The remaining members of the resistance gathered in the galley for a meeting. Next steps needed to be discussed. Moral was at an all-time low, and there was talk of returning home among some of the fighters. At least, for those who had something to go back to. The fire that had burned so brightly in this group when Rey first joined them, was barely a glimmer.

The meeting was called to order by none other than Commander Dameron Poe. A few sympathetic governments on planets of the outer rim had been able to send funds to support the rebuild of their spacecraft and fuel, but it looked like those might have been one-time installments. Commander Poe and another pilot had been able to obtain some fuel pods by stealing them from a First Order drilling site on a nearby planet or asteroid or something. There was some back and forth about getting more funds, brainstorming about potentially sympathetic governments, places that might be easy to steal from, etcetera. Rey struggled to stay awake for most of that discussion. She hadn't done much sleeping since she last was face-to-face with Kylo Ren. She didn't know enough to contribute anyway.

The issue of leadership was brought up before long. Commanders Poe and D'Acy were the highest ranking surviving officials. Much of the leadership had nobly died during the assault on the Raddus. Since Poe had been a Captain prior to being demoted by Leia, he would be given the role of General. D'Acy would be the second in command.

"Will D'Acy then be responsible for keeping Poe's heroics to a minimum?" a Mon Calamarian fighter asked.

There was a commotion then. Resistance members murmuring and arguing. Poe clenched a fist and dropped his head. They didn't have many opportunities to take down a dreadnaught. Perhaps he made a mistake, but would any of them be alive if they had failed to take it down? Then there was the whole attempted mutiny issue. Rey exchanged a look with Finn. Neither of them knew how to handle the sudden unrest.

"His heroics keep the resistance emblem in the knowledge of people throughout the galaxy. We need his branding if there is hope of our movement surviving!" Lt. Connix exclaimed.

"I want to know what the Jedi thinks. She is our true key to survival!", yet another fighter exclaimed.

Of course, all eyes were on Rey. She felt herself flushing. "I have no rank in the resistance, and I'm no Jedi." There was more commotion at that. "I can move rocks and things, but I didn't finish my training…" she trailed off for a moment. "The issue at hand is leadership. I'm just a girl from Jakku. I don't know much about these things. By rank, Poe should rise to general. If Poe believes himself capable, he should lead."

There was more unrest there. Gods, she was terrible at this. She locked eyes with Finn, who nodded in encouragement. "We are supposed to be the sparks of hope that set fire to the galaxy, right? Poe does well to embody that. He is fiery. He's not perfect. Perhaps he could use some polish, but the great thing about this resistance is that we are a team. We do not blindly take orders from a tyrant. We work together, we hold each other to our mission, and we build each other up. You all give me hope."

Poe met her eyes and gave a nod of gratitude. Her approval seemed to placate the crowd for now. She just hoped that Poe would not prove her wrong. She excused herself after that, feeling rather unnerved by her first public speaking engagement.

Rey had finally been looking into the Jedi texts, desperately trying to resume training. Luke had told her that the books contained ancient scriptures, lost Jedi wisdom, and abilities, but she also found logs from Jedi Masters, including a journal that belonged to Luke (though she didn't think she was ready for his words again, just yet). Her reading ability made her studies very slow. She had learned to read very basically with a few of the other abandoned children of Jakku, but that was years ago. She found that she was mostly able to understand the more modern texts, but the older ones were like reading another language altogether.

What she had so far been able to understand was… disappointing. She wasn't sure what she expected from ancient books, but she felt that the Jedi Order was much more closed minded than she had thought. Sure, there were good lessons like self-discipline and patience, but no personal relationships or worldly attachments were permitted either. She couldn't imagine how these things couldn't make a person stronger. She was certainly better for her new friends, though she couldn't speak for how a family might mar her judgment. A life of isolation would certainly predispose one to fall to the Dark Side… wouldn't it? There was also the hypocrisy in the Jedi practice of conquering external loyalties, but the Jedi had served The Republic for many years, even in times of controversy. She certainly didn't feel that reading the religious text was helping her training. In her uncertainty, she felt a pull like she did on Ahch-To, except there were no dark caves to speak of here. Eyes burning from exhaustion, she tossed the book of Jedi scripture to the end of her bunk in frustration. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

She felt the presence of his image in the corner of her room before he addressed her curtly, "Scavenger."

Speaking of complicated.

"Ben. It's been a few days.", she regarded barely looking in his direction.

"I do have The First Order to command. I don't always have time for these little dalliances."

"Right. As if we have control over this all of the time.", she scoffed. "Unless of course, you reached through for me this time." She looked at him now, honestly curious. Their last conversation had been nagging at her mind at night. She imagined that it might be doing the same for him. Maker, did he look worse for wear. Ben's normal sneer looked a bit… deflated. His normally well-groomed hair was wild, reminding her a little of Chewie in the mornings. He had purplish bags underneath of his blood-shot eyes. Even his robes looked a bit more disheveled than she was used to.

"Looking at anything in particular, Rey?" he asked her, his ill-temper showing.

She noted, of course, that she didn't answer her question. "Just you. You look terrible."

"Thanks.", he said dryly.

"Wanna talk about it?"

His dark eyes flicked to hers. A warning.

"Alright. Why are you here then?" she asked, a bit exasperated.

His voice raised a bit, "I never said-"

"You didn't deny it either."

He shook his head and sighed deeply. "It's been a trying few days, Scavenger." The insult almost sounded like a term of endearment.

He wasn't going to talk, but she wasn't going to watch him sit and glower in her room in silence. She moved to stand across from him and turned her left palm to face him, her hand curled in slightly. Remembering an ability from her reading, she conjured a ball of energy in her mind and tossed it to his side of the bond, making the string that tied them hum. His eyes fluttered and then opened wide.

"How did you…?" he whispered, not concealing his wonder very well. He felt her warmth and he relaxed a bit. Temporarily, the ache in his bones and the weariness on his mind was pacified.

She looked quite pleased with herself. She supposed that she could learn something from those old books. "I'm still training, you know."

His eyebrows scrunched together and he looked at her intently, resting a loose fist over his mouth. He was proud and troubled all at once. The refreshing ability was a high-level skill of the light side of the force. She still didn't know her power, but she was learning to use it. Eventually, he feared that this would all come down to her using it against him. Really, how else could things go if they weren't fighting side by side?

Suddenly, she felt small under his studying gaze. She stood a little taller to compensate. "Ben… do you have something to say to me? Or are you just going to keep looking at me like you're studying a specimen in a jar?"

"Please don't do that again." he finally said, a little more darkly than he intended.

"Fine." she said exasperatedly, "I was just trying to help."

"And why is that, exactly?" he spat. "Trying to use your-your kindness to make me forget that we are enemies? Trying to soften me for when we meet again on the battlefield? Or have you not realized that this is where this all ends?"

She was quiet for a moment. She narrowed her eyes, searching his dark eyes framed by a hard expression. "There is still light in you. I'm trying to help you while I still can."

"I didn't ask you to," he growled.

She was angry now. "Fine!" She reached back and threw her staff at his figure. He reaches for his nose in surprised before he disappears from her sight.

The stinging of his face where he felt her staff strike subsided as he realized that he was alone again. Just as surely as there was light in him, there was darkness in her. The thought should have brought him comfort, but instead he felt deeply unsettled.