Hello everyone! I'm excited to start writting my first Force Awakens/Last Jedi story! I loved the Last Jedi and I love these characters, so I hope you bear with me as I try to tell the story that I have planned for these characters! Warning, this will get angsty as relationships proceed, and characters emotions get invested. Much love :)
The Price of Power:
Three Years after the Battle of Crait
"Rey! You coming?"
She could hear the eager voices of her friends echo through the small hallway that connected their chambers.
"Yeah, I'll be there in a second!"
She called out as she finished up some final touches on her hair that now fell to the middle of her back in soft chocolate waves. She had finsly managed to place the delicate gold hair piece Leia had given her neatly in her hair- granted it took her about an hour to get right- before she stood up from the small vanity. Taking in a deep breath, she let it slowly quell the adrenaline that violently coursed through her vains from an early morning mission to a nearby planet. She had successfuly led a team onto the scarcily populated First Order base where they were able to destory the information they had filed on the location of the Ressistance base; which they were forced to change more times than she cared to admit over the course of three years. They had finally settled on the lightly forested planet of Voss when they got word of the files the First Order had on them. It was a good call to destroy those files instead of move to another plant yet again. She was starting to like it here.
The transition had been hard in the beginning, especially the task of completing her Jedi training, but somehow she managed to make it through alright. Of course Master Luke made an appearance or two when she was completely stumped, but she was finally a Jedi. A real life Jedi. She finally knew her place in this, and it was with the Resistance.
However, she had a bit of a scare earlier. It had been a long time since she had to step on First Order grounds and it practically devoured her. She had been so shaken at one point, she failed to sense the shift in the force as a storm trooper fired his weapon at her. Her hands still shook as visions of the past danced vividly through her head as if she were reliving it. She recalled holding onto one of the soldiers who had taken a bullet for her as he took his final breath. His eyes, his dark eyes turing glassy as his body slumped into her arms. Tears clouded her vision as she was forced to leave him. She was only brought out of the nightmare when she heard Finn's voice shouting from around the corner, "Okay, but hurry up! BB-8 says you don't want to miss diner again!"
"Save me a spot!"
She yelled back before turning to a small wooden carved chest placed neatly at the end of her bunk. Her delicate fingers unlatched the rusty clasp before she reached for a thick cowl to throw on over her shoulders. The planet they had taken up was close to the outer rim and because of that it was always freezing cold at night. Well, that and the fact that her body still hasn't aclimated to cold weather.
She stood up quickly, rubbing away the goosebumps as she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Craning her head around, her eyes fell on the dashing face of Poe Dameron who was leaning casually against her door frame. His eyebrows were pushed together, a concerned look marring his features, "Hey, you okay? You've been stuck in your room since we got back from the raid."
Her eyes darted to the small animated droid who wheeled through the pilots legs and into her room before she looked back up to Poe and responded, "I'm fine. I just needed some time to unwind."
He pushed off of the door frame and slowly strolled into her room, effectively closing the space between them. A small smile slowly grew on his face until it was a lopsided smirk. His hand moved to brush back a strand of hair that had fallen into her face as he spoke softly, "I understand. Take your time Rey, we'll be waiting for you when you're ready. Right BB?"
Warmth flooded to her cheeks at the gentle gesture as she looked down at her feet. Poe Dameron was charming indeed, but she couldn't shake the feeling of deep dark eyes peering into her neck. She smiled brightly as the circular droid beeped excitedly between their feet. She managed to reply calmly,
"Thank you Poe. I'll see you in a few."
As soon as Poe was out the door, Rey softly pushed through the force to close the door behind him. With that she reached for the chrome cylinder that she had reconstructed soon after the unfortune incident on Snoke's ship. It was a tad longer than before, with an opening on eachside where the glowing blue blade would erupt to form a double edged saber. She was far more comfortable with this length due to her comfortability with a bowstaff. As the hilt met her hand, she twirled it once for dramatic flare before clipping it to her side and heading for the door.
Before she could reach the knob, she felt the sudden drop in the air around her. It was something she had grown acustomed to the last few years, but something that never got easier. The feeling of someone tugging on her from across the galaxy.
She made a vow to herself to never open up the barrier she had erected between them because she knew she wouldn't be able to turn away if she saw him again - if she saw those eyes again. The eyes that were filled with conflict and pain but also had a vast intensity that spoke of compassion and intellect. She would be lying to herself if she had not seen those very eyes in her dreams at night - the eyes that pleaded, no begged for her to stay. There was something so raw and open between the two of them, but she had to shut him out- if not for the resistance, then for herself. Her emotions towards him were still too raw for her to make a decision regaurding the new supreme leader. Nevertheless Kylo Ren tried, as he had time and time again, to make contact with her.
She let out a deep sigh before blocking out the desparate feeling and made her way out into the cold night air.
—-—
He tried, as he did many times over the years, to reach out to her but he was met with the same brick wall that she had built between them years ago; nothing had changed. He didn't know why he still tried with her when the feelings of abandonment and rejection felt like a fresh wound everytime. Rey, the scavenger, the Jedi. He couldn't forget her even if he tried. He couldn''t forget the way she looked up at him in the elevator, like he was important. Never had he felt so needed, so secure in his life. Maybe it was the common sense of lonliness or the need to find a belonging, but something about the girl made his heart leap out of his chest.
He was brought back into reality when the adenoidal voice of Hux cut through the space,
"Supreme Leader, we've lost signal on the resistance's coordinates. They have managed to disengage one of our locations in the outer rim somehow. Might I suggest we send out a patrol near the surrounding planets in case they were foolish enough to stay nearby?"
He brushed the general off like usual, "That won't be necessary."
He tried his best to hold back the anger that reverberated through him as the general protested, "But if we attack them now while they are off gaurd, we might be able to put an end to them for good! Their supplies are still too low to fight back accordingly."
Kylo took in a deep breath as he pintched the bridge of his nose. This was going to be a long day, he thought to himself. He took a deep breath before he replied calmly, "Pull your scouts. I have something else in mind."
"But-"
"That's an order general!"
"Yes...sir."
He watched in frustration as Hux scrambled his way out of his chambers, hands slowly unclentching as soon as he was out the door. Kylo was beginning to grow impatient with the general, but he knew he needed his wisdom on military tactics that he himself lacked. He turned in his chair, reaching for his holo pad to figure out what he was going to do next.
Hux made his way out of the supreme leaders chambers as quickly as he could. There was an insistent blinking on his wrist com that gave him some sort of hope. He looked both ways before responding to the person who waited patiently on the other side of the com, "Follow through with the plan. It's high time Kylo Ren paid for his actions."
—
Rey couldn't hold back a smile as she stepped into the open area where everyone was busy eating and chatting. The rich smokey smell of a campfire hit her senses before she saw the massive fire buring in the center of the gathering, fighting off the cold night air. She was just making her way into the crowd when she heard the familiar soft chime of Rose's voice call out,
"There she is!"
Her eyes landed on her small group of friends who were close to the fire, small glasses held in their hands. She approached them with ease, "Hey guys."
Finn's large frame bumped into her first as he excitedly handed her one of the two glasses he held in his hands while he excitedly exclaimed, "Here you've got to try this!"
She looked down into the glass as a bright blue liquid before she questioned, "What is it?"
She tried to hold back a laugh as the others looked at her with a sense of amusement. Finn pushed her arm as if rushing her to taste the strange liquid as he spoke, "Just try it!"
Dowing the whole conyents of the mug in one gulp, Rey quickly grimanced at the buring feeling the liquid left in her mouth as it made its way down into her stomatch. He nose scruntched up in disgust as she responded, "How can you stand this?"
An elbow jabbed her playfully as Poe spoke into her ear with a chuckle, "It's like his third one."
Finn, happily unaware yelled, "It gets better!"
The group busted up with laughter before Rey whispered to Rose, "Somehow I doubt that."
The whole group was caught up in their jokes and stories when Rey felt a strange tugging sensation through the force. Not now, please not now she thought to herself before she realized that this was a different feeling completely. Turning around, her eyes quickly locked on general Leia Organa who was perched on a stray log. Rey turned back around to her friend who were still too consumed in a story to sense her mild panick attack. She whispered to Poe, "I'll be right back."
He gave her a small nod as his eyes connected with the general. Rey left in a rush, coming to sit next to the general in a heap. Leia gave her a warm smile as she spoke, "Rey."
Rey couldn't stop herself before the words started pouring out of her mouth, "Leia, I- I'm sorry about today. The mission got over my head, I don't know what I was thinking."
The woman simply placed a gentle hand on her thigh before she soothed, "You can't save them all Rey, Luke knew what he was doing when he left. He trusted you - trusted that you would find a way without him."
Rey turned her eyes onto the regal woman before her as she questioned, "But how? I know I'm supposed to be a leader now but I can't help feeling like I don't know the frist thing about being a Jedi."
"You are more capable than you think, and wise beyond your years. You're not alone in this battle Rey. You have us, don't forget."
As she looked back into the kind woman's eyes she was startled to find the hurt, the pain, but also the confidence and peace. This woman had seen so much in her life, had lost so much, and here she was comforting a young inexperienced Jedi who was sure to ruin everything she had built. She made a vow to herself that she would make this woman proud, that she would do all she could to restore the resistance, restore the peace that the general had once created. Rey noded to her with a small smile as she replied, "Thank you general."
Deep brown eyes lit up lovingly as she spoke, "Of course. Now go have fun, you deserve it. And please, call me Leia!"
Rey gave the genral - no Leia - a wide smile before she hurried back to her friends who now reeked of alcohol and bonfire.
She giggled as Finn slurred, "Rey come on!"
Poe ran out and grabbed her hand as he smung her around, trading her to Finn who spun her around similarily. He laughter filled the air and her friends danced around her in circles. She shouted over the loud music, "This is absolutely ridiculous!"
She accepted another small glass of the disgusting blue liquid polietly as she threw it back and continued to dance around with her friends. Finn responding to her statement, "Yeah, ridiculously fun!"
Poe burst out into laughter as Rey turned on him with wide eyes and asked, "How many of those did you say he had again?"
Intead of replying, Poe grabbed her hands and spun her around in a cirlce as she let out a small scream. She detatched herself from him quickly as her stomatch growled. As she ate, she grbbed another small glass and chugged it because why the hell not? She let the warmth of the fire and the pungent liquid fill up the loneliness deep within her as she filled her belly and watched her friends stumble around in drunk glee.
—
As he wrote down his final report, he was suddenly hit by a strange sense of cheer and.. dizziness? He was stunned in place. No, that couldn't be right. Was she even aware she had opened up to the bond? That she was projecting? He let his pen drop to the ground as he stumbled to his bed, collapsing in a weird second hand drunken state. He propped himself up into a sitting position as he shook his head, running his hands through his hair as he focused. Something clicked as he was able to connect fully to the bond. He could see fire - a large fire by the looks of it - that was in the center of some sort of celebration. Faces passed in a blur until his eyes locked onto the haunting hazel ones that he handed seen in years.
His breath hitched in his throat as he looked down at her face, her sharp, elegant face. She looked older, hair cascading down her back in soft curls. She was bundled in thick robs and a dark blue cowl as she looked into the fire, unaware of his sudden intrusion into her mind. However, the moment was feeting and only lasted a second more before he was harshly thrown from the bond yet again.
The lingering warmth of the fire slowly died down as he stared forward where the girl, Rey, once stood. A chill ran up his spine as the bond froze between them, not a whisper seeping through. In a fit of rage, he kicked the chair that was neatly placed before him, and when that wasn't enough he picked it up and slammed it against the wall. She was nearly in his grasp, all he had to do was say her name. How foolish could he be! He could have found the location, the location they had been scrambling to find, and end this whole sharade. Dammit!
Not that she would want to see me, he thought to himself. She made that very clear the last time they spoke, but he could still find her, couldn't he?He had enough of a sense to feel how far away she was in comparison to himself. That, and Hux had said something about a possible base somewhere in the outer rim. All he had to do was find her. Find her, find the base, find your mo- the general and end this. End this whole damn thing.
He quickly reached for his com and was surprisingly still in tact after his small rampage, "General Hux, meet me in hanger two."
The general replied as prompt as ever, "Yes.. Supreme Leader?"
He didn't waste time, it was now or never, "I need you to prepare my ship."
There was a loud sigh heard on the other end before the general began his usual rant, "We are in the middle of a war Ren. Is it really a good time to head on vacation now when we are so close to locating their base?"
He shot back with fire, "That's what I'm working on general. You'd be wise to recognize your place, we don't want another accident now, do we?"
Hux hesitated before replying in a clipped voice, "Of course not... sir."
"Good. Have my shuttle ready in five."
—-
His head bobbed through the hallways as he hurried to the location that was agreed upon already. He was filled to the brim with pent up anger from his meeting with that spoiled brat of a man who miraculously managed to become the new supreme leader. He clenched and unclentched his hands just thinking about his pompous higher up. As he neared the corner, he all but ran into the young man who saluted immediately. Hux immpatiently demanded, "Do you have the information?"
The young boy looked aver his shoulder repeatedly before he nervously addressed him, "It was very hard to uncover sir. You know with the fire and all."
Hux motioned with his hand for him to carry on as he spoke, "Yes yes I know and you will be paid accordingly! Just show me what you've found!"
The boy handed him a file with shaky hands. He quickly snatched them from him and dug through the contents before a cynical smile grazed his lips and he muttered, "Yes, this is good. Very good. Com Ren, he'll want to be informed before he leaves."
The boy saluted one more time, "As you say sir."