Since the writing for Rose Tico was all over the place in canon and she didn't have a consistent character arc, I've chosen to scrap canon for this fic and do a near-complete redesign of Rose (and Paige, who we unfortunately lost way too soon and never learned much about). Rose and Paige's new backstories will be revealed as the story continues, so be sure to stick around for that.

But enough talk for now. On with the show!


In the wake of his and Zeroes's speech to the other Stormtroopers, Slip feels as though he's carrying some sort of talisman in his chest, a glowing secret that helps him get through combat training and battlepreps and keeps him steady during the Morning Speeches. The timing of their meetings are unpredictable—sometimes in the afternoon, sometimes in the middle of the night—but Zeroes had claimed that having irregular meetings will make it harder for the higher-ups to suspect something is wrong, so they continue in that vein. More and more Stormtroopers drop by, each one with questions and stories and a resounding desire to rebel like FN-2187 had.

The exact details of their planned rebellion are a little murky. Right now he and Zeroes are focusing on drumming up support from within the ranks and searching for other Troopers to help them take charge of this group of burgeoning rebels. They've got a few so far. BB-2199, a.k.a Bebe, has served on the Finalizer the longest and has a near-encyclopedic knowledge of everyone on base. Jate (JA-8055) and Levs (JN-0211) might be young but they're hard workers; Levs is a welcome ray of sunshine that can settle any dispute with a smile, and Jate doesn't talk much but when he does, people listen. Now that he and Zeroes aren't alone in this scheme, Slip's got a pretty good feeling about all this. He just hopes it's not misplaced.

Managing the sparks of a Stormtrooper rebellion doesn't exempt him from his duties, but his exhaustion has caused his battleprep scores to dip even further. As a result, General Kilson summons him to his office after the Morning Speech and berates him thoroughly before shunting him to file duty with Zeroes for the day. Slip's just grateful that he won't have to spend another combat training session getting pummeled by Nines, who's using every opportunity to prove that he's just as much of a model Stormtrooper as Finn had been, if not better.

The files room is damp and dusty, with stacks of holofiles scattered across the desks and the shelves and the floor in desperate need of reorganizing. Zeroes's job is to find the necessary files and hand them to Slip, who organizes them by the serial number of the mission or person described. It's tedious, boring work, but they fall into a steady rhythm, and the silence is only broken by the occasional sniff or question.

Or, in this case, Zeroes laughing out loud.

Slip glances over in surprise. "What's up?"

"Did you know that General Hux's name isn't Armitage?" Zeroes holds up a holofile with General Hux's name on the side. "Apparently it's Elan Bartram, but he legally changed it after joining the Academy. Bet he just wanted to sound more intimidating or something."

Slip is more focused on the other pieces of the puzzle to fully appreciate the humor in this situation. "Are you looking through the high-command files?" he asks, horrified. "We're not supposed to be doing that!"

"We're not supposed to be doing a lot of things," Zeroes retorts. Any comment Slip wants to make would just be blatantly hypocritical, so he shrugs as if to say fair enough and keeps his mouth shut. "Anyway. Aren't you the least bit curious about the information in here?"

Slip's eyes go to the already-organized files in the back of the room, the ones not pertaining to the higher-ups or inventory or any upcoming missions. Those are the Stormtrooper files, organized by squadron. A subtle twitch in Zeroes's jaw tells Slip that they're thinking the same thing, and less than a second later they're in the back of the room, examining the holofiles with the intensity of a CO doing quarters inspections.

"Got it!" Slip grabs a stack of holofiles off the shelf and spreads them out on a nearby table. "These are our files. Zeta Squadron." The files of Delta Squadron, where Nines is assigned, are further up the shelf, but Slip doesn't care much about their former squadmate. Not when the possibility of finding out information on his past is in the palm of his hand. "FN-2000, FN-2003, JA-8055, BB-2199—we're all here."

They both look down at the holofiles, this time like they're a bomb waiting to go off. Slip's glad that he and Zeroes are alone with this discovery. If word had got out amongst the insurgent Troopers that they could find out information about their past, a riot might have started then and there. But now it's just the two of them with a stack of holofiles that could change everything.

"Well." Zeroes picks up one of the holofiles, the one marked FN-2000 in careful print. That's his. After a moment of just holding it, Zeroes releases a breathy laugh and turns to Slip. "Hey. Uh, can you read mine for me?"

Slip understands instantly. The nerves must be overwhelming enough that Zeroes can't make himself read about his past. He feels the same way. "Yeah. And can you read mine for me?"

Zeroes nods, and they exchange holofiles. After another nod from Zeroes, Slip clicks the file open and starts reading out loud. "Stormtrooper FN-2000. Birthdate is 9 ABY. Currently serving on the Finalizer." His eyes widen and he lets out a low whistle. "Oh, helmet."

"What?" Zeroes's voice is perfectly calm but his grip tightens on Slip's file. "What does it say?"

"Your mother's name is Lithia Turner and your father's name is Henry Kilson."

That takes Zeroes aback, and he moves over to see the file for himself. "Henry Kilson?" he repeats, sounding about as stunned as Slip feels. "As in General Kilson?"

Slip nods even though he doesn't have to; they both know. They also both know that General Kilson's wife's name is Callimina, not Lithia. "Well," he says weakly. "That's something."

Zeroes makes a noise of agreement. "That's something, alright. I'm apparently the bastard son of the biggest hardass in the First Order." Kilson probably saw no issue with taking the son of one of his mistresses and giving him up to the Stormtrooper program. What an asshole. Slip doesn't dare voice his opinion about the high possibility of Zeroes having a bunch of siblings via Kilson running around the First Order, not if he wants to keep whatever semblance of a friendship they have. "Does it say what my, uh, original name was?"

Slip's eyes return to the file in his hands. "Uh, yeah. It was Liddy. Liddy Kilson." He bites his lip as a very dangerous thought comes to mind. "Do you—do you want me to call you that?"

Zeroes's brows furrow in thought. Slip tries to associate the name Liddy Kilson with the man next to him but comes up short. "Think I'll stick with Zeroes," he finally answers. "I've had it long enough; might as well keep it. And I definitely don't want Kilson's name anywhere near mine."

"That's understandable." Slip is surprised when his muttered statement gets a laugh. Then again, he's constantly surprised that the two of them can interact without snapping at each other at all. Now that Zeroes isn't hanging out with Nines and Eight-Seven (no, Finn, with all the time he goes around talking about Finn the least Slip could do is remember his former squadmate's new name) is gone, they've gotten closer and Slip finds that he enjoys their newfound camaraderie.

"Is there anything else in there?"

"Nah, nothing but battleprep scores and the like, but you were apparently born on Corellia. Then you got inducted when you were a rotation old." Slip hands Zeroes the file so he can read it for himself. He watches his friend scowl at the picture of Henry Kilson, watches his face soften as he reads his mother's name. Then, when it's been almost a minute, Slip ventures, "Could you—"

"Oh! Yeah, sure. Sure." Zeroes opens Slip's holofile and stares at it like he's deciphering advanced math equations. "Stormtrooper FN-2003. Currently serving on the Finalizer. Born on Hosnian Prime in 10 ABY." That's a bit awkward considering the planet (and the entire Hosnian System) just got destroyed by Starkiller Base. "Parents were Uriah and Satomi Maisy. Birth name was Thomas."

"Thomas," he repeats, savoring it. That actually sounds nice. Not nice enough to replace the nickname he's worn for the last several rotations, but nice. And he likes the surname Maisy. "What if I kept the last name but not the first name?"

"Slip Maisy has a nice ring to it," Zeroes concedes. "Though…" His voice trails off, and the unspoken though it's too bad you won't be able to go by it as long as you're a Trooper is left unsaid. "Though I don't think General Kilson or Captain Phasma would think the same."

Speaking of which… "Did you see her file with the others?"

"No. Only one I saw was General Hux's. Maybe she actually is a test-tube Trooper." Zeroes doesn't sound like he believes himself. Being of such a high rank, her file is likely on Supreme Leader Snoke's personal ship, the Supremacy. Finn's probably got incinerated. "What now?"

Slip kind of wants to read the other files but knows that it's none of his business. "We should put these back," he says. It pains him to say it, but there's no way they can take the files out of this room without anyone noticing. Not to mention that it'll be suspicious if every Trooper in Zeta Squadron suddenly puts in a request to be transferred to file duty. And he certainly doesn't want Nines to know about any of this. "All of these should get put back before anyone notices they're gone."


"What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

Rose sits up so fast that she hits her head hard on the calcinator she's supposed to be rewiring. She slides out from beneath the set of pipes and machinery with a wince, not at all surprised to see her older sister standing in the doorway with a look that promises the fury of a thousand suns. "My job?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Paige snaps, striding across the room and stopping right in front of Rose. She's dressed in full uniform—sans the bomber cap that Rose had bought her several months ago—and looks every inch the perfect Resistance soldier. Probably just got done running drills with Cobalt Squadron. "What's this I hear from Kaydel about you signing up for Commander Dameron's mission?"

Damn. Rose gets to her feet and offers up her most winning smile, which isn't at all winning since she's covered in grease and grime and grit. "I heard Colonel Kanan saying that they needed a mechanic, so I told her I was available and she signed me up." Actually, Rose had begged Colonel Kanan for the chance after she'd voiced the offer to an entire room full of mechanics, but Paige doesn't need to know that. So she shrugs. "No big deal."

Paige's jaw drops. "No big deal?" she repeats incredulously. "The mission is to rescue one of our own from inside a heavily-armed First Order base! It's crazy dangerous; it's practically a suicide mission!"

"Then why did you sign up?"

Her face goes red. Score one for Rose Tico. "Because they needed a gunner since Captain Wexley's still in the infirmary and Finn is still on his mission from General Organa, so they asked me and I said yes. But—" She holds up her hand as if to stop Rose's comeback in its tracks. "But I've been in the Resistance for years. I've been trained for missions like this. You haven't."

"That doesn't make me any less of an experienced mechanic," Rose argues, even though she knows Paige is right. Doing tune-ups and engine rebuilds in her father's garage since the age of seven isn't the same thing as learning to fix ships while under heavy fire. But she's not about to back down. "I need to do this, Paige. I have to."

"You've only been here for a week, Rose, what could you possibly have to prove?"

"That I'm not someone to be pitied, alright?" Tears come to her eyes for what feels like the hundredth time that week, and she swipes them away with her wrist. "Everywhere I go, it's just been these—these pitying looks and everyone talks about me behind my back and when they do talk to me they just treat me like I'm about to shatter and…" She lets out a shuddering breath. "I need to prove my worth so people will stop treating me like I'm the Resistance's charity case."

All the anger and worry seems to leave Paige at once. "I get it, Rose," she says softly. "Really, I do. And you're an excellent mechanic, but this mission is so dangerous. I've already lost Mama and Papa…" A tear trickles down her cheek, and she pulls Rose into a tight hug. "I couldn't bear to lose you too."

Rose hiccoughs, wiping away the rest of her tears as she pulls away from their hug. "You're not going to lose me," she promises. "Besides, if we're both on this mission, then there's no way it can fail, right?"

That makes Paige laugh, and she taps her knuckles against Rose's chin the same way she did when they were little. "Right," she says with a firm nod. "But the next time you want to sign up for a crazy mission like this, tell me first, okay? I don't want to get a heart attack every time I talk to Kaydel."

Rose can't help but smirk, because this is too good of an opportunity to pass up. "Like you don't already get a heart attack every time you look at her, let alone talk to her."

Paige blushes up to the roots of her hair. "We're just friends," she mumbles, but it's so blatantly unconvincing that Rose just rolls her eyes.

"Uh huh." Rose laughs and dodges Paige's playful attempt to punch her in the shoulder. "Not for lack of trying on your end, right?"

"Oh, shut up."

Rose doesn't even try not to smile.


Although Finn has spent his entire life training under a variety of teachers (well, if he counts his old commanding officers and combat instruction directors as teachers, which he does) he's never had a teacher quite like Luke Skywalker before. Skywalker works him and Rey hard, yes, but he's patient and level-headed and always gives them a kind word or encouraging smile when they need it the most. Finn's learned so much already, and if this keeps up, he and Rey will return to the Resistance and help take down the First Order in no time.

Three days after arriving on Ahch-To, Skywalker decides that since they've both sufficiently demonstrated that they understand the Force, it's time for their second lesson. "Back in the days of the Old Republic," he says, "the Jedi were forbidden from forming attachments: romantic, platonic, familial. They believed that attachments like those would make you weak, or would lead to jealousy and greed. And, if your loved one was killed, a path straight to the Dark Side."

Finn glances over at Rey almost automatically, whose eyes have flickered over to him as well. He loves Rey more than he's ever loved anyone before, and if that makes him 'weak' in the eyes of the old Jedi Order, then to hell with them. "Seems a bit archaic." He manages to keep his voice light, even if his mind is now consumed with the other half of Skywalker's sentence. If Rey was injured—or killed, Force forbid—would that send him on a downward spiral to the Dark Side?

He's not sure, and that scares him more than anything.

"I agree," Skywalker says, and Finn's head snaps up. "I believe that the Jedi should not be strangers to compassion, especially since they prided themselves on believing that all lives were precious. Having attachments isn't a weakness. It's a strength." He trails off, and Finn wonders if he's thinking of Solo or General Organa. Or his long-dead wife and child. "And the attachment you feel for one another—I believe that it will make you both great Jedi."

Rey swallows hard. "So what does that mean?"

"Well…" And now Skywalker smiles slightly. "You've proven to me that you understand the Force, that you can reach out and feel it around you. If your attachment to one another is as strong as I suspect, I want to see if you can find each other in the Force."

Finn blinks. "Come again?"

What this means, apparently, is that Finn and Rey are sent to separate sides of the island—Rey remains in the valley with Skywalker, and Finn goes down to the Millennium Falcon—and are told to reach out to the Force and see if they can find each other there. If they can do that, then it's proof to Skywalker that they've developed a Force bond with each other. Rey's heard of Force bonds before, and she tells Finn that they allow the communication of feelings, thoughts, and images across distances and grant greater coordination in battle. Essentially, if it works, they'll be more prepared to face down the First Order than ever.

Finn sits outside the Millennium Falcon, eyes closed. Just like earlier, he summons the fear and confusion and that strange sensation of connection he'd felt on Takodana, and in no time he can feel the Force flickering at his fingertips. Not liquid, not solid, but there all the same.

Then he feels stupid. Now what is he supposed to do? Wander the darkness of his own mind searching for Rey? Is he supposed to see her, or just hear her voice? He wishes Skywalker had explained this Force bond thing in more detail.

Just as he's about to call out Rey's name and see what happens, something hazy begins to form in the distance. The faintest, merest shadow of a person. And if he concentrates, he can hear someone speaking, but the words sound muffled and staticky."—inn? Finn—y—hear—?"

"Rey?" He steps forward—or, rather, the projection of his mind's consciousness steps forward, searching for the source of the sound, squinting at the shadow. "Rey, is that you?"

"Finn!" Now the voice sounds relieved. The shadow has begun to crystallize into a person, and a very familiar one at that. Rey keeps fading in and out of his sight, but he can see her. And from the way she's staring at him, they must be able to see each other. "Can you see me?"

"Yeah. I can see you." He laughs out loud. "Does this mean it worked?"

"I think so, but—" Suddenly Rey's voice cuts off, and although her form is about as substantial as a wisp of smoke he can see the fear in her eyes as clear as day. She disappears and reappears so quickly it's like someone is flicking a light switch on and off in his head. Is their connection breaking? What's happening? "I see—it's—Finn? I—"

"Rey? I'm here—what is it, what do you see?" He whirls around, ready to fight off whatever apparition has so terrified the living daylights out of Rey, but an image in the distance makes his heart freeze in his chest.

In the distance is an image the size of a large holoscreen, and it's the only solid, colorful thing in the darkness around him. Finn moves closer, his heart hammering against his ribs, unable to spare a fleeting thought of worry as Rey flickers out and disappears for good. The image is of a crowded town square, filled with people in colorful robes fleeing in all directions. Strange, yet somehow familiar. And he has no idea why.

"I don't understand what this means," he whispers to the image, which is now pulsing like a heartbeat. "Show me."

The image pulses once more, and then suddenly he's tilting forward; the image is widening, bringing with it a tornado that pitches him forward into a whirl of color and shadow. He wants to scream but has no mouth to do so—there is nothing around him but high-pitched noises and colors so bright that they burn his eyes and then—

He feels his feet hit solid ground and stands, shaking, as the blurry shapes around him coalesce and come into focus.

He's in an alleyway now, all dark bricks and grimy asphalt and overflowing garbage cans. Behind him he can hear people wailing and the crackle of blaster bolts flying through the air and the familiar sound of Stormtrooper-issued boots on pavement, but he cannot look away from the person at the back of the alley.

It's an older man in his forties, with brown skin and neatly-trimmed hair that's going gray at the temples. He's got a blaster strapped to his back and his jaw is set in determination, like he's willing to burn the world if it means getting what he wants. When he speaks, desperation colors every syllable. "The time is not to stay and fight, ma'am, you must run!"

"No!" Startled, Finn suddenly notices a woman next to the man. She looks to be around his age, with dark skin and even darker curly hair. She's clothed in a grey tunic and white pants and holds a bundle of blue blankets close to her chest. Her face is streaked with tears but her voice is firm. "I will not run like a frightened child, Wick! Not with Stormtroopers invading this city and certainly not when they have just killed my husband!"

"And what makes you think they will stop there?" Wick snaps, and the woman recoils like she's been slapped. "The New Republic is on its way with its own army to fight back the First Order, but until they successfully retake the city then you must get yourself and Samson to the safe house. The future of this planet depends on it."

There's a beat of tense silence, and then the woman gives a tight nod. "Alright," she says. She hitches the bundle of blankets further up, and it hits Finn like a lightsaber to the back that there's a baby in there. A baby boy who's looking up at his mother with frightened eyes. "We will get as many as we can to safety first, and then—"

"I'm afraid there will be no 'we' in this scenario." Wick pulls the blaster off his back and hands it to the woman. "Take it. You know how to use it far better than I."

"Wick—no, we must go together! I'll not leave you here!"

"I swore to give my life for you and your family if necessary, ma'am." Wick presses a fatherly kiss to the woman's forehead. "Though I promise that I have no intention of dying tonight."

"Wick—"

"Go on, Velle. I'll get as many people as I can to safety. I'll see you again soon."

After a moment of hesitation, Velle nods once more and runs out of the alley without looking back.

Then the scene flickers, and Finn finds himself in a throng of people that are pushing shoving and trying their best to run away from the Stormtroopers that seem to be around every corner. Velle cradles her baby against her chest with one hand and fires her blaster at approaching Troopers with the other. She presses herself flat against a statue of two Twi'leks holding hands, her chest heaving. "Hush now, hush now," she whispers to her baby, who is crying. "It'll be alright, my love, we'll be safe in a moment."

Finn's heart is hammering against his ribs even hard, and he bites the inside of his cheek so hard that he tastes blood. He knows where he's seen this woman before now. She'd been in that vision of his from Jakku, right before he'd heard that voice say These are your first steps, Finn. But she'd been on the ground then, and now—

Finn suddenly realizes what'll happen a second before it does, but that's not enough time to reach through space and time and stop the Stormtrooper across the square from shooting Velle in the shoulder.

Velle collapses like a marionette whose strings have been cut, the blaster falling out of her hand. The skin around her left shoulder is singed and bleeding, and the baby wails from the mess of blue blankets. It starts wailing even more as a Stormtrooper carelessly steps over Velle and plucks the baby from her arms, walking away without another glance.

"No!" Finn snaps out of whatever trance had frozen his muscles and takes off at a sprint after the Stormtrooper. Logically he knows that this is all in his mind and he can't do anything to help Velle or the baby, but he cannot stand by and do nothing. "No, stop it—hey!"

He's just reached the Stormtrooper when the world around him begins to whirl and everything goes dark. He feels himself falling, and, with a crash, lands spread-eagled on the ground, knocking the air out of him.

Once he's down gulping down lungfuls of air the way a man dying of thirst drinks water, he starts to calm down and takes stock of everything around him. He's back outside the Millennium Falcon, back on Ahch-To. It's still sunny outside, which means that he hasn't been gone for long—if he had even gone anywhere.

What had that been? Some strange side effect of his and Rey's Force bond? But he knows that's not right—and he also knows that whatever had made Rey so frightened is not at all what he'd seen. The Force must have shown them both strange visions, and he has no idea what to do with this information.

He tries to remember his vision, but it's all fading together into a jumble of color and noise. A man with a blaster. A woman crumpling to the ground. A statue and a plaza filled with people and Stormtroopers. A baby crying from a mess of thick blue blankets. And an all-encompassing sense of familiarity, but not just because he'd caught a glimpse of those events on Jakku. It's almost like he's lived through that before.

It hadn't been a vision or a Force-dream. It had been a memory. And if his instincts are correct, that baby must have been him. And that means that the woman must have been his mother.

Kriffing hell.


Through the Force, things you will see. Other places. The future...the past. Old friends long gone.

Aggravating though Yoda had been, Luke still thinks of him and his lessons from time to time. How Yoda and Ben had tried to warn him of the Dark Side and the unknown consequences of him leaving Dagobah to find Leia and Han. How he hadn't listened and ended up with confusion, pain, and unwanted familial revelations. (Mara used to say that Yoda should have offered him a hand; intentional pun or not, that always made him laugh.)

But now that he's separated Finn and Rey to see if they've developed a Force bond like he suspects they have, this lesson of Yoda's comes to mind. He has no idea why until Rey, who's sitting near one of the stone structures not far from him, suddenly goes pale and starts shaking. At first he worries that the Dark Side is tempting her again, but then he realizes that she's having a Force-vision just like he had on Dagobah—though of the future or past, he doesn't know.

"Rey?" Saying the name that had belonged to his daughter still hurts after all these years, but he pushes through the pain and repeats himself. "Rey, can you hear me?"

She makes no indication that she can. He's not surprised; during his Force-vision he'd gone blind and deaf to the real world, and his sole focus had been on the ghosts before his eyes. But Force-visions tend to break down people's defense, and since Finn isn't around, she's even more vulnerable to an attack from the Dark Side.

He'd lost his nephew to the Dark Side. He will not lose this girl too.

He closes his eyes, channeling the memories of his tangible connection to his sister, to Han, to Mara, even to his father. He feels like he's in a glass box, but as he pushes and concentrates harder, cracks begin to form and light begins to seep through. A familiar sensation hums at his fingertips, and it feels like taking a deep breath after an eternity in a vacuum, like he's been asleep for decades and is only now returning to himself.

There are hints of a gray aura inches away from him. Rey's aura. He reaches toward the aura, intending to bring Rey out of her trance and back to herself. Back from the Dark Side.

He makes contact, and in the blink of an eye everything disappears.


She's on Jakku again, but she can't be. She knows it can't be real because she's supposed to be on Ahch-To with Finn and Master Skywalker, and even the Force can't make someone teleport across thousands of miles of space. This must be a dream, or like that strange series of visions she'd glimpsed in Maz's basement on Takodana. But this time she can't move or speak or even breathe; all she can do is stare.

Unkar Plutt is there, still fat and disgusting and sneering like he thinks everyone in the galaxy is beneath him. But Rey's attention isn't on the alien; it's on the woman speaking to him. She's tall, with fair skin and reddish-auburn hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. She looks hardened but weary, as though she's spent the last thousand years being chased across the galaxy, and she pulls her brown cloak tighter around her even though it's got to be stifling hot. "I'll be back soon," she says, and then she waves her hand. "You'll watch over her until then."

"I'll watch over her until then," Unkar Plutt echoes dutifully, which is strange because he's never that polite to anyone. Rey doubts it's genuine, but then the woman kneels down and her heart stops in her chest because that's her, that's her younger self. And that means—that means—

"Mama, don't go," the younger Rey pleads. Her hair is in its usual three buns and she's wearing a simple cloth tunic with a brown belt wrapped around her waist. Rey remembers that outfit. She'd fashioned it into a face mask after it became too small. "Mama, don't leave me here, please—"

"Oh, sweetheart." The woman sounds on the verge of tears. "I won't be gone for long, alright? I promise. I need to tell your father where you are, and then we'll both come back for you once it's safe. Do you understand?"

Little Rey sniffles. "I understand."

"Good." The woman reaches out and hugs her like Rey is the only thing she's got left in the world. Once she pulls away, both she and Rey are crying. "Stay here, Rey. I'll come back for you. I'll be back, sweetheart. I promise."

And then it's a sight that has become all too familiar, that has haunted her nightmares for the last fourteen years—the starship taking off, Unkar Plutt's meaty hand on her wrist as she thrashes and screams for the ship to come back—but this time her head is swimming with so much information that she wants to scream.

Mama. I called that woman Mama, and she told me she'd come back for me, and that means…

It means nothing. Rey jumps at the sound of a familiar voice in her head, soft and coaxing and poisonously sweet. But listen to me, and I will give you all the answers you desire.

All the answers she desires, but none of the answers she needs. This had to be the Dark Side trying to taunt her, trying to bait her into turning away from the Light. But she won't turn, not even for the promise of an explanation of what she just witnessed. She's not the type to be swayed by empty words and even emptier promises. She's a survivor. A warrior.

Just like Finn.

Rey's eyes shoot open, and the next several seconds are spent gasping for air and getting her bearings back. She's still on Ahch-To, still surrounded by those strange alien caretakers and those nuisance birds, and that means that Finn is nearby too, which is reassuring. The vision seems to have been engraved into her mind, and she can't unsee it.

Not that she wants to, anyway. She needs answers. That woman had been her mother, and she needs to know more. Why had she left her with Unkar Plutt? Had they been in danger? And why had she never come back?

Too late, she notices that Skywalker's eyes are on her, and she scrambles to her feet. "Master Skywalker," she says. Her fear is fading into a bundle of nervous excitement. Skywalker's wise; maybe he can help her figure out the details of that long-suppressed memory. "I don't know what happened—Finn and I were able to find each other in the Force, but then…then I had this strange vision."

Skywalker doesn't reply. In fact, he doesn't seem to be able to speak. He's gone pale, and his eyes are so wide that she can see the whites all around. The air around them seems to hum with tension—but no, it's not tension. This is something far more tangible, more powerful. The Force.

Rey gasps as the answer hits her. It's not just her connection to the Force that's making the air around them buzz; it's Skywalker's. He must have sensed her inner struggle with the Dark Side and had reconnected with the Force to try and help her. She has no idea how to feel about that—in fact, she's a little peeved that he hadn't believed in her ability to snap out of it herself—but she's mostly just excited that her childhood hero has the Force again. "You've reconnected to the Force! That's amazing!" Her excitement quickly gives way to curiosity and worry when Skywalker doesn't answer. "Are you alright?"

No response. For a moment she wonders if he's just having trouble adjusting after so long without the Force, but quickly dismisses the notion. There has to be another reason why he's staring at her like he's seen a ghost—

Oh kriff. Did he see my struggle with the Dark Side? Is that why he looks so afraid? Her heart clenches in her chest. Or did he see my Force-vision? Did he know my mother?

She looks up again just in time to see Skywalker get up and walk toward the nearest stone structure, slamming the door behind him.


Dun dun dunnnnn… ;)

Stay tuned for Chapter V, in which Luke reveals a long-kept secret, Rey reacts poorly, and Finn decides to track down his family.