"Rey…" Finn chuckled with a wince as he felt his friend clutch him tighter—if that was even possible—the longer their embrace went on, "I've been upright for less than twenty four hours. Please don't cut off my oxygen supply."
"Oh! Sorry!" Rey replied with a short laugh, finally releasing him and pulling away as she wiped under her eyes again at the new tears that had formed there, "With everything else that has happened, I just can't tell you how relieved I am to see you and know that you're alright."
"What's happened?" Finn inquired, studying her face intently
Their eyes locked for a few moments before Rey gave a sad smile and placed a gentle hand on his chest over his heart and Finn absentmindedly took it in his own.
Rey smirked, a mischievous glint returning to her eye as she looked at their entwined hands, then back up to him and teased, "How many times have I told you stop taking my hand?"
# # # # # #
Usually, Major Huxley would never run anywhere.
Even in battle.
It wasn't dignified for an officer to run in front of his men…
"Out of my way!" Major Huxley shouted as he sprinted down the hall, nearly colliding with two Stormtroopers and four staff members in his rush to the Supreme Leader's private quarters—well General Organa's former living quarters—on D'Qar.
When he reached the door, he took in a sharp breath, ran a quick, unsteady hand through his hair and straightened his uniform before he knocked.
"Enter," came the familiar voice and Huxley opened the door much louder and wider than he had anticipated doing so and entered.
"Supreme Leader…" Huxley addressed formally, bringing his heels to click together as he stood at attention, watching as Snoke turned to face him from where he had been standing at the large bay window that looked out onto command central of the former Resistance base.
"You have come to tell me that Skywalker is here. That he has entered our airspace," Snoke replied smoothly and couldn't help but give a small smile as he watched a look of simultaneous awe, amusement and deflation cross Major Huxley's face.
"How did you—" Major Huxley started
"I felt it…" Snoke interjected, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, "The strength...the power...that is uniquely Skywalker's."
"Then what is your command, My Lord? What should we do about him?" Huxley asked anxiously
Snoke opened his eyes again, narrowing them in for a moment, before he said, "If he tries to make contact with what he still believes to be the rebel base, send out the coded distress signal we found in the EB system…then, if that doesn't work, the old Imperial code—"
"Sir?" Major Huxley stepped forward, "Forgive me. You mean to warn him that we are here—to just let him go when we finally have the last of the Jedi in our grasp?!"
"Yes, Major," Snoke snapped in reply, the evidence of the officers impertinence reflecting in his voice, "I do. I don't just wish to capture or kill Luke Skywalker…my plans are much more elaborate…"
Major Huxley's face turned slightly red in embarrassment at Snoke's chiding and he took a reflexive step back.
"If it is your will, My Lord. I will see it is done." Huxley replied, returning to attention
Snoke gave an approving snort then waived his hand at the major as a sign of dismissal.
Huxley, his mind still reeling, turned on his heel and swiftly exited to relay the Supreme Leader's command.
As he turned back to the window, Snoke smirked as he felt a familiar presence materialize and he cast his eyes up to the left side of the glass to see the distorted reflection of the beautiful, statuesque woman with flowing auburn hair, whose ghost he knew was now standing behind him.
"Why are you doing this?" Mayla Skywalker asked in a soft voice, her eyes narrowing on Snoke
"You know why…" was Snoke's quick reply
"Father," Mayla whispered and Snoke could feel her presence draw closer as he closed his eyes in pain and sorrow at that word, "Please…I still find it hard to believe that the man who raised me—the rough rogue of a man I knew, but one whose character and strength I admired—could be capable of such cruelty—"
"Cruelty?" Snoke replied, his eyes snapping open as he turned swiftly on his heel to face her spirit head on with a mischievous smile, "I let your husband go just now, did I not?"
"You did," Mayla replied, a defiant spark in her eye, "In hopes that he would lead you to my daughter."
"You clever girl…" Snoke smirked, eyeing her up and down, "I miss you every day, I hope you know that. It's such a pity that you had to die for your betrayal."
"You killed me for more than just my betrayal," Mayla replied, then gave a small smile of her own, "You wanted him."
"And I got him," Snoke retorted, "And once I have your daughter and Kylo Ren—"
"Don't lie!" Mayla interjected, "Not to me!"
Snoke stopped and cocked his head.
"This was never about Ben Solo," Mayla said, taking another step forward, "This was about Luke."
Snoke's nostrils flared and he straightened
"You wanted him—his power—you sensed it right from the very beginning" Mayla continued, "When you seized the empire, you tried to harness his abilities and bring him over to the dark side, but, he wouldn't join you. So you sent me to kill him. But, a funny thing happened…I didn't kill him, I fell in love with him. You felt betrayed and it cut you as deeply as the wound I later left you with when your refused to let me go..." she continued, indicated the scar that now resided on Snoke's face, "So of course, you lashed out at Luke the only way you knew how. You turned his apprentice against him, had his wife assassinated and tried to kill his child. But, your hope wasn't to just acquire Kylo Ren—to you, he was just a weapon—no, you wanted to lure someone more powerful. You banked on Luke's power rooting itself in darkness after such a horrific event—so much so, that it would turn him into a Sith."
Snoke glared at the spirit for a moment before he said haughtily, " And from what I sense, he's halfway there already, my dear girl... Besides, you're wrong. I want to kill Luke Skywalker—"
"No," Mayla replied, her eyes sad, "You want kill the good man that is Luke Skywalker—the Jedi that is Luke Skywalker. You want a powerful Sith Lord and you are going to use my daughter and Ben Solo as leverage to make him."
Snoke smirked, then nodded in approval of her realizations before he stepped closer to her and leaned forward, whispering menacingly in her ear as he circled her spirit, "Yes. And if I can't make him…I'll still have his child."
# # # # # # #
"Woah…" Finn said softly as he followed Rey, after dinner, through the sliding glass doors and into the medical bay, his eyes fixing on Kylo Ren lying still and lifeless under the blankets, hooked up to various machines in the solely occupied bed in the room, "You weren't kidding. He's toasted. That's brilliant!"
Rey turned and glared at him before Finn raised his hands defensively, "Because he's your cousin, I'll say I'm sorry for that remark. Because he tried to kill you and me with a light saber when we last saw him less than a week ago...I stand by everything I just said."
Rey rolled her eyes in amusement before she walked away from him and forward to Ben's bedside, placing a gentle hand on her cousin's chest.
Suddenly, the door to the medical bay opened again and Poe Dameron walked in, a broad smile crossing his face when he saw Finn.
Finn reciprocated and the two men rushed toward each other, embracing like long lost brothers.
"How you feeling, Buddy?" Poe asked, stepping back and looking Finn over
"Lucky," Finn replied with a short laugh, "and well rested."
"I went down to the mess to meet Rey for dinner and Jessika said that I had just missed you two," Poe smiled, turning his eyes now from Finn to Rey.
His expression turned solemn when he saw that Rey still stood with her back to them, focusing on Ben.
Poe turned back to his friend, "Finn…I hate to ask, but could you… give us a minute?"
Finn glanced between Poe and Rey, something seeming to click in his mind before he gave a small, unsure smile, then replied, "Uh…yeah...I'll just be outside."
"Thanks, Buddy." Poe said, giving Finn another clap on the shoulder before he walked around him toward Rey.
When he had come to Rey's side and heard the medical bay door close behind him, signaling Finn's exit, he put a steady arm around Rey.
She immediately turned into his chest and started crying.
Poe didn't say anything at first, he just wrapped his arms tightly around her and lay his cheek on the crown of her head, breathing in her sweet scent as she wept.
After a few moments passed, he finally spoke.
"You're trying to heal him and it isn't working…" Poe offered, lifting his head and kissing her hair
"No," Rey replied, "I'm not strong enough…"
"Oh," Poe chuckled, thinking of the eighty men he had just seen in the recreation room with General Organa over an hour before and the Stormtroopers that simultaneously fallen over unconscious back on D'Qar, "I seriously doubt that is the problem. What aren't you telling me?"
Rey sighed, gently releasing her hold on him and pulling back to face him.
"He's resisting…" she said, "When I've tried to use my power to heal him, he's called out to me through the Force and made me stop my efforts."
Poe raised an eyebrow, then his eyes softened, "He doesn't want you to save him, does he?"
Rey closed her eyes in sadness and shook her head, "He doesn't say it in so many words, but I can feel him in the back of my mind…through the Force. He wants me to let him go."
"I'm sorry…" Poe whispered, his mind reeling.
He himself, never particularly cared for Kylo Ren, but he did care for Rey and for General Organa. Poe knew that they would be devastated by the loss.
"How are the soldiers?" Rey suddenly asked and didn't miss the look of surprise and awe on Poe's face when her words pulled him back to reality.
In the wake of what had happened, neither he nor General Organa had spoken to Rey about what they had seen on D'Qar or since regarding the nature and strength of her powers.
"How did you—" he started
"I felt them—their healing and awakening—through the Force," Rey replied, her eyes looking down, "I know you saw what I did on D'Qar…no doubt my aunt felt it, too. And my father…he'll be so disappointed when he finds out—"
"What?" Poe interjected, narrowing his eyes as he took hold of Rey by the shoulders, "Why?"
"Didn't you feel it, too?" Rey asked, "My power. It surged from the deepest, darkest parts of my soul. I felt it when it happened…I felt it when I brought the First Order army down. I also felt it when our soldiers came back to life. It felt surreal and…unnatural. I couldn't control it then and I can't control it now."
She turned in Poe's grasp and looked over her shoulder toward her cousin lying motionless on the bed behind her.
"Ben warned me of that once…when we met in a Force vision. He told me that I should be wary of my soul. That though my mind and body could be strong, the soul could be damaged easily and, once it was, that sometimes it could be beyond repair."
She sighed then whispered, "I just wish now that I could take it all back…I don't want this power. I never wanted it. I'm no one. I don't want to be different…"
"First of all," Poe said, taking hold of Rey's chin and turning her face gently back to face him, "Your father loves you—he could never be disappointed in you. Second, you didn't kill anyone with your power or do anything unnatural—you saved them. And just remember, that your power is unique—it was given to you by birthright. It is a gift—not a curse—and if you are going to live with what the fates have given you and use it correctly, then you are going to have to start accepting that right now."
Poe studied her face with soft eyes for a long moment before he brought his hand to stroke the side of her cheek, "You are a miracle, Rey. Why would you ever want to be anything other than what you are?"
# # # # # # #
Chewbacca let out a long growl and turned his head toward Luke next to him in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.
"Yes. We're on the right course, Chewie," Luke replied, "I told you before, Leia's coded signal sends all Resistance supporters to the Alsbarar system."
Chewbacca gave a shorter growl and bobbed his head
"I know…I know…" Luke said, rolling his eyes as he checked the gauges on his side of the consul, "It was a close one back on D'Qar…"
Chewbacca growled again, this time in a soft, low purr
"I told you…I'm sure…" Luke assured the wookiee, turning toward him and placing a hand on his hairy shoulder, " And Rey is fine. Leia is fine. Everyone is fine. Even R2, 3P0 and Ben-"
Chewbacca gave another growl, this one intoned with slight anger and a little regret
"You shot him?!" Luke asked, pulling back in surprise, "Ben?! When?"
Chewbacca nodded and growled again with inflection
"Starkiller base? After he killed Han?"
Chewbacca nodded again
"Well…" Luke said, a small smile crossing his faces as they now glimpsed the planet of Acquin III, home of the new Resistance base in the Alsbarar system—a place of painful association for Luke, himself, "That which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."