It was the Resistance which eventually 'saved' her from her exile. She had not asked to be rescued and she resented it when it came. The scout ship broke through the atmosphere and streaked across the horizon in a blast of unwelcome light and sound. They had felt the pilot's presence long before the ship was visible, yet it still surprised her. That small ship signalled the end for them. Sheltered under the vast forest canopy she held him in her arms for the last time. Their minds intermingled and the Force flowed through and over them. The lush vegetation previously rustling in the wind was frozen, motionless. They desperately wished that they could suspend time itself and remain locked in this moment for an eternity. The scout ship found itself caught at the peripheral of the disturbance as their united manipulation of the Force expanded and pushed outwards in a bubble of silence and anguish. The pilot's panic and the ship's screaming engines broke their focus and the energy dissipated into the air. The scout ship found itself suddenly released from the Force hold and so shot forwards narrowly avoiding crashing into what remained of their own ship.

Rey turned towards the commotion and in that instant he was gone. She did not need to turn around, he had left her. The clearing under the trees was now occupied only by herself. She fell to her knees and used all her energy to reach out to him through the Force. She desperately searched for him. Yet, she felt only silence. Her mind was cold without his fiery presence. She felt diminished, and had never before had so felt as small and alone as she did at this moment.

It was under these same trees that she remained until the pilot tracked her life signs. She had observed the skill with which he salvaged his landing of the ship. Once he had disembarked, he practically sauntered around the makeshift home she had shared for the past few months. Gently she stretched out her mind towards his. She searched for signs of his intentions. His uniform marked him as one of the Resistance but she felt no allegiance to their cause now. They had nothing to offer her. She was already lost. Rey sensed the pilot's wariness of the environment, yet his body language exuded confidence. A leader of some sort, perhaps? He was obviously looking for something or someone. Why else would anyone come here with such a sense of purpose? Had he come for Ben? No, she dismissed this idea immediately. The ferocious Kylo Ren would not be apprehended by one lone pilot. No one would be so foolish enough to even attempt it. Doubts rippled through her mind. What if he was here for her? But how could that be? She was a nobody. A lowly, insignificant scavenger. Nothing more and nothing less. She shuddered at her own irrelevance in the galaxy. To know that for the past few months she had been so much more, more than she had even known could be possible – but now she was back to being that unimportant, lonely scavenger once more. The hot tears streamed across her face and rolled down her chin. She lacked the will to even wipe them away. So they fell unchecked onto the soft green forest floor.

She sat and awaited discovery. Her knees now pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. Her face rested on her knees and so she did not see the pilot approach. But she felt him. He was so focussed on his task that when he finally laid eyes on her his relief and compassion was as palpable to her as a gentle caress. With a single word she understood that she could never go back to what she had been. The past few months were as ashes and dust now.

"Rey?" his voice was jarring in the quiet of the forest. He crouched before her, unwilling to startle her further. "We have been looking for you for quite some time now"

His manner was kind and she looked up in response. He held out a hand and together they stood.

"Is it just you, kid?" he enquired, his eyes scanning the dense forestry all around them. She closed her eyes and searched again through the Force. Only silence. The relief on his face was obvious when she nodded to confirm that she was indeed alone. He had a highly expressive face and she could almost read his words as he formed them in his mind. So open and without artifice. However, for all of his outward warmth he was stone cold in comparison to the inferno that was Ben's mind. She shivered again. Her mind felt raw, as if part of it had been abruptly torn away. How could this man not see how damaged she was, just a hollowed out version of the person she had become. She knew she would never be complete again. Ben had gone.

With a bit of cajoling the pilot managed to persuade Rey to do one last sweep of the camp. She found herself standing in the burned out wreckage of the former living quarters aboard the old freighter. She felt the lingering fury as he had destroyed everything in sight. In her right hand she held the blue lightsabre. She recalled the Force union which had enabled them to search through the dark lake waters. Huddled on the sand with their minds, hands and hearts intertwined they had salvaged this old weapon. Its Force signature had been their guide. Afterwards, he had shown her how to repair and restore it. They had done this together and now all she had was this relic of past conflicts. Well, that was not strictly true. For in her other hand she held the tortured and twisted remains of his red lightsabre. She felt the light radiating over her left hand and also the cold fire of hate that saturated this weapon of terror in her right hand. She paused, her indecision annoyed her. Should she leave the red sabre for him to retrieve later once she had left? No, she inhaled swiftly and stood tall with her shoulders back. She would take them both.

She told herself that she was taking the red sabre in an attempt to prevent him falling back into his old ways. Although, she also reasoned that there was a lot more to Kylo Ren than his savage lightsabre, and there was nothing to stop him from merely replicating the design if he really wished to. Yet, deep down she hoped that as long as she possessed it then he would be able to find her. And then maybe, just maybe they could find their own path together.

It felt strange to be in an unfamiliar ship with a strange person. Their isolation had been absolute and all consuming. They had had no need for actual words and it was strange to hear the steady stream of chatter coming from the pilot. She allowed the words to wash over her without taking any actual notice of their meaning. Yet, reluctantly she realised that the pilot was now looking at her somewhat expectantly. Clearly, she had missed some sort of enquiry. He slowly repeated himself.

"So, do you want to know how we found you?" His hands were busy with the controls as they pulled away from the planet she had called home. He was utterly oblivious to her turmoil. Without any encouragement, he continued talking. "Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has been searching for you! You must be one special individual, kid, you know that?!"

In response, she merely turned to look back through the viewport at the dwindling planet. The pilot's words were meaningless because without him she was nobody now.