A knock on the door disrupted Rey and Cela's tea party.

"Isn't work over for the day?" Cela asked.

"I thought so," Rey sighed. "Maybe it's one of the neighbors,"

"I don't think so," Cela said dejectedly.

Rey stood up (with a little more difficulty) and opened the door to find one of the Resistance's intelligence analysts standing before her, as well as one of the caregivers for Resistance children.

"Good evening Mr. Saardek," Rey greeted her coworker, "And Ms. Thalie," Rey couldn't help but wonder if Cela had somehow tapped into the Force and discovered the visit was, in fact, work-related. She made a mental note to talk to Ben about Cela's growing Force-sensitivity later that night.

"The board requests your immediate presence Mrs. Solo," Saardek said matter-of-factly. "Ms. Thalie has been assigned to watch young Cela at your residence in the meantime,"

Rey stole a quick look back at the living quarters to make sure her daughter was out of earshot. "Does this have to do with the First Order?" Rey asked in a lowered voice.

"In a manner of speaking," Mr. Saardek said. "However, the focus of this meeting primarly relates to you and your husband,"

Rey was confused. She didn't think any of the tasks she'd undertaken recently were out of the ordinary, and as far as she knew nothing had been different for Ben either. "What is the nature of the topic?"

"It will be discussed at the meeting,"

Rey looked at the caregiver, who appeared almost as confused as Rey felt. "All right. Cela, come here honey,"

"Ms. Thalie!" Cela broke into a smile as she joined the group of adults.

"I have to leave for some…work," Rey told Cela, "But Ms. Thalie will watch you in the meantime,"

"Can we have a tea party?" Cela asked.

"I think we can manage that," Ms. Thalie smiled back at the youngling.

"As long as you're in bed by 8:30," Rey returned her attention back to the visitors. "Please, come in. Let me quickly change, I should only be a moment,"

What in the galaxy could be so important? Rey wondered as she adjusted the collar on her gray vest. Her recent work hadn't resulted in any new intel on the whereabouts of the First Order; truth be told, work had been borderline mundane as of late, almost as if the First Order had decided against raiding planets and were minding their own business.

Once Rey and Saardek left the Solo quarters Rey asked "Is there anything you can tell me before the briefing?"

The bothon furrowed his brows. "I don't know much regarding the circumstances," he said, "But I'd advise upon full transparency when questions are asked," This statement confused Rey even further, but she didn't want to push it as she didn't know Saardek particularly well.

The two wove through familiar corridors until they reached the conference room. Upon entering Rey noticed in the room full of people that Ben was already present, along with Luke and Poe. This struck her as slightly odd, as Luke was not always in attendance at schematic meetings. Then again, he'd been a pilot himself back in the days of the Rebellion, so she didn't want to overthink the situation.

Rey looked at Ben, hoping there would be some visible emotion that would indicate the state of the meeting. Was there annoyance, perhaps from being disrupted after they'd convened for the evening? Fear of an impending attack? Maybe, dare she hope, relief that they'd gained the upper hand in this seemingly never-ending war? She didn't find any of these on his face, only a sense of confused unease, which led her back to square one.

"Thank you all for your attendance at this hour," one of the Rebel leaders started. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, but there is information that has come to light that some of us feel must be discussed as soon as possible,"

The speaker indicated his hand towards Rey and Ben. "Most of you are acquainted with the Solo family, and know that they are expecting their second child," Some nodded their heads while others simply avoided Rey and Ben's gaze.

Rey inadvertently clenched her fists. What was this about?

The speaker looked slightly uncomfortable with what he was going to say next. "A matter such as this wouldn't affect the Resistance as a whole; however, we've received information that suggests their unborn child will, at some point, be a target of the First Order. Mr. and Mrs. Solo…do you have any information that would dispel the notion that the First Order is interested in how the child was conceived?"

Every set of eyes in the room was now on Rey and Ben.

"What you are asking is a private matter," Ben growled. "And if you are suggesting anything about our relationship-"

"We overheard a conversation that the child was conceived in the same manner that Anakin Skywalker was," the speaker said bluntly. "Now the Resistance is faced with the possibility that a new lineage of Vader will be born right here in our midst,"

"Where did you hear such a thing?" Ben demanded.

"Our decryption team deciphered a conversation between two First Order members on a cruiser approximately five hours ago," the speaker replied. "We want to know if there is anything we should know, or if there is anything you wish to address on the matter,"

"I want to see the footage," Ben insisted. The fact that Ben wasn't confirming or denying the accusations led Rey to feel that he was already confirming their suspicions that the child was not his.

The speaker tapped a number of buttons, projecting a hologram into the air. Sure enough, there were two First Order crewmembers musing how things would change within the First Order once Rey's "child of the Force" was born. The entire clip lasted only about twenty seconds before it cut out.

There was silence as every being with ears or sensory indicators waited for one of the Solo's to respond. In the end, it was Rey who spoke first.

"It's true," Rey said. "Our second child was conceived by the Force,"

A murmur of whispers ran through the crowd. "Rey," Ben warned under his breath, "You don't have to do this,"

"We have to," Rey said desperately. "This is something that goes beyond just you and me. We both know this child will not live an ordinary life. He or she will, at some point, have to choose to follow the Light or Dark side of the Force. The Dark side will do whatever it takes to pull him or her to the Dark, as we will do everything in our power to bring the Light. There will be lies, deceit, and promises or power. We'll need the full force of the Resistance to stand by our side to face whatever the Darkness brings,"

"This is outrageous!" one of the pilots said. "We accept the grandson of Darth Vader into the Resistance, and what do we get a few years later? A child that will become the new lineage of Vader and likely seek our destruction!"

The hair on the back of Rey's neck stood up straight. This was one of the pilots that had not helped Ben on one of the earlier missions. "How DARE you make such an accusation!" Rey shouted. "This child has done nothing wrong!"

"One need only to review the history achieves to know what that abomination will do once it harnesses the power of the Force!"

Rey began to storm angrily forward, but Ben gripped her shoulders to hold her back. Her anger was fueled by a mixture of maternal instinct, adrenaline, and hormones, but at that moment Rey could only see red as someone insulted her baby's innocent life.

"Our paths are not set in stone," Ben addressed the crowd. "Even the Jedi of the Old Republic couldn't predict the future. To say our child will live with hate in his or her heart is a wild and unfounded accusation,"

"Rey," Luke put his hand on Rey's shoulder, sending a current of comfort from his fingertips via the Force. She instantly felt her nerves relax, though the embers of anger were still present.

"Was there any information about a possible attack?" Luke asked, "Possibly pointing towards Rey?"

"No," the person who led the meeting said, grateful to have the conversation turn in another direction. "But we do need to presume that Rey will be a target within the coming months,"