FULCRUM CHAPTER 4

Looking back in hindsight, it is clear what Milo had been doing those first few months. But at the time Rey imagines herself to be indulging a lonely old man in need of a listening ear. It is not a chore by any means, for the old keeper is endlessly entertaining as he imparts his long ago tales of the Empire. It is a mystery how much of his stories are true and how he knows them, but Rey doesn't mind.

So every day at half past noon, little Han goes down for his afternoon nap and Rey joins Milo for luncheon. At first, she is intimidated. The table is always set formally and the meal unnecessarily elaborate. Indulge me, Milo would say, with his grandfatherly smile. At least once a day he wants to keep up the standards of the castle's bygone glory days.

Rey does not take much persuasion. She genuinely likes the old keeper. Plus, she desperately needs the adult company.

The domestic droids buzz in and out to conduct the meal and Rey learns to ignore them. One ancient protocol droid is habitually broken and narrates its actions ceaselessly. Serve from the left, remove from the right . . . salad fork, fish knife, dessert spoon . . . no elbows please . . . canapes, my lady? Rey giggles and Milo smiles and little by little it all sinks in and the manners and rituals of an elegant meal become smooth second nature for Rey.

The faulty protocol droid is a relic of the formality of the Old Republic—"as old and outdated as I am" Milo quips—and somewhere along the way it had been programmed to impersonate various officials as a sort of training exercise. So once a week for laughs the droid becomes their pretend guest for lunch. The droid has five personas: Ambassador, General, Senator, Business Leader and Jedi.

Milo always lets Rey choose. Her favorite is the Business Leader because under that guise the droid's conversation is always direct and good-natured. The worst is the Jedi, who speaks in tangled sentences and makes vague, sometimes snarky observations.

After a while she and Milo conspire to toy with the poor droid. "Let's get the Senator angry today," Milo might suggest. "Tell him that his export tariffs will be raised." Or "Watch me charm the Jedi, Rey." It's harmless fun and it helps break the monotony of the everyday. And over time the solitary war orphan from Jakku becomes accustomed-even adept-at the strategic art of conversation. And a little of the old keeper's understated charm rubs off as well.

'Keeping up standards' turns out to be more than a daily lunch. It is Milo's ready excuse for indulgences. He knows it too, for there is always a twinkle in his eye when he utters the phrase. Not a week passes by before Rey's well-worn tunic and skirt are replaced. Milo phrases it prettily enough, but the message is clear: her barmaid's outfit is not in keeping with the castle's standards. Which basically means this: Darth Vader wouldn't like it.

Rey blinks in bewilderment at the elegant long day gown that is proffered as a substitute. Never in her life has Rey owned a dress. This dress is far too formal for chasing a toddler around the terrace and little Han seems to dirty everything so quickly. Milo shrugs and tells her that the droids will launder the dress and doesn't she looked nice in red. Rey huffs—dresses, especially fancy dresses, were not her style-but yes, she does look good in red. Who knew? Rey has never worn colors before. She finds she likes it.

Packages from Coruscant keep arriving with additional items and soon Rey has a full wardrobe. It is all very fancy and very formal. And very not Rey.

Also from Coruscant comes a grooming droid whose sole function is to be her lady's maid. Rey finds all this artifice to be ridiculous, and she rolls her eyes at Milo. But he prevails in the end, even if Rey stubbornly enforces a twenty minute time limit to submit to the droid's efforts.

At first, it is fun to play dress up, but the impoverished scavenger in her grows a little ashamed of the extravagance. It's just her, Milo and Han at the castle. What's the point of all this? When she complains to Milo, he shrugs and tells her that Lord Vader liked a lady with style. That comment strikes Rey as absurd. Rey laughs out loud and then demands proof of Milo's claim.

"Come," he tells her, grinning as he leads Rey to a set of rooms down the corridor from the suite that serves for her and Han. "These are the lord's chambers," Milo explains as he keys in the entry code. Inside the rooms are every bit as dark and as sleek as the pictures she has seen of Vader's mask. Rey has no difficulty imagining the Imperial Sith lord inhabiting the space.

"Here she is," Milo beckons her across the room to stand before a large portrait. It is a young woman dressed in an intricate white lace gown. She wears a matching lace cap with veil that covers her hair. Long brown curls trail out from beneath. The woman is facing forward with her head turned aside and her eyes slightly downcast. She looks more sad than demure. Her hands clasp a bouquet of wilting flowers.

"Who is she?" Rey looks to Milo.

"Lady Vader on her wedding day."

"She was beautiful." Vader's wife is all soft skin, soft lips and long lashes. Utterly feminine in a way that Rey the underfed, overworked, sunburnt Jakku scavenger could never hope to be. Rey steps closer to inspect the woman further. Something about this painting seems to draw her in.

"Yes, very beautiful. It was painted posthumously, but I'm told it is a remarkable resemblance. You should look her up on the holonet. She was quite famous in her day. And she was a notorious clotheshorse. Not like you, Rey." Milo's eyes twinkle as they catch hers. "This portrait hung downstairs for many years. Kylo Ren had it moved here." Milo cocks his head at the painting. "Lord Vader would talk to her sometimes," he confides. The old man smiles to himself at the memory.

"Really?" Rey is intrigued. "What did he say?"

The old keeper colors slightly. "Oh Rey, we didn't listen."

"Yes . . . yes, you did." Rey can tell by his discomfort, and she pounces on it with an unholy glee. "I know you overheard something, Milo. Tell me."

Milo stiffens into the loyal old Imperial retainer he is. "I keep Lord Vader's confidences," he reminds her.

Rey laughs at this remark. This time it is Rey's eyes that are twinkling. "Yes, yes. But Vader has been dead over thirty years. Come on, tell me. What did he say to her?"

Milo turns back to the portrait, considering for a long moment. "I think he missed her. Terribly." The old keeper's tongue loosens. Milo cannot resist a good story. "I came here shortly after the first Death Star was destroyed. It wasn't long afterwards that Lord Vader learned that the rebel Luke Skywalker had destroyed it. Vader became obsessed with finding the boy. We just assumed it was for revenge. No one knew that Skywalker was Vader's secret son. Not back then."

"But some of us had our suspicions. Vader would talk to her about Skywalker. Tell her about the intelligence that had been uncovered. What he looked like, where he was raised, how Vader had chased him down the Death Star trench, things like that. I think Lord Vader regretted very much that he had been unable to raise his own son. Darth Vader hated that he and his son were on opposite sides of a war." Milo turns to give her a melancholy smile. "The Skywalker family seems to have that issue every generation. Father and son at odds with one another. Mother too, this time around."

Rey sighs at these words. The conversation suddenly had turned serious. She looks away. "I was there when Kylo killed his father," she whispers. "I watched him do it."

Milo frowns as he turns back to the portrait. "It is not an easy thing to be a Skywalker, Rey. Jedi or Sith, it doesn't matter. They love each other but they destroy each other. It would be good," he tells her in his quiet way, "if that cycle could end. If you and your son and Kylo Ren could all be on the same side as a family, working together for the same things. That would be best for each of you . . . and for all the rest of us."

Rey glances sideways at him. "Don't be fooled by this living arrangement." Rey's voice is unusually sharp. "We're not a family, Milo. Kylo Ren and I are not a couple. My son and I came here from a prison cell escorted by stormtroopers."

Perhaps it is her blunt tone that convinces Milo to dispense with the dissembling. For the old keeper tells her plainly, "You and Han are bound to him, Rey. Whether you like it or not. And the Force is with you and with your son, which makes you both a potential threat. Kylo Ren and his master will never let you go alive." Milo gives her a long, measuring look. "It is inevitable. One day your boy will be Sith too, like his father and great-grandfather before him. You might consider how to make the best of the situation because you cannot change it, Rey. You cannot change it."

His words unsettle her, and Rey does not reply. Instead, she glances back at the sad looking bride in the portrait. "What happened to Lady Vader?" she asks, wanting to change the subject.

Milo's voice is back to his usual decorous tone. "Ask Kylo that question. He tells the story better than I. He will be here tomorrow afternoon." The keeper walks to the door and she follows him. "But first we will have guests join us for lunch. Tomorrow, you will get your chance to charm a real person, Rey. Not a droid. General Hux and his staff will be joining us."


General Hux gives a lot of angry speeches. That is Rey's conclusion after she spends a few minutes researching him on the holonet. He is handsome, and that keeps her watching the speeches longer than they really interest her. In photographs, the general's cheekbones are as sharp as his uniform and his skin looks as if it has never seen a sun. She wonders what he will be like in person.

After a few minutes, she has gleaned enough safe topics of conversation to store away for tomorrow's lunch. Milo has requested that she charm the general. Rey does not want to disappoint.

Finished, she goes back to browsing Lady Vader on the holonet. Or rather, Padme Amidala Naberrie, as Milo has informed her. The Vader marriage was a secret, the old keeper had confided, as is often the case with Sith marriages. That had made Rey especially curious. Why wait for Kylo Ren to tell her more?

Thousands of entries pop up for the Padme woman. She is a queen and a senator of the Late Republic with an intimidating list of accomplishments and the social profile of a minor celebrity. The first few hundred entries look to be from official legislative archives. Rey ignores these boring bits and digs deeper until she finds the photographs. Yes, she is Lady Vader. Rey recognizes the lovely face, long hair and graceful figure from the portrait. Rey is drawn in deeply now, for the sad young woman from the portrait comes alive in pictures. And she doesn't look sad in any of them.

There are hundreds of pictures, mostly from official functions and social events. Rey sees her at the opera with a grim looking Chancellor Somebody, laughing and carefree with a tall disheveled young man at a party, and looking confident amid a cluster of fellow senators at a press conference. Milo is right—Lady Vader liked clothes. As Rey clicks through the pictures, she never sees the same dress twice. In fact, the only thing she sees time and again in the photographs is the same tall young man. Rey starts clicking on the captions and quickly finds his name.

Anakin Skywalker. Jedi Knight hero of the Clone Wars. Kylo Ren's grandfather.

The young Darth Vader.

A shiver runs down her spine as Rey realizes who she is seeing in the photographs. This is Lord and Lady Vader when they were young and secretly in love. He is dashing with a roguish smile that borders on arrogance. She is poised and glamorous looking. They are beautiful people living and working amid the galaxy's glitterati at the height of the Old Republic.

It's romantic, Rey decides. In a sad sort of way. When did Vader opt for the mask and end up in a bionic suit? How did his wife die young? What happened that Vader ended up here at Bast Castle talking to the painting of his dead wife about his lost son?

Rey recognizes nothing of handsome Anakin Skywalker in the awkward mix of features that makes Kylo's face so compelling. And their coloring is very different. Kylo must look like the Solo side of the family. She smirks, thinking how much this must annoy him.

Kylo Ren will be here tomorrow and at long last Rey will have to face him again. It's a sobering thought. The months without him have lulled her into a false sense of calm. Life at Bast Castle has been perfectly tolerable, all things considered. With all the luxury and relative freedom, Rey can sometimes forget that it is a prison.

Every third day when she and Han together watch the delivery shuttle arrive, Rey contemplates escape. Calculating risks has been a part of Rey's life for as long as she can remember. And she has learned to trust her instincts.

If it were just her, Rey would have taken her chances to run long ago. But there is Han to consider. Here, they are both safe and well cared for. And Kylo seems content to ignore them completely. And so she has decided that the risks of escape outweigh the benefits.

For now.


"Ren. You're late."

A run-and-fetch junior lieutenant awaits his arrival at the Bast landing platform with Milo at his side. These days Hux never travels anywhere without an ever expanding entourage. Ren has forgotten the name of this particular lackey. To a man, they are forgettable. Ignoring the general's aide and his comment, Ren turns to Milo.

"Welcome home," the old keeper bows and receives him with more than his usual gravity. Ren grins beneath his mask. Of course, Milo would make a showy display of deference to contrast with the officer's insolent greeting. The old keeper is always deft with disapproval.

"Thank you, Milo. It's good to be back," Ren replies their customary exchange. Then he motions him forward and Milo and Ren fall in step together, with Hux's man excluded and forced to follow from behind. Milo had been in Lord Vader's service for years, and he knows all the small ways to bleed power from a military man. Vader had been notorious in his disdain for self-important officers who dared to disrespect the Sith.

It has been almost four months since Kylo Ren has been home. The delay has reasonable justifications, some honestly occurring and some manufactured. Mostly, he has wanted to avoid Rey and the boy.

His Master knows, of course, and has engineered this war council to drag him back to Bast. Naboo is a convenient halfway point between the Finalizer's current position and the location of Ren's last mission. Ostensibly, the meeting site is for efficiency, but Ren recognizes a warning from Snoke when he sees it. He has neglected his new training.

"I take it General Hux and his staff have already arrived?" Ren's voice is distorted from the mask. Normally, he never wears the mask and uniform while at home, but today his home will be anything but private.

"Yes." Milo nods. "They arrived a few hours ago. Let me show you to them." Four turns and three corridors later, the old keeper delivers them to their destination.

As Kylo steps onto the balcony, he sees them.

Rey—at least he thinks it is Rey-is chatting with Hux, her back to the doorway. The general looms over Rey in her space, standing close. Kylo knows Hux to be a man of staged poise, his posture as stiff as his uniform. But in this moment, the red haired general looks loose. Relaxed. Rey is speaking and Hux throws his head back to laugh in response. The general smirks down at her, his head leaning in, and then Kylo sees it for what it is. Hux is flirting.

"General," he commands from the doorway, irritated. "Let's get started."

His words startle the pair, and Rey whirls to face him. For a moment the universe grinds to a halt. Hux is saying something but Ren isn't listening. His eyes are raking over The Girl.

She is pale pink fingertips and glossy full lips and flowing dark waves that spill over her shoulders. She is bright white silk that covers but clings as it meanders its way down her curves to the floor. She is smart hazel eyes trimmed with dark lashes and smooth young skin that gleams in the sunlight. She is beautiful, so very unexpectedly beautiful, and for a brief moment she looks happy . . . until she sees him. Then, the smile melts from Rey's face and it's almost as if her Light flickers and dims.

Rey's reaction to him stings, even if it's not unexpected.

"Leave us." He dismisses Rey without the courtesy of a greeting. Hux eyes him, taking note.

Rey needs no encouragement. She excuses herself politely and makes for the door, casting a wide berth around him as she exits.

"Ren." Hux addresses him, but watches Rey's retreating figure. "You're late."

"I see that you have been wasting time during my delay."

This exchange of slights is what passes for a welcome between he and General Hux. There are no friendships among the senior leadership of the First Order. And between himself and Hux, there is very little respect. They are two very different men.

Hux is still staring at the door Rey has passed through. "Who's the girl? She wouldn't give me her full name."

"She's no one."

Hux has two expressions where Kylo Ren is concerned, a smirk and a scowl. He turns his scowl on Ren. "If she is here, then she is not 'no one.' Who is she and why is she here?" he demands, irked at Ren's evasion.

Ren ignores him, glancing into the adjoining conference room stuffed full with First Order officers. "Let's begin, General."

His prevarication sends Hux beyond curiosity and into suspicion. "Is she some dead Senator's daughter? She's obviously from Coruscant. Ren, if you are meddling in what's left of the New Republic, I won't stand for it. The Supreme Leader and I have crafted a very careful strategy—"

Ren cuts him off. "I care nothing for Republic politics, General."

"Then why do you have some aristocrat's socialite daughter hidden away in your castle?"

"Because my Master commands it. Would you second guess our Supreme Leader?" Ren pauses a moment. "I thought not. Now let's begin, General."

"Will you be needing anything else, sir?" Ren has forgotten that Milo is still in attendance.

"No," Ren replies. As the old keeper bows and retreats from the room Ren senses his hidden smile. Milo is very pleased with himself.