Her feet pounded into the sand, sweat pouring from her forehead. Rey dared not look back at the seemingly endless footprints left in her wake, not with the Jedi's watchful gaze always on her. Breathing heavily through the cold salty air, she could hear the words of the Jedi Master in her mind.

To understand your place within the Force, first you must master it with body, then with spirit.

Whether it was working or not, she didn't know. She had taught herself to do whatever had to be done to survive on the merciless sands of Jakku against the thieves and slave keepers that picked apart the planets populous like rats. Rey was no stranger to running, or if need be, fighting to stay alive, but this world was different. The beach beneath her feet didn't feel like the scorching sands of her home world. It was wet, and it gave way as she took each step. Gone were the sandstorms that made each grain like a hot knife amongst thousands tearing at her flesh. Now it was cold, and utterly replaced by the spray of the sea. She was in the galaxy's small chunk of paradise, yet she still couldn't feel content.

"The Force is not merely a power to harness," Master Luke had told her. "It is always a part of you. Feel it, let it strengthen your muscles and sooth your exhaustion."

Rey had experienced a taste of what it could offer her. It had been there when she duelled Kylo Ren, fuelling her with a strength and focus she had never felt before. She had felt powerful, and for a moment, she had enjoyed what it made her. Only when she saw the fallen form of her foe, wounded and bleeding in the cold snow did she grasp the reality of it. She couldn't tap into it now. She ran on, her eyes closed.

She was afraid.

Sand became rock beneath her feet. She didn't know how far she had travelled, but when she opened her eyes she was confronted with ocean blue. She stretched out her arms to hold her balance as she stopped. She was staring over the cliff side at the jagged rocks below. The imposing view of the ocean, its waves roaring like a fierce Krayt Dragon drew Rey in. So much water was strange to her. To fall would be a death sentence. She'd had no need to learn to swim when surrounded by an ocean of sand.

Rey gained control of her breathing and kept her view forward. It was hard to tell where the horizon ended. The ocean seemed to meld with the clear sky. What was beyond it all, she wondered. Even what was behind her was no longer familiar.

"That is enough for today. The sun will fall soon."

She heard the master's voice somewhere behind her.

"No. I can keep going."

"Into the rocks? Unless, you intend to go back?"

She turned her head slowly to see her footprints in the distance.

"Did you pay attention to your path the first time you travelled it?" Luke asked her.

She had been too focussed. She had seen the beach enough, she thought. Barely a week she had been there, but already the island's layout was becoming familiar. In her heart though, the place still felt alien.

"I can do it. Let me carry on."

She was about to head off when he held her staff out to block her path.

"The goal here isn't to injure yourself. Come with me."

Luke trailed off towards the huts atop the hills. He never waited for her to follow, he merely expected it. There was no point in arguing. She did feel a little relieved to be done for the day, but she knew time was of the essence. The hill side looked over where they had landed the Falcon. She hadn't seen much of Chewbacca in the passing days. Always he was tinkering with the ship, one thing or the other.

"The landing gear. He's been working on it for the last two days." Luke told her.

She was surprised that he knew. She hadn't seen him speak to the Wookie since her training began.

"The landing gear?" She asked.

"It had a tendency to get stuck. At least it did the last time I saw her," Luke's voice was solemn. "Han was always meaning to work on it."

She watched the Wookie hard at work, all alone. Rey's scowl was rich with disgust. Kylo Ren had a lot to answer for.

Leaving him be, Rey looked over the huts that had seemingly sprouted at random on the hillside. There was no discernible pattern to them, no order. She watched the island dwellers for a moment, each clad in white robes that were stained by the grass and dirt at the bottom. Luke had said that they watched over the temple, preserving it. All of them were veiled in silence. Not even the children uttered a word as they emerged from their huts. Luke had very little interaction with them. Rey couldn't judge them for staying, she after all, had waited long for something that never came.

The Jedi had disappeared from view. Rey rushed on to catch him up, the pain in her legs humming from the day's training. He was not to be found in his hut, but instead in the temple itself. He gazed thoughtfully over the ancient texts, his face slowly forming into a frustrated scowl.

"I'd thought my days of being a learner were done," Luke's voice echoed through old halls. He didn't turn to the scavenger, he knew she was there. "I had learned from the best, and from my own failings. I confronted my father and the Emperor. The Galaxy's new hope they called me. He would be the one to end the Sith, they said."

Rey sat against the wall, letting the cold stone cool her down as she listened.

"You did, didn't you?" She asked him. You saved the Rebellion. The Republic wouldn't exist without you. Even on Jakku we knew about you… I didn't believe it."

She saw the tiniest smirk in the corner of his mouth.

"I wouldn't have blamed you. Not many would, but it wasn't me who brought an end to Darth Sidious. Everyone had lost any hope for the victims of the Dark Side. Even the Jedi saw it as an inescapable pit. Once you fall, you drown it in," Rey listened, nervous of what her connection to the Force meant for her. "They were wrong, Rey. Despite everything he had done, I knew my father was still alive."

She didn't understand.

"How did you know?"

"I sensed the conflict in him."

When Kylo Ren had taken off his mask, she had seen into his mind. Was this what Luke meant? She had felt his frustration, and his growing fear that he would never live up to his bloodline. She had tasted his bitterness while they were connected. She had seen no path to his redemption.

Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't notice the Jedi had come to kneel in front of her. He held her hand in his own and closed his eyes. When he opened after a moment of focus, he smiled as if he were looking at an old friend.

"Believe it or not, I know how you feel. I used to look out over the horizon, wondering if there was anything out there waiting for me."

"You went looking for it," She said. "I just waited, hoping it would come back…"

Maz's words still hurt her. If any meaning in the galaxy belonged to her, and it really was ahead as Maz had said, then where was she meant to go? What should she do? She had followed the Resistance, she had travelled all the way to a man she thought was a myth, all to find a purpose. In her heart she was lost, trying to piece together what she really wanted.

"You're not alone, Rey. I can sense the light in you. It's strong. I know how much… Han's death hurt you. I was puzzled at first, but now I understand. You haven't known him long, have you?"

She had been shaken by how much it affected her, considering he had only been a story days before.

"You have been alone all of your life. He was the first person to ever place trust in you. Now, I see you pushing yourself beyond the limit whenever I am watching. The greatest lesson a Jedi can learn, is patience."

Rey remembered the countless scratches on the walls of her makeshift home. She would close her eyes at night and still see them. In the morning, there they were again like a mockery.

"Trust me, I'm no stranger to waiting." She told him.

"You had no one counting on you then. I can feel your desire to prove your worth. You want to help those in the Resistance you know, as quick as you can."

How much he could see into her thoughts startled her, even those she tried to hide from herself.

"Every minute we are here, they are suffering. It's not right."

"Leaving my sister… leaving Han, it was the last thing I wanted to do, Rey. I tried to face Snoke. He is like nothing I have ever seen. Not since Darth Sidious have I felt such a shroud, like he is infected with it."

Rey's brow crunched up.

"But we should be helping them now! I came here to find you because the Republic needs you! I am no good to them without training, but what if I can't control myself in time?"

Luke understood all her frustrations too well.

"Rey, trust me. I thought the very same thing once. I left when I was not ready, and paid the heavy price for it."

Rey looked at the Jedi's metal fingers. What had happened made her skin crawl.

Luke was no longer kneeling in front of her. Now he walked slowly over to the Jedi texts.

"If I face him now, I don't believe I will be strong enough. All I can do, is find a way. Here, he cannot find me… only the people I trust were left the map."

Rey thought about the day they had put the map together, the day she had left with Chewbacca to find a man she didn't know. Something clicked for her.

"When I met General Leia, she knew what had happened to Han Solo. She knew it somehow, before we could tell her. Was that the Force?"

Luke's expression was strained. Taking one of the texts under his arm, he left.

"We will continue in the morning."

Rey watched the Jedi until his robes were out of sight.

"Why didn't you know…?" She whispered in the lonely chamber.

…

Ord Mantell Atmosphere

The room was filled with sparks and the flash of red. Kylo's blade danced between sparring droids, leaving little more than a smouldering wreck as each one clanged to the floor.

Feel your rage. Harness it. Do not let its fire control you. Balance it.

Snoke's orders raced through his mind. His wisdom fuelled him.

Imagine each one is the girl. You let her best you once, but now, you are focused! A Sith's rage will make him impatient. A Jedi's stubbornness will make him weaker. You are neither. You are a Knight of Ren. You are heir to Lord Vader.

Ren's speed quickened, but its precision never worsened as he listened to his master's words.

Let Light and Dark work in unison. Fear neither. Fall to neither. Never surrender your grasp on power and focus.

The sparring droids were gone, and in an instant the ceiling was covered in blaster turrets.

No legions can be allowed to stop you!

Blaster bolts flew in every direction. Kylo's blade hummed and cracked in a whirl of light. Shots froze in place before being hurled back where they came from with destructive force. He was almost free of the excessive volley when a single bolt slipped through his defence. Kylo fell to one knee as the searing heat ate away at his shoulder. The last shots froze around him, looking like a cocoon of red light. Leaving himself just enough room amongst the barrage, he rolled away and let go. The floor became a cacophony of energy. The turrets above him rattled before being ripped from their emplacements and sent crashing to the ground. Kylo, stood still.

Another scar… remember it. Next time, it will not happen again.

He could no longer hear his master's voice. The day's session was over, and he was left alone feeling estranged.

Behind glass panes high above, a single onlooker stared precariously, her helmet reflecting back at her. She had been concentrating on the performance below enough to let approaching footsteps escape her attention.

"Do you not have duties to perform, Captain?"

Hux was to the point, as always.

"I have informed Supreme Leader Snoke of our preparations. Ord Mantell must be stable before we can move on. The surviving members of the Black Sun have proven… difficult to track down."

"I am sure you will find a creative way to draw the rats out." He said.

Hux turned his gaze to the knight in-training.

"I assumed you had no interest in Force worshipers like him."

"I admit," She answered him. "The discipline in their training is something I admire, but if you require an outside force to wield your weapon, you are weak. I fought to become the greatest warrior on Parnassos, and the Order has made me greater still. The Supreme Leader's wisdom leads us on to glory… what is he without his 'mystical' power?"

The two of them watched Kylo Ren leave the sparring chamber.

"He has no military experience," Hux added. "Yet, he plays commander. He is useful as a mad dog, at least."

"Supreme Leader Snoke has faith in his use, so we must follow his wishes." Phasma corrected the course of their conversation, knowing where it would lead otherwise.

"Yes… it is important to ensure favour with the Supreme Ruler, is it not?"

Phasma could sense the real reason for Hux's presence rearing its ugly head.

"Loyal servitude to the Order and its leader is required by all-"

"I had not informed the Supreme Leader of the events on Ord Mantell," he interrupted. "As General of our forces it is my duty to do so. Yet, he was informed by someone else. You wouldn't know anything about this, I assume?"

Phasma's discipline did not allow her to look him in the eye for such an accusation, not even through her visor.

"I have informed him only of the troop's status. If you have concerns, I am sure the Supreme Leader will be interested to hear them. Unless, this is an interrogation?"

Hux's serious tone changed. Now he supported a smile.

"Not at all."

He marched away until he reached the doorway and stopped.

"This Order will only function if we all know our place. As General, I have the Supreme Leader's ear to our battle plans. I would hate to find out that someone was taking action into their own hands."

He left with his hands behind his back. Phasma knew nothing of what he was referring to, but after Starkiller Base, she couldn't help but lament what else the General could discover.

…

It was these moments, the ones where he was alone in his chamber when the man who called himself Kylo Ren struggled the most. Any number of Republic legions could stand in his way, and he would be content in cutting them down, imbued with the Dark Side. When his training ended and his mask was off, all he had was the past.

He sat on the bed, staring into his mask, holding his side. His new wound did not concern him, not as much as the ever present one caused by an old friend. His grasp of the Force soothed it in battle, but always it gnawed at him in solitude. They could heal it, but the wound caused by a Wookie's bowcaster cuts deep. Anyone else would not have survived.

That Wookie. Flashes of memory when he was just a boy haunted him. He had been a protector, a friend of his father's. Childish games were soon gone, replaced by a duty thrust upon him. To Ben Solo, it was abandonment. A lightsaber in his hand meant servitude to a cause he had not chosen. They didn't care. A general and a smuggler. It could never work. He could see the Republic for the farce that it was, built by charlatans grasping at old days when corrupt politicians ruled. Days long before his own, and he would never have known had the Supreme Leader not bestowed his wisdom.

"Speak to me…" he whispered in the dark chamber.

No voice came from his mask as it had from his grandfather's. The voice of Vader had fallen silent.

"Why do you leave me to deal with this alone? You conquered this pain. You destroyed your master… your family, those that pretended to be your friends. You conquered it all."

Ben could see his father's look of terror every time he closed his eyes. His fist clenched.

"Why can't I!?"

He let go immediately when he heard his mask begin to crack. The slice caused by Snoke had bent further inwards.

"Control…"

Snoke always taught of its importance, but even in Ben's early days of training, his uncle had seen it in him. The Force was like a storm in him, and who can control nature's tempest?

Outside noise had faded away. Anyone outside the door aboard the ship had grown silent. Ben felt himself being trapped, like a bubble was closing around him. He thought the Force was telling him something. Maybe Vader had heard him after all? When he looked up, he could see her.

The girl.

Plain as day, she was sitting across the room on a bed of stone. A vision, perhaps? No, something more. Their eyes locked and together they shared a look of bewilderment.

She was the first to end it. Reaching out for something beside her, she quickly revealed a blaster pistol and fired a single shot. Kylo snapped his eyes shut and breathed out. There was no pain in his chest. The bubble was gone.

"Rey?"

She heard the Master's voice outside her hut. Cracked, heated stone crumbled down from the wall. She could see a gaping hole where the shot had blasted through. The door burst open, and Luke watched her with a look of great concern.

"What was that…" two voices on opposite sides of the galaxy spoke in unison.