Author´s note: My muse is very active these days and I hope some people will take a liking in this story. There are lots of ideas on it already, unfolding even as I wrote this first chapter. So sit back, read and enjoy and as usual: None of these folks are mine, none of this is written with any profit making in mind. My Star Wars knowledge is mostly limited to the movies and a few bits and pieces of research here and there. If you didn´t like The Last Jedi, this is not the fic you are looking for because it starts right after its events. For all others: Have fun.

Chapter 1 - Escape

Their escape had been a desperate one, their jump into hyperspace a triumph, leaping into the unknown, catapulting a motley, sadly small group of rebels into momentary safety. Away from the salty plains of Crait that, in the aftermath of their battle for the survival of a meek few, had turned the crimson colour of true butchery. Their triumph had had an aftertaste. So few survived and yet, the hope that Luke´s arrival… presence… she knew neither of these words were fitting, had created, was electrifying. At least for a few moments, a few hours, they allowed themselves to feel joy or, some, at least serenity. Luke was dead. And while she had not yet cried over him, while she understood that there was something of him that lingered in a way she could not grasp and that his passing had been a peaceful one, Rey knew that the blunt assault of her emotions might come later.

"That´s what happens sometimes," the pilot who had introduced himself to her as Poe Dameron, had told her as he found her sitting near one of the windows, peering out into hyperspace. "You just forget all the danger so you can focus and your mind is clear and you´re in the moment but it still might hit you later." The advice had sounded like he was the type to not typically give advice and who was now doing so merely for her benefit, but she had been grateful for it nonetheless. And yet, all she had been able to offer was a small smile.

There had been reunions, there had been relief, so much of it. Finding that Leia, that Fynn, were alive, her little disfunctional unit of what felt closest to a family she had never had. Apart from that, hyperspace had all offered them time for reflection, a time out from the noise of battle, the attempt of trying to clear their minds for the next step. And as the hours wound on most of them either found something to do, useless and trivial as it might be, or found a quiet place to be alone or chat in low voices. And after that was over, after they powered down the engines to leave hyperspace, the questions caught up with them and business as usual returned, even though it never quite felt that way. For minutes after the star streaked horizon turned back into almost black they all anxiously watched the skies only to find with relief that space around them stayed empty.

Chewie had taken over piloting for the moment giving most of their group a chance to meet in the hall of the Falcon. The ship didn´t have a meeting room of any sort and that should have discouraged the idea of ranks and titles and yet, even Rey with her limited understanding of politics noticed that the fighter pilots and the two mechanics that had survived seemed to automatically take their seats in the back.

"We are currently in mid-rim territory, not too far from Malastar . It´s a sector out of the reach of the First Order. For now." Leia informed them. There was a shadow over her features but apart from that the older woman carried herself with the same strength and dignity Rey had begun to admire her for.

"How can we know?" she asked.

"We may be devastatingly decimated," Leia said. "But the First Order, as much as they would deny it and as much as they aspire to the ways of the Empire are far from their reach and influence. They are a danger, but we are lucky to know that the universe is maybe in a more chaotic state now than it has been in hundreds of years. With the New Republic in ruins and the First Order still on the rise, there are countless of neutral worlds that may be willing to help out."

"It didn´t do us much good back on Crait. Like…. When they didn´t answer our call, remember?" Poe remarked and fell silent when that earned him a glance from the General and awkward silence from the rest. "We cannot give up on hope." Leia added more softly. "and if we must take advantage from our numbers it is that we are so few that we will be much harder to find."

"There is no doubt that this ship is being looked for by now. It always has been and now even more so." The pilot again.

"Which is why we better approach a neutral world quickly to take on board what we need and find help for those that need it. A place to hide, for now."

Rey could see Leia´s gaze meet Finn´s. She had not yet heard much about what exactly had been going on during the battle, but knew that there was a girl who was wounded and who Finn seemed to worry about. As she looked at him, the young man lowered his gaze and Rey felt a pang of guilt at the brief moment of jealousy. Was it jealousy? She had seen him hold her hand earlier in the cabin they had taken her to. The young woman had been flittering in and out of consciousness. She shook her head, annoyed with herself. This was not the time for things like that. There were much more pressing matters.

"Well at least they will have much bigger difficulties tracking us now." At least that prospect gave Poe something to look a little more cheerful about and there were a few brief claps of applause and some muffled agreement. Rey did not join in. What would the others say, she wondered, if they knew that the First Order had other ways of finding out where they were? The connection, that strange bond with Kylo Ren that had built over the last months… it was still there. And now that he had had to take humiliation, how much angrier, how much more desperate would he be? If focus, peace and tranquility increased the powers of a jedi as Luke had taught her, did the same thing hold true for anger and hatred for a user of the darkside? She did not dare continue that thought, half worried that if she focused too much on him right now, she might somehow conjur him up in the middle of this meeting…

She belatedly noticed that she had been trailing off in her thoughts and that when she found a way back to the here and now, Leia´s eyes were on here as she continued and finished her instructions.

"Yes?" she said, realizing only in that moment that she was responding to the General calling her by name.

"If everybody is agreed we should keep our eyes open for enemy activity as we approach the system and try to find a relatively isolated port on Malastare. Let´s send out a coded call and see how they respond. And let´s stick to the ideas we just came up with. For now, we´re undercover. " There was no annoyance in Leia´s eyes, only understanding. It didn´t help to make Rey feel any better. She felt herself nod and as if that had been the conclusion of everything there needed to be discussed, realising that she had missed out on a bigger chunk of conversation than she had been aware of, that the people around her started to get to their feet and return to whatever mostly mindless task they had been doing. She would have to find someone to explain things to her later. Leia stayed.

"I am sorry." was the only thing that made sense.

"There is nothing to be sorry for." the older woman smiled kindly but the smile did not quite reach her eyes. How much worse must it be for her, Rey wondered. "You got to us in time."

"If I had, more would have survived…" And despite the devastating losses of that day, they both knew who she was referring to most. Rey didn´t fight back when she felt the General´s hand on her shoulder. "My brother always had a mind of his own in his very own way." she said. "It wouldn´t have been like him to not do what he did."

Rey felt her shoulders tense and felt bitter even talking that way. "I thought he wouldn´t." she said.

Leia didn´t reply but just smiled sadly. "I knew that if he found a way to, he would." And with that, she lifted her hand of Rey´s shoulder and left the younger woman alone with her own thoughts. Thoughts that were a storm of bits and pieces, but the figure at the eye of the storm remained the same.