When Ylainr awoke once more, she knew not how long it was since she had fallen unconscious. Her eyes blinked involuntarily as she adjusted to the light of her new surroundings, a beautiful room with a window looking out over a lush green landscape. It took a few moments for her to remember the events that had brought her to this new place, and the pain and sadness all came rushing back to her. All she could do was lie there, completely numb to the world and everyone in it, no matter how much kindness or compassion they gave her, nothing and no-one could bring her back to the world of the living; she was lost in the past which had so abruptly been taken from her.

Years had passed and life had gone on to some extent. After the events of Ben's betrayal, Ylainr withdrew into herself, rarely leaving her new room provided by Han and Leia, speaking only in short sentences, her facial expression remaining neutral. She grew over the years to be a beautiful woman, her long curly hair framing her pale, forever sad looking face, her frame thin from the toll her suffering had taken on her. As time had gone on, much had changed around her – the strain between Han and Leia after losing Ben to the dark side resulted in Han leaving, the First Order had risen and the new name terrorising the galaxy was Kylo Ren. Ylainr knew who he was, but she refused to accept it. She did not actively involve herself with the Resistance, but she was where she needed to be if she ever hoped to bring Ben back.

It was just another day for her, sitting on the end of her bed staring out of her window, much the same way she had been staring into the distance on that last day at the Jedi training camp. The galaxy was carrying on around her, but she felt as though she had been frozen in time since that fateful day. Her thoughts were disrupted by a knock on her door, but she did not answer, she never did. The door opened and Leia walked in –

"How are you, Ylainr?" she spoke softly, almost in a motherly way. She was the closest thing to Ben that she had left after all.

"I am the same as always, General. Nothing changes" Ylainr replied calmly, there was no emotion in her voice nor her face.

"Dear girl, I know you feel it still as much as you did that day, but please come with me. Forget the Resistance, I need you with me this time. I'm sending out the pilots to defend against an attack by the First Order and they say that Han is there. Won't you help an old lady out with an awkward reunion?" Leia always tried to make her smile, no matter how many times she had failed in the past. Ylainr felt a duty to this kind woman who had taken her in when she had no real reason to and for some reason, she managed this day to agree to a mission.

"If I can't do anything to help myself, I must make myself useful and help you. But…will he be there?" she hesitated to ask, not sure if she wanted to really know the answer.

"Dear girl, it is entirely possible but you must remember, that boy we all knew and loved is lost in there. Kylo Ren is the man he has become and although I truly believe Ben is in there, I fear seeing him now would only add to your pain" Leia wanted to protect this girls heart from anymore loss, but she was also conflicted by what Luke had told her, that Ylainr had a chance of bringing Ben back to the light. Now however, was not the time for them to try, that much she could feel.

"I have never seen this 'Kylo Ren' and I don't want to. If I see him like that, Ben will die in my memory and all I will be able to see is a man that the whole galaxy fears. I thought that if I ignored everything I have heard, if I didn't see him again, then it wouldn't be real but one day Leia, I'm sorry, but I must face him again. There is so much left unfinished, so much I need to know and if I could just try, then maybe he…" Ylainr grew more frantic as her words went on, it almost took Leia by surprise to hear such emotion within her voice again after all these years, but she had to calm her down fearing that passion could lead to another outburst like that of the day she was brought here.

"Enough now Ylainr, you are upsetting yourself again. This is not the time to think about what could have been or what yet still may be. There are people who need you more, and I have a ship waiting to get us off this planet for a little bit of adventure. Shall we?" Ylainr regained her composure and gave a silent nod as Leia led the way to the ship which would carry them to their destination, and what was going to be the start of many events which would affect Ylainr greatly.

She dressed as quickly as she could, pinning her long copper curls back. It was very rare that she left her room and for some reason, she was trying to make an effort – perhaps it was the thought of seeing Ben again, that hope of him seeing her that made her try to do as Leia asked. As she left her room and walked around the Resistance base, those who saw her stopped in their tracks, unable to hide their thoughts of her. Her lack of involvement and rare appearances had made her a source of gossip for the rebels, some of them knowing of the history she had with their greatest enemy and for this reason there was a great suspicion surrounding her. Ylainr tried to keep her gaze lowered so not to encourage eye contact with anyone around her, she could feel their judgement being cast on her without wishing to acknowledge it any more than she had to. As she reached the site of the ship awaiting her, her silence was broken by a familiar voice –

"Well, look who made it out her room! She lives!". Poe Dameron, Leia's most trusted pilot and one of the most respected members of the Resistance was one of the only other people Ylainr had come across in her time on the planet. His wit and charm could not be denied, even by a woman so broken emotionally as she was, and his little remark had managed to bring a small smile to her face.

"It had to happen sometime, Poe. Take care of yourself up there" she shouted after him as he ran to his aircraft. He gave her a small nod, almost assuring her that everything would be fine and after she had watched the pilots take off, she headed towards the ship that would carry her to the site of the battle.

By the time the ship carrying the two women had arrived, the battle had been won and the First Order had retreated back to the skies. The scene around Ylainr was one of brutal destruction, where once stood Maz's palace now stood piles of stone and rubble, but she could not help feel peace at the sight of new surroundings after so long. The others had left the ship to assist with any survivors that needed helping, and Leia had been reunited with Han only moments ago. Rather than ruin what she had considered to be a beautiful reunion between these two kind people she had come to know, she stayed back and loitered at the entrance of the carrier. The reunion before her did not help her desperation for that reunion of her own she had dreamt of for the long years that had gone by, and she heard Han talking to Leia, telling her that he had seen their son, that he was here only moments ago. The words went round and round in her mind, she felt as though a great weight was pressing on her chest but even with these thoughts of Ben being so close, he had never felt further away. Ylainr propped herself up on the side of the ship, regaining control of her breathing and doing her best to keep those emotions locked up inside her; there were two people already suffering and she did not wish to add to their pain.

The sound of members of the Resistance rushing past her with survivors, brought her back to full concentration, and the sound of a familiar Wookie's cry was more than enough to startle anyone. She took the cry which was directed at her as a 'hello' and she herself smiled back at the creature which had always been kind to her and returned his greeting. Chewbacca spoke to Han, which brought Ylainr to the centre of his attention also, before simply patting her on the head and walking onto the ship himself. Han stood there looking at this now grown woman whom he had last seen as teenager, the look in his eyes almost seemed to convey that he was thinking what he would be seeing if it were in fact his son stood there before him. He and Leia approached the ship together, Han stopping in front of Ylainr and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder –

"It's good to see you, kid. Really good to see you" and he truly meant it. Ylainr was the closest thing to a reminder of his son he had, before the darkness took him.

"Thank you, sir. You too" and she meant it. Leia and Han, for all their faults, were the parents she had never had.

Just before he was about to proceed, he suddenly looked as though an important thought had just jumped back into his mind as he turned around and shouted after someone out of Ylainr's view.

"Hey, Finn! If you're coming with us, come with us. We've gotta go" and with that, a young man appeared running towards the group, jumping onto the ship. He looked flustered, worried, he was constantly trying to speak to the two of them, telling them how they needed to go and rescue a girl who had just been taken by the First Order. Ylainr could see that all Leia and Han wanted to do in that moment was be allowed some moments to speak about what had just transpired, they wanted to talk about their son. So, trying to help everyone out she stepped in and took Finn to one side.

"Finn, is it? I'm Ylainr. Why don't you tell me what you need to tell them and I'll see what we can do, hm? They need their time, it's nothing personal. Your friend, what happened?" She walked him to an area where he could sit down and take time to collect his thoughts, once he was calmer she brought him a glass of water, waiting for him to get whatever he needed to say off of his chest.

Finn spoke desperately and passionately about a friend; a girl he had not long met who had been taken by the First Order. He revealed how he was in fact a Stormtrooper who had left behind that life, that he had been helped by a Resistance pilot to escape and that he needed to save this girl from the horrors which he knew were awaiting her.

"I see. My goodness Finn, you've had quite an adventure. What is her name, the girl?" she asked, trying to take in all that she just been told.

"Rey" he replied. A sudden sinking feeling waved through Ylainr's body for a reason she could not explain. It must have shown in her face as Finn tilted his head slightly as he enquired whether or not she was alright.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you. I just…that name, I feel like I should know it" she spoke calmly through her confusion, her mind scrambled trying to place that name which she was almost certain she had heard before. Snapping herself out of the confusion, she rose to her feet, trying not to dwell too much on this girl who surely if she had known, she would've remembered.

"We'll stay here til we land Finn. Once we're back at base, I'll take you to Leia. I'm sure she will be able to help your friend".