The eternal struggle for Light and Darkness is a story without an end. When Rey closed the door on Ben, she thought that had been an end, but the Force isn't quite done with them yet.

Hello. I started writing this in December and for some reason, decided to start posting now. This is my second endeavour into Star Wars FF and I would like to say first and foremost, that this will be set after The Last Jedi and subsequently will include spoilers for it, though I imagine that everyone has seen the film by now. This will be a multi-chapter piece and I hope you will enjoy it.

Note that this story will also be partially linked to my Ben Solo drabble story, so characters from Ben's training days that turn up in this story, will most definitely be in the drabble story!

I do not own Star Wars or Lucas Film and will not claim to own it in future.


A Rebel's Promise


Chapter 1


Ben Solo walked in abject silence.

Rather than it being a personal desire, the remaining officers on the sole fully-functioning Star Destroyer; Absolution, took it upon themselves to keep far away from their new Supreme Leader. It was not hard to imagine that disrupting the gloom following Kylo Ren was enough to deserve a beheading by Lightsaber.

Mourning was a foreign concept to them all, yet the crew piloting the lone starship were at a loss regarding what to do about losing 75% of the fleet to one Resistance fighter. The subsequent stint on Crait had merely given foolhardy scavengers a head-start to pilfer First Order technology, and once the disillusioned convoy had returned to space, there was little more than dead bodies, space junk and the badly damaged Supremacy; a shell of its former glory, left to recover. The destruction had resulted in the death of several hundred thousand crew members and several senior officers. The Supremacy's current location in the outer rim territories now made it a liability, as it functioned at 25% efficiency without weaponry or manoeuvrability capabilities. Whatever was left of First Order resources remained on Atterra Alpha with some of Hux's fledgling Stormtroopers, so repairing the Dreadnaught starship was of the upmost priority.

It had already been twelve hours since the Resistance had abandoned Crait, and there was an eeriness and anxiety in the air that persisted. Even the lower ranks knew of the animosity between Kylo Ren and General Hux, therefore it was apparent that the loss of Supreme Leader Snoke would cause nothing but mounting tension which would be reflected in Hux's treatment of the crew.

Within hours of the First Order leaving Crait, General Hux had already knocked several teeth out of a crewman, angered by his lack of decorum when speaking of the dead Supreme Leader. Despite reducing the Resistance down to paltry numbers, rather than seeing it as a victory, Hux saw it as an endless headache, particularly in consideration of Kylo Ren's new position. The General, even if he did not like the Knight, knew him well enough to know that killing off the remaining members of the Resistance would become his obsession, and that he had no choice but to do the Supreme Leader's bidding.

Armitage Hux had since then remained in his ready-room on the Absolution, his blaster laid out in front of him as he stared it down resolutely, wishing he had been ten seconds earlier and had been able to kill Kylo Ren while he was down. Knowing nothing would come of wishing the past changed, he stood, retrieving a cup of Tarine tea from his food synthesiser and inhaled the scent of the beverage in order to relax his mind. It did its job and he located the call button on his desk, prepping what was left of his high-ranking officers without ships, for their arrival and relocation to Atterra Alpha for the time being. Unfortunately for Hux, this meant leaving behind his preferred senior officers; Colonel Garmuth, Captain Yago and Lieutenant Stynnix with the Supremacy and the other starships in need of repair.

Kylo Ren still walked alone and undisturbed. He could taste the fear in the air and he tried to find some comfort in that. He was the Supreme Leader now. He had the power, he had succeeded where his grandfather had failed and he had destroyed his master to take on the gauntlet of leadership. This was supposed to be the epitome of his path on the Darkside, yet he felt nothing but sombre regret and frustration. He had wanted Rey with him, he had pleaded with her, and she had said no. He had wanted to kill his uncle with his own hands, and yet he had been denied that. All he had to his name was the murder of his master and some Resistance fodder.

For the fifth time in an hour, his Lightsaber was again in his hand, ignited and swinging at stray panelling, the weapon screeching as it sparked and tore through metal. He growled, shouted and tried to release his pent-up anger, yet it did nothing, he was not free from it. And when Kylo reached his quarters, dropping his Lightsaber to the ground and following it onto his knees, he felt the brunt of his emotions. Without Snoke around to force him into stability, the emptiness submerged him and he drowned in his own pain. His uncle was dead and his vengeance was unrealised. His anger sought a release that couldn't be found and the one thing he thought he had, even for a day, had disappeared, and all he could remember was the light press of her finger tips against his.

XxX

It was difficult for Rey—watching the dejected yet hopeful faces of those around her, everyone still reeling from the loss of so many friends and family. Rey felt the rhythmic thrum of their emotions carried along the Force like music and it vibrated across her skin and left whispers in her ears. She felt what they felt, even if it was beyond her understanding—she couldn't say she remembered the feeling of true loss at all. Rey could only comfort those around her with cups of warm sapir tea and try to settle her own mind, still reeling from the days of utter incredulity.

She still hadn't said the words to Leia. That Snoke was dead and that Ben had done it. Rey couldn't bring herself to explain what had happened on the Supremacy and what it could possibly mean for the Resistance's future. Even if mere hours had passed and everything was still a flurry of confusion and mourning, Rey's mind was still preoccupied with Snoke's broken body and Ben's outstretched hand. There were moments when she thought that perhaps she had imagined it all; that there had never been a moment where their minds were connected; a moment where she felt as if she could save Ben. Yet that feeling of hope in his return to the Light had not disappeared completely, just dipped beneath the surface of her preoccupied mind.

How could she explain any of this to Leia? Of all people, Rey knew that the General would believe her, yet that did not comfort her. Rey felt almost like the bystander among all of this. She had not fought when the fleet had been attacked, and her input on Crait itself had been minimal. She felt like a fraud among people she did not know and the person who she was closest to, was still practically a stranger to her. It wasn't like on Jakku where her loneliness was a necessary part of her survival. Here on the Falcon, it felt like a self-made isolation, existing because she had decided to be a Jedi, to become the cloaked stranger like Luke had been in his final moments.

Luke was gone, or perhaps not gone, just absent. She could not feel his familiar strength and fortitude within the Force, yet she knew he was with her. Before she had left Ahch-To, Rey had had the brief opportunity to glance over the books she had pilfered from the Temple. Though archaic in every manner, she had felt the hum of past Jedi in the pages; knowing that they had read through the tomes just the same, while also remembering those who had come before them. The books felt like they contained life and with life, the memories and the experiences of every Jedi. Rey knew that when the time was right, she would see Luke again.

Rey placed another blanket around a young ensign as she traversed the small area left of the Millennium Falcon's floor. They had still not set a destination and Rey was happy to at least be busy, happy that amongst the hustle and bustle, she would not see Ben, even if she could feel him in the corner of her mind. If she tried hard enough, she imagined she could feel what he felt and though she knew it should disturb her – like the idea of them sharing a Force bond once had –, she was beyond that now. It was difficult to compartmentalise what had occurred in such a short amount of time that even her heart had yet to catch up with her true feelings. That look Ben had given her when she had shut the door of the Falcon, it had almost caused her to hesitate, like her own body wanted to war against her even when her mind had already decided. Rey feared that day—when her heart would eventually catch up, when she would feel Luke's loss, when she would feel Ben's. Perhaps she had closed him off then, maybe she should have said something more, though Rey couldn't imagine what that could have been. He had chosen his side and she had chosen her own.

Her hands stilled on the pot of tea, long enough that Rey felt her palms begin to burn and she moved them away swiftly and looked down at the red marks colouring her pale skin. A soft and furry hand reached out to hers and she turned to see Chewbacca looking down at her with earnest eyes.

'I'm fine Chewie,' she offered, giving him a wry smile.

He responded in the negative, and seemed to reprimand her on withholding information.

She chuckled softly, looking up into his blue eyes. The Wookie had to have been the warmest person she had ever met and he still remained so, even when Han's death was so fresh, even though Luke was gone now too.

Rey wrapped her arms around Chewbacca's waist and squeezed him tightly, finding comfort in his warm arms and trying to bleed her own settling emotions into him, to allow him to understand her.

'We're safe at the very least now, Chewie, that's all I care about.' She paused and looked back up at him, making sure he understood her. 'Everything else will fall into place later on, we will have time.'

He nodded, adding an affirmative growl and with one last pat on the shoulder, he let her go, ready to speak to Leia–his last remaining friend from the old days.

Rey looked about herself, seeing the crew maintain some semblance of calm even as they flew into the unknown. Her heart stirred as she looked into their faces and she smiled, resolutely knowing that her purpose lay with them, lay with protecting them. Ben had been right about one thing; the past should be let go of, and always to make space for the future. Perhaps not to the extent of an absolute purge like he had meant, but Rey could not say that being made to see the truth of her parentage had not been wholly freeing. Despite Ben wanting it to be the reason for her to go to him, it further solidified her resolve–that the path of the light was the right decision.

Making her way back to the cockpit of the Falcon, Rey opened the drawer beside the co-pilot's chair and her fingers carefully glanced across the tomes before selecting one that she felt called to her. This was where she would have to begin. Without a Master, without even a working Lightsaber, just the old texts to aid her.

Her fingers caught the edge of the book and then she paused when she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked down to see Leia smiling up at her.

'A book?' she questioned, not having seen one since her childhood.

Rey tried to hide her guilt as she answered. 'I took it from the temple. I thought at the very least, if Luke wasn't going to use them any longer, that I may as well make use of them.'

Leia seemed amused and took the co-pilots seat, leaning her walking stick against the console and gesturing for Rey to sit down too. The young woman put the book away and sat down across from the General, waiting to be spoken to.

Her expression grew sober then and she reached out to take Rey's hand, holding it between her two. 'Firstly, thank you.'

'I didn't do–,' Rey began, though was quickly interrupted by Leia.

'You did everything you could. We could have lost everything but we didn't, and so the most important thing we can do is to not give up and fight for the future, or everything we have lost would be for nothing.'

Rey nodded and looked to their joined hands. 'I have to be honest with you Leia,' Rey began, looking up at her. 'Unless Chewbacca has already informed you of my earlier escapade.' The young woman attempted to smile wryly, but she was not successful.

'I won't judge you.' Leia said simply and Rey assessed that the General knew more than nothing at the very least.

'I was on the Supremacy.' Rey began. 'I had gone there thinking I could persuade Be-Kylo Ren to leave Snoke and do what was right.'

Leia's brow furrowed heavily and her hand tightened on Rey. 'Why would you do such a dangerous thing?' she questioned.

Rey swallowed. 'Snoke had been manipulating the both of us, bridging our minds and the both of us…we were far too naïve, thinking it a great sign from the Force. I thought that I could bring him back to us and he thought the same of me.'

'Perhaps it was,' Leia offered, leaning further forward. 'The Force is a strange thing and that is certain.'

The young Jedi shook her head. 'I had tried to think the same, though I think the both of us are worse off because of it,' she admitted. 'Snoke tortured me for Luke's whereabouts and ordered Kylo to kill me, but he killed Snoke instead. I thought for that moment, for those five minutes at least, when we were fighting Snoke's guards together, that perhaps he had changed his mind. I thought that he would call off the attack and that there would be no more losses, but I was wrong.'

The General looked sombre and nodded in understanding. 'Do not take the blame for Ben not following you. You were brave and perhaps foolhardy to go onto Snoke's ship, but you made a decision with your heart and the Light in mind.'

'Did I not just make things worse?' Rey questioned.

Leia shrugged her shoulders lightly. 'Who are we mere mortals to tell?' The older woman looked tired, yet there was a brightness to her eyes that Rey did not miss. 'I told Luke before he went to face Ben that I thought my son was truly lost and he told me that no one's ever really gone. I realise the truth in his words now. There is always time for change and all we can do is hope that perhaps one day he will see and do what is right. Without it being a manipulation.' The General straightened up and looked carefully at Rey. 'Is there anything else?'

Rey reached towards the drawer again and opened it, removing the pieces of broken Lightsaber and placing them in Leia's hands. 'We fought over the Lightsaber and so I don't know what use I will be to the Resistance currently.'

Leia smiled widely and shook her head, passing the pieces of broken weapon back to Rey and grabbing her cane and squeezing its head. 'Every person here is important, as Poe has been saying since we got here, we are the spark that will light the fire that will burn the First Order down.' The General stood then. 'All I want from you right now, though, is for you to sleep and to not worry so much. We will have tomorrow and the day after. We will build, we will start anew.'


Thanks for reading