It was time.
Today was the day that would change the fate of the galaxy forever. The Resistance would rise, and the First Order would commence its crumbling descent into the depths of despair and defeat.
Today, Rey knew that she had done everything she could to make the galaxy a safer place, a better place, to raise her child in relative peace. She was confident in herself, in her actions, and proud of those who had risked their lives beside her in the effort to make all of this happen. She would never be able to thank them enough. Never.
Her daughter would be safe because of them.
That was something no mother could ever forget.
Rey sighed, lightly, a small smile gracing her lips as she gazed down at her child. She was three days old, small and soft and wrapped tightly in a blanket, held against her mother's chest.
"Are you sure you want to do this today?" Leia asked softly as she came into the room, moving towards Rey and touching her fingers gently against the small girl's forehead.
Rey nodded. "I'm sure." There was nothing that could stop her from doing this today. Nothing.
"Are you strong enough, Rey?" Leia probed, and the tone in her voice caused Rey's eyes to lock with the older woman's.
She cared. And that was still unusual for Rey. No matter how much care had been shown to her in the last four years, she was still not used to other beings expressing concern, care… and even love to her.
"I am. Enough for this at least," Rey replied insistently. She held Leia's gaze, showing her every ounce of conviction she felt for the cause. Leia broke the stare first, giving Rey a twitch of her lips before placing a kiss on Rey's cheek.
"Okay," she said as she placed her hand on the small of Rey's back. "Well, let's do this. Let's change the world." Suddenly, her face lost all expression, going blank, and her hand spasmed slightly where it rested against Rey.
Rey knew where her thoughts were going, and she was proven right when the general, the princess… Leia… spoke. "Is he ready?"
Looking down at her daughter, wrapped in her arms, she smiled again. "He is," she replied firmly. "They're all ready. Every one. They just need the signal."
"Well," Leia said, then paused and let out a long breath before breathing deep again. "Let's go give them that signal. Everyone's waiting."
Rey always marveled at the change the older woman could achieve in her physical presence. She had a front for the Resistance - a strong woman, unwilling to give an inch to her enemies, never letting anyone see how she was affected by the war - and a front for her close friends… but then there was her true self. The one she only exposed to those closest to her. To Luke. To Chewbacca. To Rey.
Her eyes prickled at the thought - the thought that she had someone who considered her family, and she them.
She had healed so much as a result of becoming closer with the brother and sister, the walls she had built on Jakku crumbling away bit by bit over the months, the years, that they had drawn her into their orbit.
"Let's go," Rey agreed finally, shaking herself from her musings.
She looked down at her child, brought her face closer for a kiss to the forehead, and smiled. Then she walked out the door behind the general - front fully in place - her soft purple maternity dress floating around her ankles. She lifted a hand to her hair, reassuring herself that it was secure in its braid, no loose strands floating around.
She was ready.
And so was everyone else.
The recording chamber was filled with members of the Resistance base. Some whom she knew only by sight, some who viewed her as a legend, and also many who viewed the child she had been carrying in her belly, and now in her arms, as a legend as well. The chosen one, perhaps, but at least something that carried hope of the future within her small body.
So much weight to put on a child's shoulders.
But it wasn't their fault. No, Rey knew what it felt like to have hope, and would not begrudge them what helped them to get through the day.
Her friends were also there, sitting at a table just inside the door, and Rey bent slightly so that first Finn, then Poe, then Jessika, could place a kiss on her child's face, or tug gently at the little hand that had come unwrapped from her swaddling. She couldn't stay, however, and so simply offered them a small smile, a quick greeting, and an apologetic expression as she pulled herself and her child away.
It was so nice to have friends. Friends who understood her. Who gave her space and never probed too far when she didn't want to talk about her missions. Who understood that some people had and kept secrets, even from those they loved and respected.
Today… today she would reveal one of her secrets.
She hoped desperately that they would forgive her.
Suddenly Luke was at her elbow, metal hand touching her bare skin lightly as he guided her towards the chair set up in front of the holo-recorder. "Everything is ready," he whispered, his aura brushing lightly against hers and then withdrawing back into his contained shell. "We have the relays sliced and we have just under five minutes before they realize, so we better get started." He glanced around - not furtively, but cautiously - making sure that no one was nearby. "They think it's just going to be broadcast to the Resistance bases, but I had Artoo help me set it up earlier, so that when they hit the switch a few minutes ago, it would start the slice in the Order's main relay station."
He was actually grinning, happy to be causing trouble again, it seemed, and Rey let out a short huff of laughter. "Let's go mess with their heads, huh Luke?" she teased her master.
"Let's." His smile was infectious, and he left her smiling as she sat in her chair and he moved to stand behind her and to the right.
Leia quickly settled into place behind Rey's left shoulder, and she could feel Luke greeting his sister warmly through the Force.
The technician raised his hand, then announced, "Ready in ten seconds!" Everyone quieted down immediately, and his partner started the countdown.
A moment after one was called, the holo-recorder's indicator light came on, and they were live.
Rey took a deep breath, let it out, and then smiled down at her child. She didn't look at the camera as she began to speak.
"Fellow Resistance members," she said proudly. "Today is a day of joy for me. I know many of you have gone on this journey with me, step by step through my pregnancy, excited and filled with hope at the coming of another Jedi - at a new generation coming, providing a light in the darkness, and the hope of a future for us all. My child… my child has become a symbol, but she's more than that. She's more than you would ever realize."
Rey paused, and looked up at the camera.
Now or never.
"This child will help to turn the tide of war. Not because of who her mother is. No. Not because of me," she said ruefully, finally looking up at the lens. Rey brought her daughter up to her face, nuzzling her cheek and angling her face towards the recorder. "She will help turn the tide of war because of the love her father has for her; because her father has fought long and hard to redeem himself, and his daughter - and me, I suppose..." She laughed, a sparkle in her eye and a tenderness in her voice at speaking of the man she loved, and who loved her desperately in turn.
She continued, her eyes firming and her posture growing more rigid, "Her father loves her more than anything, and will do everything he can to make the galaxy a safer place for her - as will I, have no doubts about that." She leaned forward, kissed her daughter's cheek, and then looked directly into the recorder again.
Now.
Leia and Luke placed a hand on each of her shoulders, and Rey leaned back into the touch, her posture relaxing. They squeezed her shoulders, but didn't let go, reassuring her that they were there for her. That they would be there for her through anything.
And they had. Oh yes, they had. This was simply the beginning of the final act, where everything would come together with explosive finality.
It was time to reveal her secret.
"My brethren, my allies, my friends," Rey began shakily, but firmed her voice as she moved on, "Thank you for joining us in this name day celebration. It warms my heart that every last one of you wished to see this moment." She took a deep breath. "I present to you Breha Organa, daughter of myself, grand-daughter to Princess Leia Organa -" Rey could feel the room tense as people started to make the connection, "- and daughter to Ben Solo…" The room erupted in shock and even some anger. "... also known as Kylo Ren."
The previous clamoring immediately stopped as the light of the recorder cut off, and the entire room was on their feet, staring in shock, anger… and betrayal… at the four humans standing in the middle of the room, stoic in the face of what they knew would come.
Rey slowly got to her feet, cradling her child against her breast, and took a step forward. Leia and Luke stepped around the chair to flank her again.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," she said quietly into the empty silence of the room. She then turned on her heel, exiting the control center with the twins on her feet.
She didn't meet anyone's eyes, but her head was held high, and she regretted nothing.
If the galaxy's fate successfully turned on the fate of this carefully-planned mission, she would happily accept their scorn for the rest of her life.
As long as Breha was safe.
Note: Welcome to a completely new Reylo fic by yours truly! I'm not exactly sure how long this will be yet, but it will be at least a handful of chapters. Please review and let me know what you think. ^_^ (I mean, unless you just want to bash me, then please keep that to yourself. :P) Goodness, I really seem to like baby fics. Sorry this chapter was short but it just felt right to stop it there for now. Next chapter coming up... well, sometime. Thank you, everyone!
