was turn back to Snoke. “I’ll be your apprentice again.” Ben kneeled down to him. “Nothing will stand in our way this time.”

Snoke stood up from the throne and took a step forward. The old man grabbed Ben’s face, and forced him to look him in the eye. All of Ben’s muscles froze. He had to be convincing. 

“I have the Skywalker’s wrapped around my finger,” he said, looking at his master.

“Do you really?” 

 It felt like he was being put under a spell just by looking into Snoke’s eyes; however, he stayed strong and kept his guard up. Still, in the distance, he felt his family through the Force. Luke was counting on him. Ben nodded his head at his master.

“They think I’ve turned back to the light. But I know the dark side is the answer.” He narrowed his head back to the ground. 

Snoke put a tight grip on Ben’s shoulders. “I have been thinking about a new name for you. I knew you’d always come back to me.” Confused, Ben shot his eyes up at Snoke. “Darth Ren.” He looked down at him and turned his head. “Or, Darth Solo.”

Ben suppressed the nerve to roll his eyes. Even if he wanted to follow in Snoke’s footsteps, couldn’t he get a better or cooler name? He didn’t even like ‘Ren.’ It only came from the Knights of Ren, and they were long gone. As for ‘Darth Solo’ that one was simply pathetic and unoriginal. 

“But I am not a Sith Lord,” he said. 

“Now you are. The world will be ours. The rules of the past will not matter.” Snoke laughed.

As he made his way back to the throne, Ben looked up at his master. The man leaned against the chair and put a hand on his chin, amused at the whole conversation.

Ben took a deep breath. “I will bring the Skywalker’s to you,” he said. “...and I’m going to kill every last one of them. I’ll finish what Vader wanted.”

“You have learned a lot, my young apprentice.”

He stood up and folded his arms in front of him. “I will bring them to Mustafar tomorrow.”

“We can rule the galaxy as Vader and Palpatine would have wanted,” Snoke said, clenching his fist.

Everything around him began to fall. As he opened up his eyes once again, he was back on Hapes. Birds twirled around as the sun began to set. Ben ran inside the house, in search of his mother. It had to be Snoke’s vision. She wasn’t dead—she was fine. She had to be.

“Jaina…” Ben started to pant as he walked into the house. “Is mom okay?”

“Yeah…she was just—”

He ran into the living room, relieved to see his parents sitting on the couch. Sweat dripped down from his head. 

“I found him,” he said, “Mustafar. Tomorrow.”

Luke and Leia stood up. They didn’t look very much alike, but at this moment, they looked like clones of each other. Jaina and Jag stepped into the room, standing beside Ben. 

“We’re actually doing this?” Jaina asked, looking up at her twin.

“We’re actually doing this…”

Luke looked over at the twins and softly smiled. “Well,” he said, “I’ll call Finn.”

Han put his hand on his hip. “And I’ll get Chewie and Lowie.” 

“We need all the help we can get,” Leia said, walking over to the door. After a few seconds, she turned back. She already had her vest on and a blaster tightened into her holster. “What are we waiting for? We need to get a team together.”

“You heard her,” Han said, catching up to his wife. “I really love when you do that…” he said, kissing her forehead.

“Do what…?”

“Don’t act innocent.”

The twins scrambled and caught up with their parents, heading over to the ship. This was a chance for Ben to be free. Free of the torment. Free of the mind tricks. Thank the Force for giving him such a warm, forgiving, and kind family. 

Chapter Text

Ben Solo hadn’t been in a room filled with people who were hopeful, determined, and eager to fight in years. The next morning, he stood in a conference room back on Coruscant with New Republic and Imperial pilots, his family, and Finn. He hadn’t seen him since he turned back to the light, and it was odd to say the least. Ben knew, deep down, that he had a lot to explain to the former stormtrooper. No one but him knew what actually happened on Karaxis and to Finn’s family. However, he was terrified to ever come clean about what he did. 

Stealing another glance at the new Jedi, the images of Finn’s real identity popped in his mind. He saw him defending his family and his father. Finn, or his actual name, Kane, had everything he ever wanted and more: a loving, normal, and predictable family. That was why Ben felt so comfortable ripping Kane away from his home. If Ben couldn’t have that, why should anyone else? 

And he knew that was a flawed way of thinking, of course. He was working on it—and that was what mattered. Luke and Leia explained the plan to the group of pilots. 

“Hi.” Tenel stood beside him in her Jedi gear. 

Ben smiled down at her, surprised to see the Queen Mother actually here. Although, he didn’t understand how she got it cleared with the Hapan court. That, however, didn’t matter; he was just happy to see her.

“You’re joining us?”

“Mhm. Not on the ground.” She looked over at Luke and then back at Ben. “That was the agreement between my court and Master Skywalker. I could go, just only for back up. I’ll be on the ship with Lowie, Zekk, and Solo.” 

He let out a small frown, but chuckled after. Being serious with Tenel wasn’t his strong suit. “I’ll miss you.” 

She started to blush and quickly looked away. Glancing down at Ben’s gear, she thought of something to say to pick up the conversation. “You look better in this.” Ben wore a long sleeve grey shirt with navy pants, a black vest, and holsters for his blaster and saber. 

He looked to give her another compliment back, but it wasn’t hard at all, and didn’t require much thinking. “You look exquisite, as always.” Tenel shook her head no. “Yes…” She shook her head again. 

Tenel folded her hands in front of her. “I am just saying…Kylo’s garbs were absolute…”

“Sithspit?” He crossed his arms and laughed. 

“I wasn’t going to say that, but, yes—that is another word for it.” 

Ben looked over on the opposite side of the room, happy to see Lowbacca, Chewie, and his father all reunited. Slowly, Ben lifted his arm up to wave to the two Wookies. Lowie smiled and waved over to his old friend. Things were starting to be like how they used to. 

Tenel turned to face him completely, her back turned from the rest of the group. “I forgive you,” she said. “A little, at least.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I am being serious, Ben.” Tenel turned back to face the group. Looking up at Ben, she couldn’t contain her admiration for him. “You’ve changed…in a good way.” 

Ben smiled down at her, thankful that he didn’t lose her completely. Inside of him, feeling the presence of Ben Solo and not Kylo Ren felt right . It felt like the ocean changing from a high tide to a low tide, or the sun rising along the mountains, or a flower expanding to face the sunshine. 

Jaina watched as the group of pilots disbanded, going off to get into their pilot gear. Slowly, the room was now only full with her family and the Jedi. Zekk and Jaina made eye contact across the room. Being around Zekk wasn’t ‘awkward’ or ‘tense,’ just annoying. Jaina slipped on her gloves. 

“Congratulations,” he said, clapping as he walked towards her. “Jag’s quite the charmer.”

Jaina let out a small laugh. “Don’t make it seem like it’s a big thing. It’s not.” 

“Look,” Zekk said. He twirled around the blaster in his hand and put it in his belt. “I’ve always known you had a thing for him.”

“Of course you did.” Quickly, Jaina became embarrassed as she recalled the time she first met Jag. She lowered her voice. “Don’t act like you didn’t have a thing for him, too.”

Zekk shook his head and denied the claims. “I’m just happy you’re happy.”

“I am too.”

Her former partner and best friend leaned against the wall beside her. “You’re dating the Emperor…you know 

“I know. They call him Duusha.”

“I don’t get it.”

“It’s a sort of cheese that’s blue on the inside, Zekk. You know, because he was raised as Chiss.” 

“Oh…” He clenched his jaw. “Well, maybe they’ll learn to like him.”

“That’s what I told him.”

Jaina watched Finn and Poe talk to each other in the corner of the room. She let out a small smile and waved at the couple. She thought they were adorable. 

“Jaina,” Zekk said. “Maybe you’ll become an Empress one day.” 

Jaina pointed to herself. “Me?” She laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. “No, never. That’s not happening.”

“Well…” Zekk put his hands in his pocket. “I can’t wait to be the one to say ‘I told you so’ on your wedding day.”

“And who said I was inviting you to my hypothetical-never-going-to-happen wedding?”

“I’m inviting you to mine,” Zekk said, “return the favor.”

Jaina rolled her eyes. That was the first time she heard of an invite. Soon, she was relieved to see Jag walk back into the room in his pilot suit. The plan was for Jag and Poe to lead pilots in and around Mustafar. Even though Snoke was only expecting the Skywalker’s and Solo’s, there was no doubt that he had a crew of fighters still loyal to him. Why and how that came to be were questions that couldn’t be answered. 

“Emperor Fel,” Zekk said, giving him a salute. Jag wasn’t sure if he was mocking him or not.

“Hi, Zekk,” he said, standing up tall. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.” Jag extended his hand out to him. Jaina’s heart burned with embarrassment. 

Zekk took it and firmly shook it. “Good to see you.” 

“You as well.” 

She slipped away from the two men, determined to talk to Finn and Poe. She needed a nice escape.

Luke, Leia, Han, and Mara all watched the interaction between Jaina, Jag, and Zekk. 

“I really thought Zekk was going to be the one…” Luke said.

“I thought so too.”

“I always knew it was going to be Jag,” Mara said. Luke looked at her and chuckled. 

Han and Leia shared a soft look. “We’ll see how this ends up.” 

Leia was the first to notice Tenel and Ben in the corner, having a slight conversation. Lowie joined them, and Threepio was there translating for them. She looked over at Han and laid her head on his chest. 

“Arghh!” Chewie excitedly said. 

“I know, buddy,” Han said, ruffling the Wookie’s fur. 

Poe held Finn’s hand. 

“I’m nervous…” He took a deep breath. Part of the plan for the fight on Mustafar would be to lure Ben and Finn into Vader’s castle. Even though Finn wasn’t a part of the Skywalker legacy, Snoke would still find interest in the Jedi. 

Accidentally, Ben and Finn locked eyes across the room. Poe turned to glance at the former leader of the First Order, and settled his eyes back on his boyfriend. 

“You don’t need to be nervous.” 

Finn shook his head, feeling anxious. His stomach twirled around with worry. “I’m still scared of him. ”

“You have every right to feel that way.” Poe held Finn’s hand. “I’m skeptical of him, too.”

As Finn shut his eyes, all he saw were flashbacks of the first time—and only time—he battled Kylo. The snow poured down on him, blinding his eyes. All he felt was fury and rage as he ignited Anakin Solo’s saber in defiance of his old leader, the mighty Kylo Ren. 

“It’ll be alright. I’ll be right there with you.” Poe leaned closer to Finn and placed a soft kiss on his head. Poe’s words echoed in his ear as he stood up tall, taking a deep breath. 

“You’re a good man, Finn,” Poe said. “Let’s end this.” 

Chapter Text

“How are you two?” Jaina asked, glancing behind her to see Jag and Zekk holding a conversation. Jag gave her an annoyed look and a pitiful smile. All she did was ignore him and turn back to Finn and Poe. It would be a lie to say she didn’t get a kick out of Jag and Zekk’s tense and awkward faces; it shouldn’t be hilarious, but Jaina found it hard to contain her amusement.

“Doing just fine,” Poe said with a warm smile.

“You, Finn?” 

“Worried. Snoke is dangerous.”

“I know. He’s intimidating and—”

“A ghastly sight.” Poe scoffed.

“Yes, that.” Jaina laughed. “But he’s not as wise as he appears—don’t be fooled. He’s weak and fragile, and can barely wield a saber.”

“Exactly.”

Her family started to walk out of the room. She tried to overhear their conversation and heard that they were heading to the Falcon to prepare the ship for Mustafar. Lowie joined Finn, Jaina, and Poe. Ben, now, was all alone as Tenel joined Jag and Zekk’s conversation. He looked over at Finn and Jaina, and instantly stopped as they caught his gaze, and walked over to his parents. Odd, thought Finn. Instead of engaging in a conversation, directly apologizing to him, or even giving a polite smile or greeting, he just stared.

“What is your clones’ problem?” Poe asked Jaina.

“Wooo…” Lowie frowned.

Threepio rushed to translate. “What Lowbacca is saying is that he wishes Poe wouldn—”

Jaian cleared her throat. “Alright, Threepio. I love you and thank you for all that you do…But I think my mother needs your assistance in the Falcon. ”   She didn’t know that. She just wanted him gone. The Wookie’s voice didn’t seem to agree with Poe’s statement. 

Threepio wobbled away to catch up. “Master Solo! Wait for me!” 

Jaina returned to Finn. “We should get going, too.”

“Yeah.” Finn looked over at Poe, saying his goodbyes and giving Poe one last kiss.

Jaina, Finn, and Lowie followed Threepio. “So…” Jaina said, nudging Finn’s arm with her elbow. “How long have you two been together?” 

“Not long. A month or so.”

“Cute.” 

Finn and Jaina approached the Falcon. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Hit me.” 

The two Jedi sat down in the ship, watching the Skywalkers and Solos roam around, getting ready for lift off. Jaina wanted to help in the cockpit, but between her father, Chewie, and Lowie, they didn’t need much help. The Falcon was packed: all of the Skywalkers, Zekk, Tenel Ka, Lowie, and Finn were all in the ship, ready to fight off Snoke if the time came. 

Finn cleared his throat and lowered his voice. “How much do you know about where I come from?”

Jaina’s eyebrows furrowed together. “I mean…you were a stormtrooper, right? You grew up on Illum.” 

Finn glanced around him and made sure Ben wasn’t there. He shook his head. “Yes, but…I can’t remember much of anything, like my childhood on Illum. I don’t have any memories of that.”

Jaina frowned and tried to figure out a solution. “That’s normal sometimes…your memory fogs up—”

“There’s something Kylo isn’t telling me.” 

A part of her felt like Finn was trying to pull Jaina away from her brother. She felt and she saw how much he had changed. Jaina knew, better than anyone, that Ben was truly putting in the work to be a better person. 

“Do you think he knows who my family is? Where I come from?” 

“Finn, I—” 

Would it be rude for Jaina to truly say what she was thinking? She thought about how many stormtroopers in the First Order were kidnapped and abducted from birth, who were conditioned and manipulated as children to serve Snoke and his rule. Jaina believed that the First Order did that to Finn, and he couldn’t remember his childhood because all it was was training to be a soldier. That was her theory, at least. Jag had always told her that he couldn’t remember his ‘childhood’ because the Chiss didn’t allow it. So he only had small pieces of memories in his mind. “Do you want me to be honest?”

“Yes.” 

“I think you were brought up to be a stormtrooper from birth. I know it’s not the story you want to hear…"

“I feel like there’s something more to me, Jaina. Why would they take a Force-sensitive stormtrooper?” 

Jaina squinted at him. That was a question she didn’t ask. “I’m sure they didn’t run midi-cholorian tests on—”

“They did.” Finn’s eyes scanned the room. He was in a deep trance, thinking back to his time with the First Order. “I remember they did it every week.” Finn began to recite the memory to her.

FN-2187 sat in his bedroom quarters with his roommate, waiting for the medic droid to make its rounds for the midi-cholorian test. He sat back on the wall, closing his eyes. The test seemed pointless and stupid. They already ran it on him. It was always negative. He didn’t randomly acquire the power of the Force. Running the tests was a way to make sure no Jedi or Force-sensitive fighter infiltrated the order. Since new stormtroopers were always coming into the program, it was a way to stay up to date on who they had.

The medic droid walked into the room, pricking FN-2187’s finger. It took a few minutes for the blood test results to come back. 

“Negative.” The droid moved onto the other stormtrooper in the room and did the same thing. “Negative.”

That story, to Jaina, was absolutely absurd; however, the First Order was absurd. Doing weekly midi-cholorian tests seemed to line up with the whole existence of the order. Snoke and Kylo Ren ran the regime on paranoia. 

“How did it come back negative?” Jaina asked. 

“I don’t know.” The ship began to lift off. Finn held onto the table and glanced at Jaina beside him. “It must’ve been programmed to give that result.”

“Did anyone get a positive?”

Finn nodded his head. “Rarely, but it would happen. They would get killed by a general. It was a whole procedure…” He frowned. “Your brother has done some shady stuff. I’m not trying to be mean or anything, either…” 

Jaina huffed. “I know he has.”

“Like…well…I’m not trying to pull you deeper into this stuff, but—you don’t think what happened to you and Zekk was weird…?”

Jaina squinted her eyes. How in the universe did he know what happened between her and Zekk? That was something that she didn’t even know the full story of. She thought back to the moment she found out Zekk was still alive. Kylo had told her. 

 “How do you know what happened between us?” She squinted over at him. 

“Anakin told me.”

“I’m getting more and more confused, and I hate being confused.” 

“It’s a long story.”

She glanced down at her wristwatch. “We have a while until we make it on Mustafar.” 

“It was years ago, when Poe and Anakin escaped the First Order with me. Our ship crashed on Jakku, and Anakin and I were stranded…” 

Anakin’s stamina was much higher than Finn’s. The young Jedi trekked through the hot desert in search of any sort of signs of civilization. At one point, the young boy stopped in the sand and dug around in it.

“What are you doing?” Finn asked, holding onto Poe’s jacket. 

“Look. It’s a screw.”

Finn rolled his eyes. “You stopped walking to look at a screw…?” He wiped the sweat off his eyebrows.

“It’s a sign that there’s something on this planet, and not just sand.” 

“Fine. I trust you.” Finn walked beside Anakin, tired of not knowing what to do or say. So, he thought back to being on the First Order base, where Anakin and Poe talked about people named ‘Jaina’ and ‘Zekk.’ “So, whose Jaina and Zekk?”

“My sister and her boyfriend. They’re Jedi,” Anakin said, walking a bit faster.

Finn jogged to keep up with him. “And…they went missing?” 

“Yeah. They were on the base.” 

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Anakin’s voice cracked. “I’m more worried about Zekk…my brother Force-choked him and told his soldiers to lock him up. I just hope he’s okay…Jaina should be fine. My brother wouldn’t kill her.”

“Who is your brother?”

Anakin’s face turned pale. “Kylo Ren…” His voice got higher.

“Oh my…” Finn looked around the desert. “I’m sorry, man. This must be the worst day of your life.”

“Close to it.” 

Finn took a deep breath and continued to walk in the desert in complete silence. 

Jaina let out a slight sigh. “So, let me get this right. Zekk was locked up with the First Order. I know that much.” 

“And then he somehow escaped,” Finn said, “which is incredibly hard to do.”

“Well, he’s a Jedi. It’s possible.” 

Finn shrugged his shoulders. “And then he—mysteriously—escaped. Escaped to Hapes. And didn’t tell you that he was fine. Didn’t contact you at all…disconnected himself from the Force. He only showed up when you went to Hapes.”

“Why do you know all of this stuff?” 

“I dunno, word gets around fast over here,” he said, “I know more than I should.” 

“Look, Finn…I appreciate your concern, I do. But I think you’re thinking about all of this too much. I can’t imagine how hard this all is for you. Zekk is fine, and that is all that matters.”

“Whatever, Jaina. We can disagree. Just—can you promise me something?” Jaina nodded her head. “When all of this is over, can you ask Kylo what he knows about my family?” 

“You can ask him.” Jaina stood up. “Why are you so afraid to talk to him?” Jaina’s eyes widened in embarrassment. She shouldn’t have said that. “I’m sorry, sorry.” The night on Illum crept back into her mind. Kylo nearly paralyzed Finn. He was mere inches away from killing Finn on the snowy planet. “Sorry…” she said again. 

“It’s fine,” Finn said.

“I’ll talk to him, I promise.” Jaina walked out of the room. She needed to find Zekk. 

Zekk was off in one of the private rooms in the Falcon. She let herself in and barged into the room. 

“Jaina, what the kriff?” He put his hand on his saber. “You scared me.”

“Sorry.” She wasn’t sorry, and Zekk knew that. “Why did you disappear? Can you please tell me the truth?” 

Zekk clenched his jaw. “Snoke locked me up, okay? Ben let me free—he was being nice that day, I guess. He let you and Anakin go. Ben said that if I told anyone that I was still alive, he wouldn’t be so gracious next time. So, I took the offer and I left.”

“Zekk…” Jaina sat down in the chair beside him.

“Then word got around that he killed Anakin. At that point, I knew he was serious—and I didn’t want to risk telling you…I didn’t want to risk him killing you like he did Ani, so…I hid, and that’s where I met my fiancé. I hid until the war ended, Jaina, and then I ran into you.” 

Jaina took a deep breath. She was relieved to hear that the truth wasn’t so dark and confusing. “Good,” she said. “Finn—do you know Finn?”

“Somewhat…the new Jedi?”

“Yeah…” She stood up and walked towards the door. “He’s anxious, right now, and is being a huge conspiracy theorist. I guess he thought Ben did something awful to you…”

“No,” Zekk said with a soft smile, “not at all.” 

Jaina nodded her head and walked out of the room. But Jaina still had an odd feeling in her gut that something wasn’t right about this whole situation. It wasn’t like she was trying to frame Zekk for something he didn’t do, but she knew he had many brushes with the dark side; what if, somehow, Zekk made a deal with Snoke and Kylo? What if he was trying to embrace the dark side? Thinking about all of this, she nearly bumped into her Aunt. 

“Sorry,” she said, rubbing her eyes. 

Mara patted her back. “Don’t worry about it.” She walked off in the opposite direction towards the cockpit. 

Jaina followed her. “I need your expertise.”

“Hmm…” she exclaimed. “What’s troubling you? Or who’s troubling you? Jag? Your father?” She put her hand on her chin, mimicking the stance Luke does when he’s in deep thought. “...Finn…? Your mother?”

“No, no, no, and no.” 

“Oh my…” She crossed her arms. “Is it Luke? Me?”

“No, stop guessing. It’s Zekk.” Jaina bit her lip. “You know how he disappeared, and came back out of the blue?”

“Uh-huh, yes.”

“What if…what if something bad happened to him? He said Ben let him go, but I don’t know if I believe that. He killed Anakin, nearly killed me, and just—let Zekk run free?” 

Mara took a deep breath. “I will admit that is odd. But Kylo doesn't make very rational decisions, does he?” 

Jaina nodded her head. “He doesn't.”

“So, what makes sense and what doesn't make sense shouldn't matter, right now. Focus on the task at hand, and then we can do all the conspiring you want.”

Her aunt was right. She was thinking  about everything way too deeply. 

“Thanks, Aunt Mara.”

“Anytime.” The two walked into the cockpit, joining the rest of the family. 

As Leia sat in the cockpit next to her brother, a huge pain pounded in her head. She usually got them when the Force was trying to communicate something to her. More often than not, however, she got such headaches when she passed by Alderaan. But Han knew better than to take a route that flew past the destroyed planet. So it wasn’t that.

She looked over at Luke, who held the top of his eyelids. He was having it too.

“Han, how far are we from Mustafar?” she asked, opening her eyes.

Han looked behind him and reached his hand over to comfort his wife’s shoulder. “We’ll be there soon. Be patient, hot-shot.”

She blushed and sighed, trying to contain her headache. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Luke turned to his twin. “That is fair, Leia,” he said. “Neither of us has been on Mustafar.”

“If it were up to me, I wouldn’t dare to go on that planet.” She let out a small laugh. 

“I know…but it is up to you. No one is forcing you to get off the ship.”

Leia smiled. “It’s the right thing to do. I need to be there for Ben and Jaina.”

Her brother spun around in the chair and looked around at the interior of the Falcon. It looked just as it did during the era of the Rebel Alliance. The bright fluorescent lights, the dice hanging from the ceiling, and Han as the pilot with Chewie at his side was all the same. It couldn't get much more nostalgic than that.

Mara put her hands on Luke’s shoulders and kissed his greying hair. Jaina stood beside her father, trying to micromanage his flying. 

“You’re in my way, kid.” He adjusted his headset. Jaina heard Jag’s voice from Han’s headphones and leaned closer. “Landing on Mustafar now,” Jag said. His voice was muffled, but Jaina let out a soft smile. Han looked over at his daughter, and handed her the headset. “Seems like you want this more than I do.” 

“On the planet already?” Jaina asked Jag. She looked out the window and saw Mustafar in the distance.

“She’s in love.” Luke whispered over to Leia. 

Leia looked up at Mara and Luke. “So are you.”

Jaina blushed and smiled as she talked to Jag through the headset. Slowly, Luke stood up from the chair and let Mara sit. “I better find Ben,” he said, placing a kiss on Mara’s forehead. 

Chapter Text

Shortly after Luke exited the cockpit, he felt the ship enter into Mustafar’s atmosphere. The weight of his grandparents' memories, emotions, and trauma began to ease its way into the Force. His body heat rose, presumably from the planet’s immense heat, and the heavy emotions bearing on his mind.

He saw Finn leaning against the wall, his eyes shut.

“Finn?” he asked.

“Master Skywalker!” Finn opened his eyes. “Sorry, I was just meditating.”

Luke smiled. “There is no need to apologize.”

“Can we run over the plan one more time?”

“Of course.” Luke looked over at the young Jedi. “Once we land, we all will head to the castle. Snoke should be there waiting. Emperor Fel and Poe will start surrounding the sky.” 

Finn nodded his head. “And Ben and I head over to Snoke to try and deceive him before you and your family confront him?”

“Exactly.” Luke smiled. “You have come a long way.”

“Thank you. I couldn’t do it without you.”

“No. It was all you.” Luke patted his shoulder. “May the Force be with you, Finn.”

“May the Force be with you.”

Ben sat in his room on the Falcon, his head in his hands. It was still decorated like it was when he was a young teenager—band posters, bottles he collected from different planets, clothes on the floor, and old books across the shelves. Luke extended his hand out to his nephew.

“Are we here?” he asked, looking up at his Uncle. Luke nodded his head. He stood up from his bed and stood in front of his Uncle. 

Words couldn’t express how proud Luke was of Ben. He knew how hard it was to turn back to the light from the dark. Though, of course, his nephew had a long way to go to prove himself that he really was sorry about his actions. By now, the New Republic had to have known about Ben’s ‘escape’ out of exile on Hapes, and that would not come without its consequences. Even though all leaders of the Galactic Alliance—Leia, Luke, and Jag—all approved of Ben going on the mission, the members of the New Republic were going to be furious that they did not run it by the whole committee running Ben’s case. That was going to be a problem to settle when they got back on Coruscant. 

The two men walked out of the room and onto the loading dock, where Finn, Jaina, Leia, and Mara all stood. Ben froze for a second as the ship softly landed. Everyone stepped onto the planet. Fear flew into his body as he felt Snoke somewhere on that planet. What if he turned again? What if something bad happened to his family?

Luke grabbed his shoulder. He took Ben’s hands, unhooked a lightsaber from his belt, and slid it in Ben’s hands. Tears immediately escaped out of his eyes. He didn’t even need to look at the hilt to know that the saber once belonged to his brother. There was a certain sort of warmth to the saber. All of the light that he felt when he would hang out with Anakin rushed back into his blood. His little brother’s voice and laughs echoed in his ears. 

“There’s a way to be good again, Ben.” 

Tears raced down his face even more. It was a pleasant surprise that his family truly believed him—that he could actually do good after all of the evil he did. The fiery planet of Mustafar shined down on the side of his face, warming his body temperature even more. Luke let go of his hands. He wanted to reach back out again to his Uncle—to tell him that he was scared and nervous for what was going to happen. 

Not knowing that his father was watching him from afar, he stepped a bit closer, and held Ben’s face in his hand. Ben leaned his face into his father’s hand, giving him a teary smile. 

“You got this, kid.” Han wiped his son’s tears off. “I love you.” 

Ben nodded his head and clipped the saber back to his holster. “I love you, too.” 

He walked off the loading dock and turned back to look at his father and Uncle behind him. There, he saw two familiar figures stand beside Luke. The famous Anakin’s. His grandfather nodded his head at Ben with a soft smile. His brother stood in front of Luke with a bright smile. Slowly, he waved over to Ben. Before he could wave back, the Force ghosts disappeared. 

Chapter Text

Ben and Finn stayed together on the fiery planet. They didn’t talk about much of anything at all—only the necessities to keep them both alive. 

“Go left,” Ben said, carefully walking through the planet. It looked much different than what it did back when his grandfather fell to the dark side. There were trees being planted and artificial plants. Although he didn’t know the complete and full answer as to why plants were on the planet, he imagined that Snoke was trying to make the planet more habitable for the native species. 

And habitable it was. A small cult called the Alazmec of Winsit thrived on the planet during the rule of Vader and the Empire. After his death, they took over the planet, and Vanee, Vader’s old assistant, took over the castle.

That was until Snoke tasked Kylo and the First Order to invade the planet when he turned to the dark side.

  Engines of TIE fighters and First Order ships swarmed into the atmosphere of Mustafar. Kylo felt his grandfather’s spirit weighing in on his body. He had never felt more secure in his power and choice to turn to the dark side. As the ships arrived on the planet, they immediately went into a fiery forest where the Alazmec lived.

Over a loud speaker, Armitage Hux began to announce the grounds for the invasion. “Bow down to Kylo Ren and the First Order,” he said, “or be destroyed.”

“No!” one Alazmec screamed, raising their staff, “we only bow down to the Dark Lord, Lord Vader!”

Kylo Ren striked the Alazmec with his sabers and watched the rest of his stormtroopers shoot the others. The First Order and their forces were simply outnumbered against the Alazmec, but to Kylo, that didn’t matter. Red sparks flew out from his saber, colliding with the fire and ashes on the ground. His anger and legacy consumed him as he fought off each and every single one of the Alazmec, using the Force to bring them towards him, and stabbing them in the chest. Once each and every one of them fell to the ground, Kylo retracted his saber, looking up at the pink, orange, and red sky. 

The classic and distinct breathing of Lord Vader crashed into his ears. As he closed his eyes to focus on the sound, he began to walk out of the forest. Rain dripped down on his black garbs and capes. The echo of his grandfather’s voice still corrupted his ears. But this time, as he walked up the stone steps, he heard more voices—one that was full of anger and sadness. He looked around him. A glimpse of a young Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi caught his eye. But he looked away and stared straight at the castle. Two Alazmec held up bows and arrows at him and shot it off. Quickly, he caught it and threw it on the floor. 

It was clear that the warriors were in shock at Kylo’s reflexes. 

“You cowards!” Kylo screamed. Rain fell on his forehead. As he ignited his crackly saber, it sizzled as he aggressively swiped the warriors, cutting them in half.  

The only thing that illuminated Kylo in the dark sky was the red sky and his saber. His eyes stood straight ahead at Vader’s castle. At that moment, he had no other motive but to sit on that throne, and feel the power of his grandfather consume him. Blood from the fight dripped down onto the stone floor. The doors were locked shut. He tried to use the Force to open the door.

Kylo tilted his head down, looking at the puddle of blood that was once on the stone. It, mysteriously, evaporated, and the door quickly opened. 

The castle was dark and cold. Its structure was built of all stone with high ceilings and stone columns dressing the hallway.

“You are very welcome here indeed,” a dark voice said.

Kylo swung his saber around, ready to attack whoever was there. “Reveal yourself now.” An old man in a black cape came out. He had electronic limbs and other prosthetic body parts. A breathing machine connected to his mouth down to his chest. “Who are you?”

“I am Vanee. You must be related to my Lord…the castle opens for those who share the same blood.” Vanee took another step closer to Kylo Ren. “How do you know him?”

Kylo raised the saber up to the old man’s head. “I’m Kylo Ren. Vader was my grandfather. What is your connection to him? Why are you in his castle?”

The old man frowned, and his voice cracked. “I—I served Lord Vader for a very long time.”

“Good,” Kylo said, “and now you will serve me with your death.”

“No, no!” the old man pleaded and folded his hands together, dropping to his knees. “You are very much like your grandfather. Please, spare me—I have served Lord Vader well over the years. Why do you feel the need to kill me?” Oddly, Vanee reminded Kylo of Snoke. And Kylo knew he didn’t need anymore reminders of his master.

“You,” Kylo said, inching the saber closer to him. “You’re the past—it torments me; the legacies; the expectations—I want it gone.”

“You foolish and ignorant child!” Vanee let out a sinister smile, and played a hologram of Vader. Despite Kylo’s wishes to get rid of his legacy, his eyes glowed as he looked at his grandfather. “Vader is the reason you are here. Vader’s past was how he got his power.” 

Kylo Ren retracted his saber and reached out to the hologram of his grandfather. “Show me,” he whispered, feeling the dark side whistle and hum into his veins. Vanee took Kylo into another wing of the castle. It was completely dark. Lightening from outside glistened from the windows.

He got to a large throne room, its walls broken with stone. His grandfather's voice echoed in the room. 

“Snoke has failed you, my grandson,” Vader's voice said.

Kylo deactivated his saber and squinted in the darkness. Heavy breathing and footsteps made its way towards him. Lightning struck in the room, causing Vader’s appearance to brighten.  

“I will give you,” Vader said, taking a deep breath. “Everything you want, and more.” 

Light shined on a large stone throne. Kylo looked at his grandfather in front of him, who was motioning for him to sit on his beloved throne. As he walked up a dusty carpet and made his way to his grandfather’s throne, electricity burned through his veins. It felt wrong—he was betraying everything he ever knew; but it felt so right . As he looked back at Vader one more time, a part of him knew that this was all a ghost or a vision or hallucination, but he didn’t care. It felt real.