Lando made the connection for them. He wouldn't be there- he couldn't be there- but he was the one who made the arrangements. "Be careful with her, Ben. She can be quite charming- but you don't stay in power in the Crimson Dawn gang for nearly 40 years without being ruthless."

"I'll be careful, Uncle Lando. Thank you."

"I'm going with you. I knew her a long time ago." Chewbacca growled. "And Han would never forgive me if I let you face her alone."

"I should go with you," Poe Dameron repeated. He'd made the offer more than once, and each time Ben replied the same as he did now.

"No way. You're leading the Rebellion, Poe. They can't afford to lose you."

"We can't afford to lose you either." Poe smiled, and again Ben felt the force of the other man's charisma. No wonder his mother had wanted Poe to lead. "I can't afford to lose another friend."

"I'll be fine. I've got Chewie and Finn with me."

"And me!" Rose added. The young technician had profited from a visit to the Cloud City medical center. She had just been cleared for duty, however; Ben wouldn't have considered bringing her along if she hadn't. "You might need my help to bypass the security systems or identify whatever it is the Ren Knights are looking for there."

"You're taking my best people with you, Ben," Poe chided him gently. "Are you sure this trip is necessary?"

"Yes. Whatever Kyla is looking for it won't be good for the Rebellion. We have to stop them from getting what she wants." He touched his light saber. "And if we should happen to deal with one or more of the Knights ..."

"Are you sure it's not vengeance you're looking for, Ben?" Poe fixed him with a stern gaze. "I know what the Knights of Ren did to your uncle's Jedi Academy."

"Ben's not like that!" Finn said angrily. Poe had been his first friend, but he had come to look at Ben as sort of a big brother figure. "He wouldn't do anything to hurt the Rebellion."

Ben sighed. "Poe's got a reason to be concerned, Finn." One of his eyes turned golden again. "I won't lie. I would be happy to kill almost all the Knights of Ren, but that's not what I'm looking to do here. Whatever Kyla is looking for on Coruscant, we'd be a lot better off if she doesn't find it."

If she can't find a way to locate Force Sensitive children maybe she'll give up this idea and we'll be able to work out some kind of compromise …

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again both of them were normal. "I promise, Poe; I'm not going to do anything to put any of us- or the mission- at risk. We get in. We find what the Knights are looking for; try to get it ourselves or destroy it if we can't, and get out of there. You have my word on it."

Poe gave him a long measuring look. Ben hadn't told the new Rebellion General of his connection to Kyla, but it was only a matter of time before he put two and two together. If he had more time, Ben would have done it already; unfortunately time was a commodity he didn't have enough of right now.

"Then Godspeed, Rebels. Come home successful." He looked each of them in the eyes. "Come home alive."

"We'll do our best."

"In the meantime, I'll keep the Falcon safe."

"Tell him if he damages her I will not rip off one of his arms," Chewbacca growled.

"You won't?" Ben asked him in surprise.

"I'll rip off both of them."

"Okay ..." Ben nodded slowly. "Poe, be very careful with that ship."

"I get the gist of it." Poe nodded respectfully at the Wookie.

Chewbacca growled menacingly … and then reached over and tousled Poe's hair.

..**..

The ship that Lando had provided them to meet Qi'ra was nothing special, but it couldn't be traced to either the Rebellion or Cloud City. Land had offered them the use of his personal ship, but Ben had turned him down. He had some fond memories of The Lady Luck that went back to his childhood and he didn't want to risk Lando's pride and joy on a mission that might prove hazardous.

Finn and Chewie were grabbing some much needed sleep while Ben was piloting their loaner ship with Rose Tico acting as his copilot. The young woman had the makings of a fine pilot.

"I can't believe I'm here with the son of General Organa," Rose said once the others had gone to sleep. The woman's natural bubbly personality (or so Kay had described her to Ben) had been tempered by her recent injury, but it wasn't extinguished. "Han Solo's son … Luke Skywalker's nephew ..."

"I'm aware of my parentage, Rose," Ben told her gently.

The young woman blushed. "I'm sorry. It's just … everything that I heard growing up ..."

"I understand. They're legends." And they're all gone. I'm all alone …

"You're not alone, Ben," Kyla had promised him …

"And you're a Jedi ..."

"I'm not a Jedi. I trained to be one, but that was cut short with the destruction of the Jedi Academy."

"You're still the closest thing we have to a Jedi ..."

"I know." He wasn't comfortable with that … he had occasion to glance through the Sacred Jedi Texts; Luke had preached a more tolerant version of the Jedi Code than the one he read there, but he was still not sure that he could have ever followed Luke's version. The Dark had been a part of him all his life; casting that out would have been like cutting his own arm. "But I'd rather you just think of me as your friend Ben Solo. Being called a Jedi … I'm not sure that I can live up to that."

"I understand." Rose was silent for a moment. "So … you met Kyla Ren."

Ben glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Yes. I did."

"Finn hates her and fears her. He says that she's a monster. That she ordered the slaughter of innocent villagers on Jakku..."

"She has done terrible things," Ben admitted. And not just to me.

"The way you say her name ..."

Ben glanced at her.

"There's … tenderness there." Rose shrugged. "Maybe it's just in my head."

Ben frowned. He could have brushed her remarks off, but he found that he didn't want to do that. She deserved better. "You're not wrong … but it's complicated."

Rose snorted. "Given what I've heard about her, I'm not surprised." She glanced back towards the crew quarters where Finn and Chewie slept. "But I think I understand."

Ben smiled. "He's very fond of you."

"I know." Rose closed her eyes for a moment. "But I don't know if that's because I saved his life or not."

"He's a good man. He has a good heart. He would never do anything to hurt you." Ben reached over and clasped her hand. "Have faith in him."

"I do."

Ben smiled at her. "And he'd be lucky to have you. You're an amazing young woman."

"That was Paige. My sister. You should have met her. She was …" A tear fell from her eye.

"I'm sure she was exceptional." Ben smiled. "That doesn't mean you aren't either."

Rose smiled at her. "And so are you, Ben." She squeezed his hand. "Not because you're Leia and Han's son. Not because you're Luke Skywalker's nephew. Because you're a good man. Because you're Ben Solo."

Ben smiled because he could feel his throat tightening. For most of his life, he had been defined by his family; having someone state that he personally had worth was still a new experience. "I can see why Finn likes you so," he finally said.

Rose smiled. "Thanks." She was silent for a moment. "About Kyla Ren..."

"Yes?"

"I hope that ..." she floundered for moment.

"I know," Ben told her gently. "You don't have to say anything, but thank you for your thoughts."

Kyla Ren was the Supreme Leader of the First Order. Ben Solo was part of the Rebellion that was sworn to stop her. Whatever ending they were likely to get, it was unlikely to be a happy one.

..**..

Qi'ra met them on an old luxury liner.

The ship was impressive, and Rose whispered respectfully to them of the concealed weapons ports that she spotted. "That ship is a lot tougher than it looks. They could blow us out of space without any trouble at all."

"That's reassuring," Finn muttered.

"Don't worry," Rose said confidently. "The Force is with us- right, Ben?"

Chewbacca snorted. "Han always preferred a blaster."

Ben smiled tightly at all of them. "Remember, she agreed to this meeting. We're not surprising her out of the blue. Be respectful- but be ready to run if we have to."

"You're acting like you don't trust her," Finn pointed out.

"She works with Crimson Dawn. She betrayed Dad. Of course I don't trust her. I imagine she's going to want something for her help. I just hope that it's something we can afford."

"I will keep an eye on her," Chewbacca promised.

"And I'll keep an eye on you," Finn said with a degree of cheek that Ben wouldn't have expected of him when they had first met. The ex-Stormtrooper had changed greatly since joining the Rebellion against the First Order.

Chewbacca laughed at that and rubbed Finn's head. He lowered his voice to a soft whine and whispered to the only person here who understand him. "Be careful, Ben. She is not to be trusted."

"I understand." Ben nodded his head. He looked at the others who were clearly waiting for him to make the first move. The joys of being technically in charge, he thought with a sigh. "Follow me and let me do the talking." Could really use a bit of that Solo swagger if you're listening, Dad …

Qi'ra herself was not the one to meet them as they left the airlock. There was a tall robed creature who looked like it would have been more at home in a desert than aboard a space ship set to human levels of comfort. It's facial features were totally hidden by cloth, a grill that covered its mouth, and goggles hid its eyes. It spoke in a deep voice, in Huttese. "You are Ben Solo?"

Ben blinked. A Tusken Raider? But they almost never leave Tatooine. He knew Huttese himself from the years he'd spent as a trader, but he spoke in Basic so his companions would understand him. "I am."

"The son of Leia Organa and Han Solo?"

"I am."

The Tusken tightened his (for Ben had decided it was a male) grip on his gaffi stick. "The grandson of Anakin Skywalker?"

Ben tensed. Anakin told me once he had slaughtered a whole Tusken Village in revenge of his mother's death. "I am."

Chewbacca growled warningly and stepped forward, placing himself between Ben and the Tusken. The Wookie was one of the few creatures tall enough to look down on a Tusken.

If the Tusken blinked, he didn't show it. He simply turned his back on them. "Come with me."

Ben nodded to the others and they followed the Tusken through the ship. There were men and women of all species here. Many were dressed in elaborate finery; others in the standard garments the crew of such a ship would wear. Ben had no doubt that each one of them knew exactly what Qi'ra wanted them to know and no more.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Chewbacca growled.

"I know."

They followed the Tusken to the entertainment deck. They entered a large ballroom where a woman sat alone in a chair watching an elaborate Twi'lek dance. She clapped her hands. "That was an excellent performance, ladies. I think it will be suitable for tonight. Now if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to."

The dancers bowed gracefully and walked off the stage.

"Mistress, I have brought them." The Tusken did something that surprised the kriff out of Ben. He bowed to the woman.

"Thank you, A'Kava. You may go now."

"Mistress." The Tusken turned back to Ben, his hands clutching his gaffi stick.

"I said, you may go."

The Tusken bowed again and then walked out of the room, muttering something to himself in Tusken. Ben didn't speak that particular language, but he had no doubt it wasn't complimentary.

"A'Kava is a treasure, I don't know what I'd do without him. But Tuskens require a firm hand." The woman rose to her feet and held out her hand. "My name is Qi'ra. How do you do?"

Ben stared at her. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting— wasn't sure he had wanted to expect anything, but Qi'ra was nothing at all what he had expected.

She had to be older than his mother … maybe by as much as a decade ...but she looked much younger. Her hair was still dark, her face smooth, her eyes clear and sharp. She barely looked older than Ben himself.

Chewbacca rumbled a greeting. "You look well, Qi'ra."

"Thank you, Chewbacca." The ghost of a smile crossed her face. "I do try to stay in shape. You're looking good yourself." She glanced back at Ben. "Are you going to shake my hand or are you too good for that, your highness?"

Ben blinked and shook her hand firmly. "I'm sorry. You're just not what I was expecting. And don't bother with the royal titles. My mother gave up the throne of New Alderaan for both of us long ago."

"I see." She looked him up and down. "You're not exactly what I was expecting either."

Ben blinked.

"The son of Han Solo." She walked around him. "You've got his height. I'll say that for you."

Ben nodded. He had never possessed his father's charm or charisma. That was one of the reasons he tended to sign on as a pilot for other smugglers during his short career in the field himself. "Thank you."

"So Han managed to marry a princess … albeit one that gave up her throne." She smiled, but it did not touch her eyes. "We were very young and in love once, Han and I."

"I didn't know that." Ben shifted uncomfortably. "Dad didn't speak much about his childhood."

"I'm not surprised. It was kriffing awful for both of us." She shrugged and sat down. "We both found our way off Corellia, so in the end I suppose it worked out the way that it should have for both of us."

Ben sighed. "At another time I would be happy to indulge your curiosity, Madame Qi'ra, but just now I find my time to be limited."

Qi'ra nodded. "Lando said that you needed a favor." She held up a hand. "I do hope you're not planning on asking for personnel and equipment. Crimson Dawn is not a charity. I see no reason to deliberately get into conflict with the First Order. Supreme Leader Snoke was always willing to be reasonable with us."

"I wouldn't expect the same treatment from Rey." Kriff. "I mean Supreme Leader Kyla Ren."

"Rey?" Qi'ra's eyes widened in surprise. "Interesting."

"We're not asking for you to join the Rebellion- at this time anyway." Ben spoke faster than he should, knowing that would only make Qi'ra pay more attention to his slip. "Right now we need transport on and off Coruscant."

"And why is that?"

Ben weighed his options. Telling the truth wasn't necessarily the best idea, but he couldn't think of any deception that would gain her cooperation. "Kyla Ren needs something from the old Jedi Temple. I need to stop her from getting it."

"And what is this thing she seeks?"

"I don't know exactly," Ben admitted. Again he pondered. "I know what she wants though. She wants to bring order to the galaxy."

"Everyone claims to want that- and they all fail. The Jedi. The Emperor. This means nothing."

"She intends to recruit an army of Force Users to help her."

Qi'ra inhaled sharply. "Force Users?"

"Yes." Ben reached out with the Force instinctively. Qi'ra did not have it herself; why then did she react so fiercely? "Whether they want to join her or not."

Qi'ra frowned. "And what will happen to them if they refuse to join her?"

Ben sighed. "It won't be pleasant. That's why she has to be stopped."

Qi'ra bit her lip. "Transportation to Coruscant."

"And off it," Ben reminded her.

"All right. I'll do that much. I'll have A'Kava arrange for transportation for you-"

"For the two of us ..." Finn began.

"He means the three of us ..." Rose added with a defiant glare at the ex-Stormtrooper.

Chewbacca growled and held up four fingers.

"A'Kava will arrange for transportation for the four of you on one of our … merchant ships," Qi'ra said with a sigh. "The ship will remain on planet for four standard hours. Be back in that time and they will take you off planet."

"We could use more time-" Ben began.

"Take it or leave it."

Ben eyed her carefully. "We'll take it. And thank you."

"Your welcome. Now if you would like to return to your ship to gather anything you need for your journey I will speak with A'Kava."

It was clearly a dismissal.

"Thank you again, Madame Qi'ra." Ben gestured to his friends and they left.

Qi'ra watched them go with a smile. Oh, Han. He is your son through and through. So trusting. So foolish. A'Kava may very seek vengeance on the last of the Skywalkers … if he succeeds, then I will claim that I handed the Rebels' Jedi over to the First Order. If your son survives this treachery, he will prove himself strong enough to protect the one living person I care for now. Either way, I win.

She poured herself a drink and raised it in a silent toast. "To you, Han. And your son. May he be half as lucky as you were."

And she drank.