30 ABY, Takodana
Han led Rey to the table in the center of the room. A little orange alien in festive blue clothing with large glasses sat in a throne-like structure at the head of the round table, and Chewie sat next to her. Mara and Jyn sat across from the orange alien and Chewie, leaving two seats for Rey and Han.
"How'd it go?" Jyn asked.
"Not well," Han said. "We'll talk more on the ship."
"Han Solo," the orange alien said. "I see your family has done it this time."
"Maz, how nice," Han said. "I know my son screwed things up, but he's my son. I need to find him- Leia's not sure yet if she wants him to come home, but I do. I know you must know something Maz. You know everything. You must know something about what happened to Ben."
"What's going on?" Rey asked, looking confusedly between the adults at the table.
Maz adjusted a knob on her glasses. "Who are you?"
"I'm no one," Rey said.
Maz squinted. "Then a name would be useful."
"Rey."
"How interesting," Maz murmured. "How did you come across these old pirates?"
"They found me on Jakku," Rey said. "They said they could show me my mom."
"And did they?"
"It's Kura Rand," Han said.
Maz nodded in understanding. "Ah. You'll be instrumental in all this- I can see it now."
"In all of what?" Rey asked.
"In the mess the Skywalkers made," Maz said.
"We're going to fix it with your help," Mara said.
"Well, I do have something," Maz said. "Come along."
The little orange alien got to her feet and hobbled towards a stone staircase descending towards a forgotten hall. Mara, Jyn, Chewie, Han, and Rey followed, curious as to what exactly they would find.
Maz entered a room with a large, ornately-carved chest. She opened the lock, and at once Rey heard screams. She looked around.
"What was that?" she asked.
"What is what?" Han asked.
"There's a child screaming," Rey said as she heard it again. "Can't you hear it?"
The adults glanced at each other and shook their heads. Maz pulled out of the box a silver cylinder with black piping down the side and a red button on the side.
"Where did you get that?" Han demanded, looking as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Ben stopped here exactly two weeks ago, and said it was present and that he wouldn't be needing it anymore," Maz said. "I did not suspect anything then. I did not sense the darkness."
"Take it. It's Ben."
"Who said that?" Rey asked.
"Said what-"
"No, I heard it too," Mara said. She looked back to Maz. "Can we take this?"
"It's hers," Maz said, pointing it towards Rey. "Take it. I see it in your future."
Rey hesitantly accepted it. Then she fell backwards, and saw a myriad of scenes like shattered shards she couldn't make sense of or piece back together.
"REY!"
Jyn's voice pulled Rey out of it, and she found herself on the floor, the lightsaber a foot away from her. Jyn knelt down beside the girl. "Are you alright?"
"I think so," Rey said. She looked to Maz. "What was that?"
"An imprint in the Force of some sort," Maz said. "But I think I understand. "It's calling to you."
"I see," Rey said. She picked herself up tremblingly from the floor.
"Take it," Maz urged. "I have no use for it; I am no Jedi. But you. . . Well, you'll see."
Rey reached over and was relieved that it did not react the same way again. She hooked it onto her belt.
"Do you know anything else about Ben?" Han asked.
"I know that he said he was going to Korriban next," Maz said. "He said he was on a mission for Luke."
Mara and Han exchanged a glance.
"Thanks, Maz, we owe you one," Han said.
"Just bring around my boyfriend more often," Maz said with a fond look at Chewie. "Go find your son."
Hyperspace (en route to Korriban)
Rey leaned against the wall of the humming ship. It was as cold as Jakku nights in hyperspace. Jyn sat down next to her, and handed her a blanket.
"Thanks," Rey said.
"What happened?" Jyn asked.
"Mom told me she never wanted me, and she was never going to come back for me," Rey admitted, tears welling in her eyes again. "I've been waiting all this time. . . How could I waste so much time when I could've left so soon?"
"You didn't know," Jyn said.
"I'm an idiot," Rey sobbed. "Why would anyone come back to Jakku?"
"You're not," Jyn chided. "It's natural. I know exactly how you feel. I thought the same, too."
"You were abandoned too?" Rey asked.
"Not in quite the same way you were, but yes, three times," Jyn said. "It was years before I found anyone who'd come back for me." She glanced at Cassian, who was sleeping in one of the chairs. "Listen to me, Rey. I promise, we'll all come back for you. No matter what it takes. We're all good as family. In fact, we're after one of our own right now."
"Ben," Rey said. "Han Solo's son. What happened to him?"
"We don't entirely know," Jyn admitted. "But we intend to find out. He went missing for months, and then a week ago he returned to us. He destroyed Luke's Jedi Academy. Luke went missing, and Ben's disappeared again."
"This was his lightsaber, then," Rey realized as she held the cool metal cylinder in the palm of her hand.
"Yes," Jyn said. "And it belonged to Mara before him, Luke before her, and his father before him. That lightsaber has a long and bloody history. Wield it with care, Rey."
"I will," Rey promised.
"Good," Jyn said. She glanced around the ship. "It'll be a few days before we hit Korriban, so you might as well get some sleep. Do you want me to show you your room?"
Rey nodded, clutching the blanket closer around herself. Jyn stood, and Rey followed. They walked into the main hallway, and Jyn entered a passcode into a room. Inside was a bed, a storage container, a desk, a chair, and a small fresher. Rey set down her staff and blanket, and went back for her box, placing it in the storage area.
"Will this do?" Jyn asked.
Rey nodded. "It's more comfortable than home."
"Good," Jyn said. "Just knock if you need someone and we'll all come running."'
She then turned and left, the door closing behind her. Rey flopped onto the bed, exhausted by the day's events.