Disclaimer: I own nothing here but remember, your focus determines your reality.

Point of Light

AN: I'm glad my reviewers seemed to enjoy chapter 8... I had my doubts about it. Anyway, this is the chapter where I feel the story really starts to grab some traction, so strap yourselves in! xD (and don't worry, patskat, the fluff is coming!)

Chapter Nine – Shift


"Where to first, ma'am?" Zeroes asked Rey after she had stepped out of the elevator and into the bustling hallway. Her mind was still reeling from her... heated exchange with Kylo earlier and she wasn't even sure she was in the right frame of mind to be venturing out at all, much less knowing what her destination should be.

"Apologies, ma'am," Zeroes said when he didn't receive an answer from her, mistaking her silence for annoyance. "But Supreme Leader Ren has ordered for you to be accompanied at all times."

"That's alright, Zeroes," Rey told him with a slight smile, finding the trooper's stiff manners somewhat refreshing. "I welcome the company. And I think I'd like to visit the library again."

"Very good, ma'am." Zeroes didn't ask if she remembered how to get there, instead he stepped right out into the flow of traffic to lead her there, as if he was once again bored out of his mind and eager to get moving.

The trooper wasn't exactly much for conversation, giving Rey's mind an opportunity to wander as she followed behind him robotically. She began to wonder what she was even doing anymore. Yes, she had succeeded in saving her friends from certain death, but that didn't change the fact that she was quite nearly free to roam an enemy ship. The enemy she had sworn to fight, resist and hate with every living breath in her body.

She had been telling herself that she didn't have a choice. If she stepped out of line, her friends died. But she still felt like maybe she should have been trying to work a way out, for both herself and her friends. After all, she had just convinced Kylo to give them more freedom. If she could somehow coordinate with them and attempt an escape, then maybe... No. She would need Kylo's permission to visit her friends without him and without an escort, for that to work.

Then there was Kylo himself. Rey could now be honest with herself that she did indeed have feelings for him. Although she still resented his brief flashes of darkness and arrogance, she was still able to overlook his flaws and focus on his hidden tenderness and vulnerabilities.

He could have had her executed as soon as she surrendered. Could have had her tortured for Resistance locations and intel. Could have locked her up in a dark cell to rot. Could have... used her in all the ways she feared.

Instead, he treated her as a guest. Protected her from his subordinates, helped her build her lightsaber, complied with most of her requests, and respected her enough to resist his obvious impulses.

She couldn't just leave him... again.

For some reason, she had this nagging feeling that she should wait, that she should stay, that she should be patient.

"Do you know what a true Jedi knight would do right now?" Luke's words echoed in her mind, a memory from her time on Ahch-To. "Nothing." He lectured on but Rey could only remember the words that struck her nerves. "Only act when you can maintain balance."

Rey had to wonder, was she somehow keeping balance by waiting? Was she not supposed to be proactive at all? Despite the guilty feelings it gave her, she thought maybe she should be trying to spy and dig up First Order secrets behind his back; she certainly had enough freedom to get away with it.

Somehow, a subtle sense through the Force told her not to pursue that last thought. It didn't feel right. There is another way, the non-voice said in her mind. Wait for it, and it will come to you.

Rey didn't feel startled or frightened by the blossomed thoughts in her mind, they felt familiar, warm, safe. It was a sense that had always been there, a whisper, a helper. If that was the light side of the Force, then she knew she could trust it. She would trust it.

In the meantime, she was going to enjoy educating herself about the galaxy. She smiled with anticipation as Zeroes led her through the library's doors, idly wondering what else she could learn about Rancors.


Rey sat inside one of the library's study chambers, watching the various screens while Zeroes stood guard just outside the closed door.

Not surprisingly, she soon learned that Rancors had no known natural predator on their native homeworld of Dathomir, which was another tangent of study all its own. Although she knew her dreams shouldn't be taken too seriously, as there were always some forms of nonsensical attributes to every dream, she got the odd sense that it actually meant something important.

The fact that the bull Rancor had charged off to meet some great threat, which caused him substantial suffering, meant that it had been something abnormal to its native habitat. An unnatural predator.

Rey suddenly felt a strange pull in her gut as the Force shifted around her. Danger. She had grown accustom to the warning and reacted instantly by unhinging her saber and charging for the doorway

"You have no jurisdiction here!" she heard Zeroes proclaim to someone before the door whooshed open. "Stand down!"

His shout of an order was quickly drowned out by the discharge of his blaster and the crackling of a lightsaber, soon followed by a screeching deflection and his howl of agony. By the time Rey exited the chamber, Zeroes was being impaled into his right shoulder by a red saber, Vallis looming over him as he slumped to the floor.

"Stop! What are you doing?" Rey roared at the knight and attempted a Force push, succeeding only in knocking her off kilter but enough to make her discontinue her assault on the trooper and graciously extract the blade from his torso.

Vallis repositioned her saber and took up an aggressive form as she began to circle Rey much like she had when they first met, only Kylo was not standing between them now... Kylo! Berating herself for not thinking of it sooner, Rey quickly tapped the panic button on her tracker, deciding this certainly qualified as an emergency.

She moved to place herself between Zeroes and the knight, not taking her eyes of her and noting that she wore her helmet, making it impossible to decipher her intentions, though her imprint in the Force was apparent enough. The fierce, raw, killing intent was unmistakable. Vallis fully intended to kill someone here and Rey got the distinct sense of being locked on to like a starfighter on its quarry.

"No one to protect you now," Vallis taunted, her helmet warping her voice menacingly, her steps precise as she hunted for the perfect opening. There were officers and cadets in the library, but most were either cowering in fear or simply watching, unsure of what course of action to take or even which side to align with.

Rey resisted the urge to snap back with a quip and risked a quick glance down at an unconscious Zeroes, his wound mostly cauterized. "You're going to pay for that." She grit her teeth in a snarl and ignited her shocksaber.

"Oh?" Vallis nearly cooed, sounding playfully curious despite her obvious viciousness. "The pet does have fangs."

Rey felt the anger building in her chest, but she let it settle there and closed her eyes briefly. The Jedi texts admonished the use of defense, not attack, a strategy she was truly struggling to adopt after so many years of implementing preemptive strikes on her opponents, a technique that had kept her alive on a harsh world.

She felt the Force overtake her emotions, diluting them, allowing her to sense her adversary's movements a second or two before she made them. Rey opened her eyes and Vallis lunged in that instant, a silent strike for the throat that would have been lethal had Rey not seen it coming and dodged low. Pivoting her shocksaber, she managed to clip the knight's left shoulder with the stinger end, effectively stunning her there and forcing her to use only her right arm to wield with.

Vallis retreated, hissing with pain and agitation and Rey did not pursue with an attack like she normally would. Thinking that the more time she bought, the more time it would give Kylo to arrive and deal with the situation himself.

Vallis recovered quickly, though her affected arm hung loosely, she rounded back and refocused on her target. "I wonder, is it a chore to please him every night, or do you enjoy it?" the knight nearly spat at her, causing Rey to narrow her gaze in return. She wanted to talk now? Was that her ploy? To somehow level the playing field after she had been disadvantaged? "Do you submit to him willingly or do you make him work for it?"

Rey scowled at the implications but managed to fight off the temptation to give in to her anger. She tipped her head and sent the knight a dubious look. "You seem to have some wild fantasies about your boss for being one of his subordinates." Rey eased back into her defensive stance and watched with a smirk of satisfaction as Vallis' body stiffened and moved to advance again. "I'd almost guess that you had a thing for him at some point."

Vallis snarled and lunged, but Rey had seen it coming well beforehand. She had effectively turned her opponent's ploy against her and the Force remained Rey's steady guide, giving her a heightened awareness and a fluid energy in her muscles. She matched the knight's strikes perfectly and even offered a riposte or two, knocking her back a little more each time.

Growling in aggravation, Vallis relented and began pacing dangerously some steps away. Rey imagined her eyes were wild with rage and frustration behind that blank mask. She couldn't help but wonder, what was the knight gaining from all of this? She was sure to get charged with insubordination among other crimes, and that was only if Kylo didn't outright kill her upon arrival.

"I know about your friends on the other ships," Vallis said darkly, pausing briefly in her pacing to observe Rey's wide eyed reaction. "When I'm done with you, I'll be sure to pay them each a personal visit."

For the first time since meeting this twisted and clearly disturbed woman, Rey felt the cold chill of fear surge through her mind. She could vaguely hear the Force warning her, pleading with her not to give in, but she couldn't fight back the anger this time as it practically boiled up in her bones. "You stay away from them!" she snarled and stepped forward into a savage assault.

She was only partially aware of the energy in her body shifting, as if one entity had left her with a dismal sigh and another moved in to take its place with a complacent sneer. Trading keen awareness for desperate aggression and effortless movement for taxing ferocity, Rey struck out in a random pattern, receiving only frustration for her efforts as Vallis blocked each blow in turn.

It was as if they had swapped roles in an instant of time and Rey realized too late that she had made a grave mistake.

"Unbalanced," Vallis hissed smugly as their blades locked. "Your friends weaken you. Your chains, you should cut them off."

Rey no longer had the patience to form a reply, instead choosing to roar furiously and shove off from their stalemate in order to raise her weapon for another unrelenting assault. Only, Vallis had apparently anticipated the move and ducked low in order to dodge and strike, a ruthless slash at Rey's left outer thigh going unchecked.

Fiery agony seemed to slice its way into her leg and Rey cried out, staggering, almost collapsing to the floor but knowing she would die if she went down. She steadied herself on her good leg and let her left hand go to the wound tentatively. Much like Zeroes' wound, it had been mostly cauterized, but flesh and muscle had been carved away; she wouldn't be able to fight much longer...

Panting out of pain and exhaustion and fighting off a new wave of lightheadedness, Rey gripped her weapon tightly and refocused on Vallis, who was circling like the dangerous predator she was, relishing in her assumed victory.

Rey knew she wouldn't be able to hold on much longer, but by sheer determination she rooted herself in place and faced down her enemy, blocking blow after blow when the assault came. So out of focus and delirious, she didn't even notice Kylo's presence until she felt his sturdy arm wrap around her waist to support her weight as his red lightsaber came into existence against Vallis' above her head.

With one fluid motion, Kylo eased her back with his left arm and shoved Vallis away with his bladed right, following up with a brutal arcing upward slash, effectively splitting the knight's helmet cleanly up the center and knocking it off to reveal a surprised and bloodied face.

He had apparently only nicked the woman's chin and nose, though the force of the hit knocked her sprawling onto the floor.

Momentarily forgotten, Vallis sputtered and snarled as Kylo moved to gently settle Rey on the floor, briefly taking stock of her wound and checking her head for any other serious injuries. "Stay," he told her firmly and turned back on Vallis, readjusted a threatening hold on his saber as he bore down on her with a menacing glare. "You go too far this time, Vallis."

"How did you get here so fast?" Vallis growled as she finally found her footing again and furiously swiped at the blood dripping from her face. "I know for a fact that you were on the bridge!"

Kylo tipped his head curiously, still moving on her. "Did your playmate tell you that?"

"You-" Vallis' voice was suddenly stolen away, her body seizing up unnaturally as Kylo raised his free hand, fingers curled tensely.

"I suppose you've served your purpose, Vallis." Kylo positioned his weapon for the killing blow. "But that time has come to an end."

The knight's eyes burned with fear and hatred as she hung centimeters off the floor, unable to resist the Supreme Leader's unquestionable strength in the Force. She gurgled something incoherent, probably something obscene and scathing as Kylo moved to deliver his sentence, only to pause at the last second.

Rey had somehow found the strength in her body to stagger over to him and wrap her arms around his middle from behind, her voice weak and failing. "No Ben, please don't." As much as she wanted to see the offending knight receive due punishment, she didn't want to see Kylo killing anymore; she had grown so tired of all the killing...

"If I let her live, she won't stop trying to kill you," Kylo grumbled in agitation, only sparing Rey a scarce sidelong glance as he continued to glare at his misbehaving knight. "I can't risk that."

"Then let someone else execute her after a proper trial," Rey pleaded, her legs buckling beneath her, forcing her to latch onto him even tighter. "Not you."

"What's the difference?" Kylo nearly spat with contempt at the idea, his invisible hold on Vallis not relenting as she writhed and gasped for air.

"You," Rey replied weakly, tears prickling at her eyes as the pain, exhaustion and emotional toll overwhelmed her and she had to rest her head against his back, between his shoulder blades. "You are the difference."

That seemed to pull him out of his raging trance, though his paralyzing grip on Vallis remained as he sheathed his saber and turned to catch Rey before her hold on him slackened completely and she lost consciousness.

The last thing Rey remembered was the thundering sound of Kylo shouting orders to someone, his strong, protective arms scooping her up and pulling her close to his warm body. "I want a medical team standing by in the medbay, and put that traitor in the highest security cell we have. I'll deal with her later."