Ben Solo, as tall as his father and as fair as his mother, stood between his parents, a look of uncertain confidence on his face. Somewhere between a child and a man, he held cautious optimism for his future. Things will get better.
"You'll do great, Ben," his mother murmured, reaching up to swipe a lock of dark hair back from his face. "Luke is the best teacher in the galaxy. Don't be afraid."
Nearby a girl, perhaps ten, sniffled as her parents boarded their ship and waved goodbye.
"The other students," Ben frowned. "They're young." He huffed. "What if – what if I'm too strong? It's like these children are learning to walk but I'm already running and leaping over hurdles."
"Yeah, well, you're not so old yourself, kid," his father scoffed, slapping him on the back. "Listen to Luke and get this thing under control, huh?"
His mother winked. "I wouldn't worry about being held back."
Scanning the group of students, his father grinned and pointed. "There's your partner. I'd bet the Falcon on it."
Behind them, a Wookie snarled.
"I don't think he means it, Chewie," Ben smiled.
In the midst of the group of children saying goodbye to their parents, Uncle Luke was chatting amiably with a family. A tall girl with them, seemingly the eldest of the other students besides him, had a long brown braid and a kind face. When she grew bored of the conversation, she glanced his way. "I know who you are!" she called suddenly as recognition blazed in her eyes. "General Organa! Han Solo!"
Ben blinked in surprise and looked to his mother.
"Surprise." Leia smiled. "I knew your path would cross with hers some day."
"Ben Solo, then!" the girl announced as she strode over, striking out a hand. "You were named for mygrandfather."
"Kenobi," Ben sighed in relief, glad the mystery was over. "You're a Kenobi." He shook her hand and smiled nervously.
"Anya Kenobi." She winced. "I'm named for your grandfather."
Leia pulled the girl into a hug. "It's nice to see you again, Anya. I think the last time I saw you I held you in my arms. You were just a baby."
"Yeah. My parents are over there, if you want to talk to them." She smiled as Han and Leia nodded and left the two standing awkwardly. Anya wrinkled her nose. "Your Majesty?" she offered sarcastically. "Or is Ben all right?"
"Ben. I'm not a really a-"
"Prince? Sure you are," the girl interrupted, bouncing on her heels and gazing up at him with delighted interest. "Half the students are whispering about it. The other half is pretending they can't hear so you don't intimidate them to death."
Ben raised an eyebrow. "Intimidate? What do these students know of me?"
"It's not every day someone meets a Skywalker, Ben." She laughed brightly. "You're the son of the rebellion. That was Han Solo and General Organa. It was all I could do to remind myself that a Kenobi doesn't get worked up about these things." She gave a sharp nod. "The Jedi don't concern themselves with fame."
"If I'm son of the rebellion, what does that make you?" Ben replied. "I've heard stories of your grandfather since I was a boy." He gestured toward Luke. "From him, especially."
"I guess that makes me your master, if history really does repeat itself." Anya stood up straighter, trying to match Ben's height. "The Kenobi – Skywalker partnership went well enough. For a while," she added sheepishly. "Don't go joining the Dark Side, huh?"
"We'll see when training starts," Ben grinned. "I was worried no one would be able to keep up with me. A Kenobi, though. That's reassuring."
"Keep up with you?" Anya scoffed. "I'll spin you in circles, Solo."
Kylo Ren woke up with a start.
It had been a long kriffing time since he'd thought of his childhood. How long ago had they met? Fifteen years? He groaned and rolled over in his cot. An arm's reach away, a figure was nestled in its own bed. The ship was small enough that he could hear her breathing. He shook her shoulder unceremoniously. "Anya."
The body stirred and she pulled a blanket up to her chin. "Hmm?"
"Did you hear from anyone? Were there any problems?" Ben held his breath. For some reason he expected to see the face from his dream and was surpsied to see a woman looking back at him.
Anya glared at him over the hem of the blanket. "If you wanted to be the point of contact, you should have stayed up all night waiting for a call that wasn't going to come." She rolled over and faced the black metal panels of the wall. "You're the one who said they were ready. Trust them."
"I do. They are," Ben snapped. The Knights of Ren – his knights - recently finished their training. He was terribly proud of them. Each knight honed her skills quickly and with a fervor he never expected from such young students. The oldest was Anya, of an age with him, but the next eldest was only twenty. Now they were out in the galaxy, away from his protection. Five knights in five different corners of the galaxy. May the Force be with you, he silently prayed for each of them.
Anya was staring at the ceiling, her eyes wide open. "I'm so tired I'm not tired anymore."
"Sorry," Ben replied sheepishly. "I had a dream about when we first met."
"I should have run in the other direction." Anya's grim face cracked and a smile shone through. Finally, she sat up and leaned against the wall, gazing at him. "I feel bad keeping the girls in the dark."
"Knights," Ben corrected her sharply. "They're knights."
"Right," Anya replied, nonplussed. "We're working against the dark side. Why can't they know? Don't you think that would steel them even further? They're all conflicted about serving the dark."
Ben sighed. The same question weighed on him every day. "It's a burden they don't deserve to bear. It would only put them in danger with enemies, the First Order, Snoke. They serve the Light whether they know it or not."
"We've already put them in danger, sending them out to recruit Force users," Anya sighed. "What if Ambryn finds someone stronger than her?"
He thought of the knights and hoped she was wrong.
Anya, of course, was his second in command and the first student he'd run to when Master Luke nearly killed him. Ben pushed the memory away. All that mattered was that Anya was his closest friend and most loyal, trusted knight. On several occasions she saved his life, but he never let her forget the fact that he kept an opponent from cutting off her long brown braid, which she cherished. Her Kenobi logic and calm were unshakable and he loved her for it.
The next oldest, Gemma, pale and with a shaved head, had a sharp tongue and even sharper wit. She was their master engineer and loved making sabers and other weapons with kyber crystals.
Lucia, with caramel colored skin and eyes more lovely than any Ben had ever seen, was the persuasion factor of the group. Her charm and Force skills made her a strong negotiator. Plus, men fell all over themselves when she removed her mask.
The tallest and fiercest warrior was Dez. As black as space and with orange eyes, her look was as severe as her combat skills. Were they to fight hand to hand with no Force interference, Ben truly wondered whether he would win.
Ross was shy, and in their years together, Ben felt as though he'd never gotten to know anything about her. She had red hair and loved Master Luke. When she threw down her weapon and joined him the night they left, Ben mistrusted her and waited for her to attack him. The betrayal never came and he finally trusted her entirely.
Ambryn was the youngest. Only fourteen, she'd been nothing more than a child when Ben scooped her from her bed and stole into the night, leaving Luke Skywalker's training behind for good. The girl's parents had abandoned her there, afraid of her Force powers. Ben couldn't help but feel as if he'd raised her, but he'd never admit to himself that she was his favorite of the knights.
"They're all right. All of them," Anya said softly. "You trained us well, Master," she added sarcastically.
A rush of affection swelled in Ben. The knights were strong, each in her own way. They respected and served him. Being raised as an only child to busy parents had been lonely. The knights gave him the sense of family he longed for. Anya sat across from him because he had a different mission in mind for her, but also because he couldn't bear sending her away. She'd been by his side for years. He couldn't be without her. "An," Ben muttered.
"Don't get like this," the woman scoffed. "If you're going to schmooze with the Supreme Leader, you're going to have to toughen up." She reached over and slapped his cheek lightly. "None of this. You said yourself he can see your thoughts better than Lucia. Remember: your knights are your pawns. You're here to become as strong as Darth Vader. The Resistance is nothing to you."
"You aren't in this yet," Ben said. "You can still go home."
"And leave a Skywalker at large in the galaxy? I don't think so." She smiled. "Hasn't worked out well for the Kenobis in the past, though, has it?"
"I owe Snoke a report now." He sat for a moment, grinning at her. "Go back to sleep."
Ben Solo was no longer a boy, and Anya Kenobi had followed him off of their expected path into darkness and sorrow. Her faith never faltered, even when it should have, like that instance on Taupra. The knight smiled to herself and continued to braid her long hair.
Kylo Ren strode through the ship, playing the part every bit. He snapped at her before the First Order generals and commanders. He shot her glances if she spoke out of turn. He spat commands at her.
Anya was proud.
When he proposed she win General Armitage Hux to their side, she was less proud. The general loathed anyone that so much as believed in the Force.
"You do it," she snapped. "I'm not spending time with him."
"He is our key to all of this. He's close with Snoke." Ben ruffled his hair in frustration. "It has to be you. Hux hates me. He worked to rise through the ranks and I show up and am his equal, or more." Groaning, he sat crosslegged in his cot. "I hate asking you. But you have to."
Anya smirked. "Fine. But what if I decide I like him?"
Ben narrowed his eyes. "There's not a single appealing quality about that man. I'd severely judge your taste in men."
Later that week she saw her opportunity. Hux was standing outside a conference hall, waiting to give a briefing to a panel of lieutenants.
"Hello there," Anya called out, her mask disguising her voice. "I'm to report somewhere around here. I think it's this room you're guarding."
General Hux stiffened and cleared his throat. "The Supreme Leader is not to be interrupted, even by you."
"Oh, sure." Anya nodded and pulled off her helmet and her long braid unfurled and spilled down her front.
The faintest hint of a smile graced his lips. "You are one of Ren's knights?" he laughed in utter bewilderment. "What is such a fetching lady doing under this beast's command?"
"Careful," she cooed. "Kylo Ren is my teacher and master." Still, she smiled. Perhaps the assignment wouldn't be as bad as she expected.
"You're his apprentice?" Hux breathed. "I'm relieved. I expected another immature brooding man. You're a sight for sore eyes." He gave his head a slight shake. "Forgive me. General Armitage Hux."
"Anya Kenobi." She offered her hand.
Hux meant to take it, but paused. "You aren't going to shock me or throw me across the room or smash me on the ceiling, are you?"
Snatching his hand and shaking it, Anya smiled. "Of course not, Sir." Instead, she pushed into his head briefly and giggled at his flattering thoughts of her. "Why, thank you, General." A blush rose in her cheeks.
Gasping and drawing back, Hux cleared his throat. "That's what I expected from one of Ren's students."
Anya held his gaze and wondered if he truly would do the things to her he imagined. She could never deny that Hux was attractive, but knowing he was her enemy kept her away. Now her own mind was beginning to wonder. "That's not what I expected you to want to do to me."
"Ah, I see you've met Anya." Ben's voice boomed down the hallway as he marched toward the conference chamber. "Take care not to treat her with the same loathing you save for me." He exchanged a brief glance with the knight and entered the room.
"Of course, Supreme Leader," Hux replied, not taking his eyes from the woman. His lip twitched as she pushed into his mind once more. Anya could sense his intrigue.
"I'm sorry. I can't help it," she mumbled, withdrawing from Hux's mind and leaving his standing slack-jawed.
"I- I expect this is a trap Ren set for me," Hux managed. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry to disappoint the both of you." Still, his eyes hadn't left her face.
