Strategy

Sleep was not a refuge for Leia Organa. It hadn't been since she was twenty.

The nightmares had started not long after Luke and Han rescued her, and they had continued ever since.

The one with the cell, and the orb, and Vader. Pain and fear that leave her weak as water, waking up drenched in sweat and shaking.

The one where she has to watch Alderaan blow up over and over and over, like a holovid on a loop. She can feel Vader's grip on her shoulder, hard as iron. She can smell Tarkin's breath, like wet, rotten leaves.

Then there are the newer ones.

The one where she's sitting in a rocking chair, nursing her baby. He's so tiny…a pale morsel with a pink rosebud mouth and glittering brown eyes. He's looking up at her with complete adoration and trust, making little contented swallowing sounds. And then a hand reaches out and grabs him by the arm, snatches him away and she can hear him, wailing, shrieking but she can't find him; she runs and runs down endless dark corridors, following the cries, but just when she thinks she's caught up, she comes around a corner to find nothing. She's always a step behind.

The one where it's her hand on the light saber as it plunges into Han's chest.

So when she crawled into her bed after the conversation with Maz, she knew it was futile. She wouldn't sleep. She lay there for a while in the soft glow of the lights embedded in the wall, worrying – about Rey. About her son. She wanted to hope, she wanted to hope so badly, but she didn't dare. The last time she had hoped…she tried not to let her eyes drift over to what she still thought of as Han's side of the bed, but they did anyway. Oh no, now she would have that dream again.

The light leaving Han's eyes; her hand gripping the hilt of a red crackling light saber she's never seen but knows.

She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed the spot between them where tension always seemed to settle. There was no point trying to sleep now, and this inaction was driving her crazy. So she toggled on a lamp, propped herself up against a pillow, crossed her legs and picked up a datapad. The she did what she had always done. She planned.

He woke up wrapped in her arms; wrapped in her love. Her leg was twined over his; her arm thrown across his stomach; her head on a pillow that she'd pulled over into the crook of his arm, where he had her cradled against him. It was the first time he had shared his bed with another person. They had had a few stolen nights – on Takodana, in her room – but this was different. This was his bed – and now it was also hers. He smiled; he could feel her breath, soft and warm against his chest, and her hair, still loose from when he had taken it down last night when they had come back to the room and slowly, slowly undressed each other after the encounter with Snoke. It had been all he could do, in the hologram chamber, to remain still. To not interfere. But he had promised Rey. And then, when he'd felt what she had – that Snoke had found her vulnerability – unimportant, unwanted – he had been vibrating with fury. Tolerating the mind probe had been bad enough, but knowing that he had dug up those insecurities…

He had been determined that she would know how untrue that was; determined that she would never feel that way again. He had ministered to her, tending her wounds, then, as they kissed, touched, he had poured every bit of emotion into her, sending his love across the bond and through his fingers, his lips, his body, hoping she would believe. He had been strong, then, for her. And then, in the middle of the night…it had felt like a dream, and he had been weak, he had let her see his weakness…and she hadn't turned away. She had accepted him, weak and vulnerable; she had wanted him like that. And it was her love that filled him up and strengthened him that time.

He felt her moving, shifting, and he knew she was waking up.

He lay very still, unwilling to break the spell.

She yawned, and squirmed. When she opened her eyes, she looked into his and smiled. He had never felt so content.

They just looked at one another for a bit, but finally, she shifted. "I…I have to use the 'fresher," she said and rolled out of the bed. He missed her warmth, but that loss was more than made up for by the fact that he was treated to watching her walk across his quarters, nude.

She looked over her shoulder at him, threw him a cheeky smile. "Like what you see?"

"Oh, yes."

"Hmm. Maybe I'll just stay this way all the time, then."

He clenched his teeth and growled as she slid the door to the 'fresher closed.

Maybe I'll just stay this way all the time. He let himself imagine that for a few minutes…going about his business on the Finalizer, and coming back to his quarters to find her lounging in one of the chairs, legs draped over the side, her bare tanned skin glowing against the black leather, or standing in front of the viewport, her perfect lithe curves silhouetted against the backdrop of stars.

But reality intruded when she came out of the 'fresher and started gathering her crumpled clothes off the floor. "Um. I can get you some fresh clothing…if you like."

She stopped, smiled. "I…yes. I'd like that. I meant…I intended to actually plan this a bit. Bring some things with me, but…"

He pulled on his shorts, walked to a console, tapped a few buttons and a few minutes later a droid arrived from the quartermaster, carrying a handful of pieces: Pants, shorts, long sleeve shirts, short sleeve shirts, tanks tops, underthings…all made of similar stretchy black fabric.

He held it out to her. "It's not…it doesn't mean anything. It's standard issue. I can request other, umm, styles or…colors if you…"

"No. This is, umm, this is fine. Thank you." She took the stack, gave him a crooked smile. "Besides, I'm your apprentice now, remember? Isn't this more what you'd have me wear?"

"I'd have you wear the finest fabrics, the most beautiful gowns and robes, and a jeweled crown…or nothing at all," he said, reaching out and running a finger along her cheek.

"Well, that'd be a bit uncomfortable for training," she grinned and slipped into the 'fresher again. A few minutes later he heard water running.

Leia sat at the head of the conference table, Luke on one side of her, Maz on the other. She watched as Threepio handed each person a datapad as they entered the room.

"Come in, come in, there, take a seat. The General doesn't care where you sit, although I advised that place cards would have been wise. Still, this is a small meeting and I suppose it's acceptable…" he prattled on, and for once Leia was glad, because his constant verbal stream kept anyone from asking her questions. Her eyes burned and her back ached from sitting up all night, but she didn't care. These plans needed to be in place, and her most trusted colleagues needed to be privy to them.

Luke and Maz had been there since daybreak, when she had called them, going over what she had written, tweaking it, revising it, thinking through every implication; every eventuality.

She watched as the others filed in: Admiral Ackbar, Admiral Statura, Major Ematt, Chewbacca, Poe Dameron, and Finn. Besides Threepio, two other droids – R2-D2 and BB-8 – were present.

Finn stood hesitantly in the doorway.

"Well, come, come, find a seat," Threepio said, waving Finn toward a chair. "The General is waiting."

"Uh," Finn looked around, licked his lips. "Admiral, Admiral, General, Commander, Major, Jedi Master…I think I might be in the wrong room."

Leia stood, gave a tired but warm smile. "You're in the right room, Finn. I invited you here because you're Rey's closest friend and this concerns her. I want you to hear it from me directly and…well, I need you here. Please, come in." Her voice was reassuring and sincere.

Finn nodded and took a seat beside Poe, who gave him a supportive, and slightly flirty, wink.

"Now," Leia said as Threepio closed the conference room doors, "I'm sure you're all curious as to why I've called you here. And I plan to tell you very soon. But…" her voice dropped, her face grew more serious, "…what is going to be discussed in this room is highly classified. Top secret. Any mention of anything said in here, any breach of secrecy, will be considered treason. These datapads are assigned to each of you, and only your credentials will open them, and the first thing you'll need to do is verify your identity and accept these terms." She knew she sounded stern, but it was of the utmost importance that only the eight other life forms and three droids in the room know what she was going to reveal. "If any of you would like to opt out, now's the time." She looked around, making eye contact with each of them, brown eyes soft and warm and pleading.

There was some nervous shifting, but no one left. Leia smiled. She knew they wouldn't; she knew no one could have dragged them out.

"Alright, good. Threepio, will you give the instructions?"

The golden droid stood, made a sound like he was clearing his throat, and began. "Place your right thumb on the button at the bottom of the datapad." They all did; the datapads started tracing their thumbprints, green lines tracing each unique pattern of arches, loops and whorls onto the screen. When that was done, a new screen appeared. "Place your left eye close to the datapad." They all did so and the datapads scanned their retinas. Text appeared, followed by a signature line. "Now, read this and, if you agree to the terms, sign your name, in Basic, if you would." Everyone did.

Leia smiled. "Alright; thank you, Threepio. And thank you all for being here, today and throughout the years. Now, for why you're here. I have learned…over and over…the hard way…that keeping secrets can have, umm, negative consequences." She gave a wry smile. "So. I don't want to make that mistake yet again. That's why you…my most trusted advisors, my dearest friends…are here. Something has come up. Rather suddenly. Rey has taken on a…covert mission. It was…something she initiated on her own, but it is sanctioned and approved by myself and my brother, her Jedi Master." She glanced at Luke, who gave a single enigmatic nod. "I am…" she glanced at Luke and Maz… "we are cautiously optimistic that it will succeed."

There were a few glances and murmurs, but all attention was still on Leia. "I, especially, am…" her voice shook. "Hopeful." She dared hope. Just a little. Now that she had planned for the worst, she could let herself hope for the best. "Now, I know you'll all have…questions. Concerns. I have them. That's why I've written up several - actually eleven - contingency plans. And you will all get a chance to speak, to have input. But please," her voice cracked, "let me get through this presentation first. Because this mission…well, even total success will bring a shitstorm of issues, as you can see if you look at Section I."

Leia clicked and an outline of Section I appeared on the holoscreen in the center of the table as they all scrolled to the more detailed version on their datapads. It was a summary of exactly what the 'mission' was. Unlike Maz, Leia had kept the explanation very antiseptic, thoroughly professional. Still, the Force Bond had to be mentioned. There was silence as they read, they assimilated, they understood. Then there were gasps, widened eyes, open mouths.

She swallowed, clicked her pointer and the holoscreen changed. "And as you can see by reading through Section II, failure could be….catastrophic." This was a mild description for what would result if the Resistance ended up fighting two extremely powerful, Force-bonded Dark-side users.

More silence, more reading, some glances at Luke, who refused to make eye contact with anyone.

"However, as you can see if you glance at Sections III-XIII, I've tried to anticipate every possible outcome."

They watched as screen after screen glowed in the center of the room, each presenting a possible outcome, and the potential consequences, and, finally, a list of recommended Resistance actions. Like everything she did, it was thorough and meticulous and well-thought-out, and she carefully skirted around the fact that she was talking about Luke's newest student and her own son. It went from best-case scenario, which included words like 'treated as a defector' and 'plea bargain in exchange for information and services' to worst case scenario, which included words like 'kill or capture mission' and 'necessary and appropriate military intervention' and 'immediate evacuation'. Leia's voice shook as she presented the last screens. But having plans in place, allies who were aware of the situation – she hoped they would forestall any sort of mob mentality, any calls for execution or war crimes trials in the event that the mission was successful and Rey actually brought her son home. And if it failed, well, the plans would hopefully at least allow the Resistance to flee in an organized manner.

Finally, she finished and sank into her chair. The truth was exhausting. And this was only beginning. "So. The floor is now open for discussion," she said.

Rey was tugging self-consciously at her clothing as they walked down the corridor toward the training room. She had chosen a pair of pants that ended just below the knee, like she liked, a tank top and a long flowing vest. They fabric reminded her of what Finn had been wearing when she first met him, and she felt a twinge of homesickness; she didn't regret being here, but she missed her friends. I'll see them again, she told herself.

As they rounded a corner, they almost collided with General Hux.

He stopped and looked at Kylo, his nostrils flaring a bit in surprise. "Ren," he said.

"Hux."

"Where are you taking the prisoner?"

"Why is that any of your concern?"

"Just curious as to which regulations you intend to break today."

Kylo took a step toward Hux. "I have the Supreme Leader's authorization to do whatever I deem necessary to convince her to join us. So anything I do involving her is regulation. And as you can see, she is no longer unwilling to be here"

Hux glanced from Kylo to Rey, taking in her black clothing and her lack of binders. He frowned. "What are you talking about? No longer unwilling to be here?"

Kylo tilted his head toward Rey. "Tell him."

Rey took a step closer to Kylo, pressing her body against his arm, and looked up at him with a look of submissive adoration. "I want to be here, with my Master." She heard a sort of strangled gasp from Kylo, and, struggling not to smile, sent him an image from the day before, when she had called him master and knelt down and taken him in her mouth.

He sucked in a breath, loud and harsh through the mask. You're going to pay for that, apprentice. And he sent her an image of him pinning her to the training room wall and pounding into her.

Promise? She smirked.

Hux looked from one of them to the other, realized they had both forgotten he was there, ground his teeth and stomped off, mumbling under his breath, "Kriff, two of them now."

A/N

I'll have some actual training next chapter. Leia decided to talk to me in this one, so I went with that. I didn't include the details of what exactly all of Leia's contingency plans are because, well, I'm not a military strategist, and I didn't think it would be that interesting. But I think she would have everything in place; she's hopeful but terrified to hope, and she certainly doesn't want Rey to bring Ben home only to have him face a military tribunal or a war crimes trial. So she plans. And she's learned her lesson about keeping secrets (yeah, a bit of a reference to 'Bloodlines', even though this story isn't totally compliant with that).

Yeah, the datapads work just like iPhones with the fingerprint thing, because why not? I think it's pretty cool.

Poor Hux is having a true FML moment.

Thanks so much for reading. I don't say it enough, but knowing you're reading and enjoying this story makes me so happy! And of course, reviews are like hot, fresh, warm doughnuts – they make me happy.