1- Jakku
20 years later…Ben jumped out of his X-wing and onto the sandy ground of Jakku with annoyance. Jakku was a junkyard wasteland and he was not looking forward to spending any amount of time here. However, Poe who had been sent on a mission here was overdue. So he had volunteered to come find out what was holding up the self proclaimed "Best Pilot in the Resistance."
Despite his hatred for the planet he was now occupying, Ben had been anxious to help this particular mission. He hoped with the information Poe was receiving, he would be able to find where his uncle had runaway to. After Luke had sent him back home from the temple when he was 15, Ben had been more angry then ever. He had believed that he wasn't wanted anywhere and everyone feared him. But, it ended up being the best thing he could have done for him.
At the beginning he had clung even tighter to his dark side and the voice Luke had desperately tried to get him to ignore.
He acted out a lot those first two years back. But, slowly he began to ignore that constant voice in his head enough to see the love he was receiving from his family. They weren't sending him back and forth because they didn't want to deal with him, it was actually quite the opposite. Each time they saw something lacking on what they could give him, they sent him to where he could receive it. And they always came when he needed them. His father stayed in one place for 5 years, for him, despite how unnatural that was for him. His uncle had the humility to admit that he wasn't able to help him, despite how difficult that was. And his mother broke her own heart sending him away in the hopes he could be helped. Slowly he began to realize his family wasn't the enemy. It was the voice.
So, for the first time in his life he fought back. The voice resisted and clung on tighter, whispering lies. But, Ben was no longer listening. And finally to his relief, he felt the voice surrender and retreat from him. The feeling of relief that followed was something he would never forget. For a long time the voice came back on occasion. But, he'd shove it so far deep he could barely hear it anymore. Eventually it left one final time and did not return. What had helped him the most to fight it, was the girl. When he was about 10 years old he started having visions of a girl. They never revealed anything except her and the visions showed him the girl at random ages. One day it looked like she was around 5 years old and the next she was 35. He never saw anything other then her, but he did receive feelings. He didn't know where she was, her current age or what her day to day life was like. But, he knew her. He knew she was extremely lonely, but strong and determined. He didn't know what she was waiting for. But, he did sense her strong feeling of needing to wait for something. Just as he knew deep down she believed it to be hopeless. He didn't know why the force was showing him this girl or if she sensed him too. But, he was grateful for her presence.
When he was younger he used to imagine finding her and saving her from the loneliness he felt from her. When he believed himself surrounded by people who saw him as a monster, it helped to imagine being someone's hero. But, as time went on he realized he was never going to meet the girl. He still saw her all the time. But, he had long sense stopped looking.
When he was 20, he returned to his uncle's temple, rid of the dark voice and anxious to continue his Jedi training. He wasn't there a full month before it happened. Arees attacked Luke and himself. She had chosen the darkside and now sought to eradicate the light. He and half the students sided with Luke. The other half chose darkness as well and stood with Arees. Ben had been knocked unconscious during the fight. When he woke up, he was in his parents home with his uncle no where in sight. His mother told him that all the students that had sided with Luke had been killed. And Luke had escaped with him. Luke had left as soon as he had dropped off Ben, cut himself off from the force and disappeared. Arees and the students that sided with her joined a dark side master and started calling themselves the knights of Ren. The first order then emerged and he and his mother built up a resistance against this dark government. All the while they search for Luke, but he clearly did not want to be found.
But, that was why he was on this junkyard planet. To hopefully receive intelligence leading to his uncle. Ben pulled out his data pad and used it to follow BB-8's tracker. Poe would be with him. It led him to a place called Niima Outpost. When he was close enough that he should be able to see him, he started searching the outpost for Poe. As he was scanning the area he spotted a familiar face. But, not the one he was expecting. He stared in shock at the girl, THE girl. This was no vision. She was right there. What does he do now. Just walk up to her and say, "Hi, you don't know me but i've seen you in dreams and visions for decades." What if she didn't know she was connected to him? What if she did? Besides, he had a mission. An important one. He had to find Poe.
As he stood staring trying to convince himself to walk away and stick to his mission, 3 thugs attacked the girl. Ben narrowed his eyes in anger and started to bolt towards them hand on his saber at his hip. Only to stop short when the girl fought back, clearly not needing any help. With her metal staff she quickly incapacitated her attackers.
Ben was shocked again when after the last thug was down, she bent down and pulled a sheet that revealed BB-8. He again glanced around looking for Poe and began to worry when he couldn't find him. That little droid never left his master's side. He started toward the girl and droid, both excited and nervous at the thought of actually meeting her. But, then BB-8 spotted something in the distance and started screaming. The girl automatically reacted and ran straight in the direction BB-8 had been looking. It didn't take long to see the problem. A young man was running away from the girl. Ben immediately recognized Poe's flight jacket and his worry increased. Poe never let that jacket or BB-8 out of his sight.
He decided it was time he showed himself. Clearly something had happened to Poe and he needed to find out what that was. He ran to catch up with them and arrived just in time to hear the man tell BB-8 that Poe was dead. Shock and grief hit him with the news of his friends death. BB-8 rolled away from the two and he overheard the man tell her that he was with the resistance. Ben had helped his mom build the resistance and he could tell that this guy was not a resistance fighter.
BB-8 suddenly noticed him and after several happy beeps raced to his side. His loud happy beeps got the attention of the coat thief and his new companion. "BB-8?" the girl asked. BB-8 quickly spun around to face her and started beeping out who Ben was. When the girl looked up at him during BB-8's rant, she froze starring at him in shock. Ben, was surprised at this. Had she been seeing him too? He didn't know how to react so he just stared back nervously. Their shocked starring was interrupted by BB-8 screaming a warning and pointing out two storm troopers. Ben, started to plan out the best escape route. But that was ruined when the coat thief grabbed the girl's hand and bolted away. That's the right thing to do, he thought sarcastically. Make a scene and alert them right to us. He rolled his eyes as BB-8 followed them. He ran after them and caught back up to them hiding in a tent. The girl was loudly complaining her hand being grabbed and was quickly shushed by the coat thief. The sound of tie fighters suddenly filled the air. He reached out for the two to calm them down and lead them out quietly. Yet again, the coat thief grabbed the girl's hand and panickly raced out of the tent and immediately the area was struck. Ben rolled his eyes and ran out to see if the coat thief's stupid actions had killed his vision girl.
She was alright and trying to wake the young man who had been knocked unconscious. He was tempted to tell her to leave him. But, the coat thief woke before he could." We need a ship," he shouted to her instead.
"This way," the girl shouted helping the young man up before racing toward a shipyard. He set his sight on a quad jumper she pointed out and raced for it.
"What about that ship," the coat thief shouted pointing to their side.
"That one's garbage," she shouted back just in time for the tie fighters to blow their target ship. "Garbage will do," she said before bolting in the direction he had pointed.
Ben turned and got his first look at the "garbage ship" and his mouth dropped open. "You have got to be kidding," he shouted.