Kylo tensed as he sensed Hux approaching from behind. He kept his attention forward, focusing through his helmet on the stars outside the wide viewport. Regardless of whatever drivel Hux had to say, Kylo knew it was going to take all of his willpower to keep himself from Force-throwing the guy across the bridge room.

"You weren't in the intel meeting earlier, Ren," he heard Hux sneer. "Are you really going to forego the Supreme Leader's orders so soon?"

Kylo grit his teeth, biting back a sharp retort. With Hux's new power, any offense against him now could easily land Kylo in the brig. He was surprised Hux hadn't already had him thrown in for missing the meeting.

"I have my own plans. I don't need your 'intel,'" Kylo responded flatly.

"Hm. I'll have you know I've assembled some of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy for my search team," Hux boasted. "Locating the scavenger should be easy from this point. You should be thanking me for doing the work for you."

Kylo's attempt to remain impassive was overruled by his knee-jerk reaction to Hux's words. He swiveled over his shoulder to glare at Hux, grateful for his helmet to shield his expression.

Bounty hunters. The best bounty hunters in the galaxy would be hardened, ruthless. The ones that would be most likely to harm Rey in their attempts to capture her.

He had to find Rey before Hux's team did. But how?

"Is there a problem, Ren?" Hux asked, turning his face in a suspicious, sidelong glance.

Kylo extended his arm and flung Hux off his feet, sending him straight into an electrical panel in a flash of sizzling sparks. At least, he did in his mind.

He tightened his fists, taking a moment to gather himself. "No," he finally said.

Hux's eyes narrowed, but he let it pass. Apparently he was getting some degree of enjoyment from this exchange. He took a step toward Kylo, folding his arms nonchalantly behind his back. "And how are you planning on finding the scavenger all on your own?" Hux asked, letting out a low chuckle. "'The Force?'" he derided. When Kylo didn't respond, Hux chuckled again and strode away.

Kylo faced the viewport again, vigor swelling within his chest. The Force. Of course. At times he almost felt as if he could sense the girl's presence in the Force, since meeting her, but he couldn't pin down where she was. Perhaps if he tried to reach out to her somehow, to get her to open her mind to him...

He shook his head, knowing it was a long shot. But he had to try.

….

Rey sat in front of the small fire in Luke's hut, warming her hands. Luke's words turned over and over in her mind. Clearly, Kylo Ren's betrayal of Luke and the Jedi academy had turned Luke into a dispirited, broken man. But couldn't he see that she was different from Kylo, that she wouldn't betray him? She had been strong enough to survive on her own as a scavenger on Jakku, surely keeping herself from falling to the Dark Side wouldn't be a issue.

Rey felt a gradual shift in the air around her, and she scrunched her brows. It felt as if the air were funneling toward her, toward her mind. Instinctively, she blocked it.

The Force, she then realized, getting to her feet. Perhaps it was trying to tell her something, as it had done when she'd grasped the Skywalkers' saber on Takodana. She felt the push again, and she relaxed, allowing it to enter her mind.

Rey.

Rey sucked in a breath as she sensed the voice's presence in her mind. There was a familiarity to it. It took a moment for her to place it, and when she did, her mouth dropped open.

Kylo Ren, she responded, mouthing the words as she thought them. She scowled, her gaze not settling on anything in particular as she focused on his presence through the Force. It was definitely him. His presence was unmistakable–it was acute. How are you in my head? she demanded. Was he on the island? He couldn't be…

That's unimportant. I need you to listen to me.

That's rich! Rey scoffed. She pressed her hands to her temples. Get out of my head! She grit her teeth, focusing on Kylo's presence in her mind and forcing it out.

Don't, Rey, listen to me–

As she ejected him from her mind, Rey reformed her mental walls, shielding her mind from him. When she couldn't hear him any longer, she lowered her hands, breathing deeply. What had just happened? How had Kylo managed to break into her mind, when he presumably wasn't anywhere near her?

Suddenly, the heat wafting from the fire in the tiny hut was stifling. She needed some air.

Rey trekked outside the hut into the island's cool breeze, moving past the chirping groups of porgs that nested near the hut encampment. She pressed a hand to her forehead, worried that Kylo would try to break into her mind again. No, she wasn't worried. She was certain.

"Do you want some dried fish?" she heard Luke's voice call from behind her.

She turned to see him standing near a cliff edge, a sack dangling from his metal hand. Luke moved towards her, and she met him halfway. Silently, he handed her a few pieces of the food. Rey avoided meeting his eyes as she began to eat.

"You must be hungry," Luke said. "You haven't eaten much since you've been here."

"A life of struggling for food tends to shrinks your appetite," Rey stated matter-of-factly. She sensed Luke watching her as she ate, and she turned to the side to face the ocean on the horizon.

"You look stressed," he commented, and Rey remained silent. She couldn't tell him about what had just happened–that would make him suspicious of her. Surely he'd question her loyalties if he found out that she was communicating through the Force with his betraying nephew.

She heard Luke release a sigh. "Look, I know I've been harsh. But what I've said, what I believe–it isn't going to change."

Rey turned her face to look at him. She was surprised to see something like sympathy marking his features.

Luke sighed again. She could see the wheels turning in his mind. "How about this. I'll make a deal with you," he offered.

Rey focused on his aged blue eyes, narrowing her own. "I'm listening."

"I'll give you some basic training in the Force for a few days–very basic–if you agree to leave the island afterward."

Rey stared at him, considering. Leia and the others wouldn't exactly be happy to find that she'd returned without Luke, but at least they'd know where he was at that point. Even Chewie and R2 hadn't been able to convince Luke to return, so how could she? She was a nobody. The situation would be left in Leia's hands.

Finally, she nodded. "Okay. Deal." She swiped the salt from her mouth with her free arm and held it out to him. Luke's mouth tightened into a line and he gripped her hand firmly with his metal one.

"Deal."

….

Kylo let out a heavy sigh as he lowered onto his bed aboard the Finalizer, sore from the day's combat training. All day he couldn't stop thinking about his connection through the Force with Rey, how he'd sensed her voice and presence in his mind. His preoccupation had caused him to be struck by a stormtrooper during the training session, and he had bruising to show for it. He was shocked that he'd actually managed to reach her through the Force, through the cosmos, however far away she was. But would he be able to get her to open her mind her him again?

Most likely not. Most likely, that was a one-time thing. Kylo felt a drop in his chest as he tried to accept this. He focused his gaze on the time hologram projected on the stand beside his bed. It was late, and he needed to rest up if he was going to perform any better during his training tomorrow morning. Then again…

He closed his eyes and crossed his legs, resting his hands in his lap as he reached out again through the Force. He felt the tendrils of his Force signature extending out, funneling towards some unknown place in the galaxy. A flush of heat coursed down his body as the tendrils stopped: they'd hit a familiar wall.

He focused his energy as he attempted to push through the girl's mental fortification, and he tensed his face muscles as he felt her push back. She was keeping him out, but at least she was reacting to him. Then–

Stay out of my head! she asserted. Her antagonism was nearly palpable through their connection.

Listen to me, Rey! he insisted. That's all I want from you.

You're not getting anything from me, she snapped. Kylo could nearly picture her angered expression, and his heart sped up. He needed to break through to her, somehow, and quickly. Otherwise, any hope of keeping her from Hux's bounty hunters was lost.

You're in danger, Rey, just hear me out, he pressed, and was surprised to find that she kept her mind open, if only for a few more moments. Please.

Rey's thoughts were blocked from his awareness once more, but he noticed her slight hesitation to force him from her mind. Perhaps all this was going to take on his part was patience and persistence.