Rey is at the controls of the speeder, very reluctantly going along with Kylo's plan. "I don't like this," she tells him for the third time. Because going to Senator Stegger's apartment with Kylo is definitely a bad idea. Rey can't decide if she is being set up by the Senator or by Kylo or by both men.

"You sure seem to know where you are going," Kylo observes as Rey expertly weaves through Coruscant traffic. He shoots Rey a look. "I thought you said that you had only been to this guy's apartment once."

Is Kylo jealous of Stegger? Suspicious of her? Rey can't tell. Maybe it's all of the above. "I have a good sense of direction," she informs him. "You develop that when you live in the desert and everything looks like sand. And this was your idea, remember?" she glares at him. All the bonhomie of the evening has melted away and Rey is now on edge. "This feels like a trap."

"Then for our next move, we'll spring the trap," Kylo reasons. He seems far too excited by the uncertainty that has presented itself for Rey's taste. Because, of course, the Sith loves even the smallest hint of danger. "I want to find out what Stegger is up to. It will be fine. I'll be there."

"Yes, you and no one else," Rey points out. "Haven't you moved beyond doing your own reconnaissance, Kylo?"

"Are you nervous?" he accuses. "Because you seem awfully nervous about this given you work with this guy a lot."

"I just don't like the idea of you pulling your sword to kill Cato." That's where tonight is headed, Rey fears.

"Oh, so it's Cato now, is it?"

"Well . . . yes."

"Does he call you Rey?"

"Sometimes. Lots of people do."

"Well, relax. Because I already know all about Stegger's illegal activities and he's still breathing. I want information, Rey. Get him talking. We've tied him to all sorts of terror groups. He is the hub that touches many spokes. It's a conspiracy in the making."

"It's not his ties to extremist groups that worry me," Rey grumbles.

"Yeah? Then what has you so worked up?" Kylo demands. "Is it because you have to remind him that this relationship is strictly business?"

Yes, it is. "Showing up at a man's apartment late at night could give him the wrong impression." Especially dressed like she is now.

"Don't worry, I'll be there if he hits on you—"

"That's what I'm afraid of!"

Kylo's eyes narrow. "This is more than just his reputation. He has hit on you," Kylo deducts.

"Yes." There's no point in hiding it. "But he took the refusal like a gentleman and he has never once tried it again." Well, except for the occasional suggestive remark he makes here and there. But Rey omits that part. "Just look at me-"

"I have been all night long," Kylo grins.

And that just proves her point. "This is not exactly professional attire. I look like I'm leading him on. It's a mixed message, Kylo—"

"Oh, you're very good at those, Rey." And what the fuck is that supposed to mean? "A woman should be able to wear what she wants without inviting unwelcome attention," Kylo announces primly.

"That's a nice sentiment but we live in the real world," Rey shoots back. If there ever was a pragmatic realist, it's Rey of Jakku. "The real world is why I wouldn't let my daughters wear short skirts on dates and it's why I don't normally drop in on gentlemen work friends dressed like this late at night." The speeder is pulling up to Cato Stegger's gorgeous rooftop apartment now. She turns to Kylo. "Promise me that you will keep your cool. Don't blow your cover. I can handle this guy."

"Okay."

"Promise me!"

"Fine, I promise. Geez, he lives here?" Kylo is looking at the distinctive pre-Clone Wars era architecture of the ultra-expensive apartment building. It's one of the few intact structures of this vintage left in the Upper Level. Kylo curls his lip at all the aristocratic nostalgia it represents. "Of course, that fucker lives here. If he squints his eyes, he can pretend it's still the Old Republic."

"Shhh! He's coming!"

Cato Stegger gallantly holds out a hand to assist Rey as she alights from the speeder. He doesn't so much as spare Kylo a single glance. "Leave your man in the speeder. He can wait outside. Come," the Senator ushers her inside.

"Cato, I'm supposed to keep my security with me," Rey murmurs. "Let him tag along. He'll be no bother. It's what my husband wants."

"Your husband isn't here," Stegger points out.

And, well, actually . . .

"I have my orders from the Emperor himself." Kylo speaks up from behind in a tone that entertains no argument.

"Fine, come in," their host instructs without enthusiasm. "You can wait by the door and watch for intruders. This is a private meeting concerning confidential Senate business. Just the Empress and myself."

"Understood, Senator," Kylo nods. He conspicuously stations himself by the door facing out.

"He doesn't look like any praetorian guard or First Order man I've ever seen," Cato ponders as he and Rey continue walking deep into the apartment. "That guy looks more like a thug than a bodyguard."

"Oh, you'd be surprised. I think he's been with the Order for years," Rey is vague. Then, "Oh!" Rey yelps out loud and stops in her tracks the moment she feels Kylo's mind suddenly invade hers. It's a momentary twinge of pain, akin to a sharp pinch, that subsides immediately. Because Kylo isn't seeking to control her mind and sift through her memories. He's just loitering to eavesdrop. He is standing by the door out of earshot several rooms away, but thanks to the Force Kylo might as well be standing right next to her.

"Is everything okay?" Cato voices concern, taking the opportunity to slip an arm around her.

"Okay? Owww . . . " And whoops. Did she say that out loud?

Yes, you did.

"I might have had a little too much wine with dinner," Rey improvises, pretending to recover from a small stumble. "Er . . . wine doesn't mix well with these high heels." She rights herself and straightens her dress. "I'm fine. Thank you."

"Good," Stegger smiles. "The night is still young and you can take off those shoes. So come, let's have another drink, shall we?" And remembering Kylo's instructions to get Cato talking, Rey quickly agrees. While the Senator disappears a moment, Rey wanders out onto the rooftop terrace she remembers from her prior visit. The view is amazing.

"Here we go." The Senator reappears to hand her a glass of wine. "To you, Empress." He tips his glass her direction before downing a sip.

"To you," Rey responds and does the same. "This is reckless of me," she smiles over rim of her glass at her host. "I shouldn't be drinking and I shouldn't be here."

Are you flirting with him?

"Rey, this evening is going to get very reckless," Stegger responds in that weirdly innuendo way of his. He looks her up and down. "Ren was a fool to put you in a cell all those years. Is that man blind?"

Momentarily flustered by the implied compliment, Rey turns away to look out on Coruscant. "My husband is very controlling," she says quietly in a tone of warning.

Stegger nods. "I could see that. Fascists usually are."

I am not a fascist. I'm a Sith.

Rey shoots the Senator a look. "Did you ask me here just to insult my husband?"

Cato doesn't answer. Instead, he compliments her again. "Nice dress. I'm surprised that Ren lets you out looking this good. But maybe he doesn't notice since he's too busy with those young girls." Rey doesn't respond. And that must egg Stegger on because he takes it up a notch. "You should be with a man who shares your same values. A man who appreciates you."

Rey knows where this is heading, so she gets right to the point. She reiterates the message she told Stegger the last time she was here. "Cato, I am not looking for a lover."

Grrrr.

"That dress says otherwise."

GRRRRRRrrrr.

"I didn't wear it for you."

chuckle

"What is it that you wanted to tell me, Cato?" Rey prompts him again. Surely she is here for a reason other than for the Senator to make another pass at her. Rey is not about to hang around for that while Kylo gets all worked up over it in the next room. Plus, it's distracting to have Kylo snorting and snarky in her head. "I'm here because you said this was important," Rey prods Stegger again.

Cato gives her a long measuring look before he speaks. But first, he takes a deep fortifying sip of wine. He's a little nervous, she sees. "Rey, that student protest rally you agreed to attend has been cancelled."

Student protest rally? Really, Rey?

"Oh?" she reacts.

"The protest had a dual function. It was intended to raise awareness for missing detainees. It was also intended as a diversion to draw a police presence to the rally and away from another event."

"What event?" Rey asks the obvious follow-up question.

"An event." Stegger is deliberately vague. "Somehow, the First Order got wind of what was afoot and they scuttled it. The Order did a raid late last week at a Resistance safe house in the Mid Level. Rey, they executed everyone there. That same day, they arrested half of those student leaders you met in my office They are being charged as co-conspirators for terror."

Instantly, Rey thinks of Malia Biggs. "Are they conspirators for terror?" Rey asks Stegger bluntly. It's clear the Senator is now.

"It depends on how much information you think makes you a co-conspirator," he answers. "Some knew more than others, but none of them knew very much. Not that it matters now. They are all going to die. Anyone who has any remote connection to this plot is going to die."

He's right.

Rey says nothing, thinking again of Malia Biggs who was whisked from the palace landing platform in her father's transport safely away from all this. Solely because of her relationship to Rey. Rey wonders now if Stegger and his friends had been the ones to enlist Malia to their cause. Had they known of her wealthy family and figured there were credits to be blackmailed there for the cause? Had Malia herself revealed her secret connection to Emperor Ren? The comlink Malia had given Titus takes on new significance too. Now, Rey is worried she is not the first in the Imperial family who these people have sought to befriend.

I already took that comlink, Rey. Days ago.

That's reassuring, she thinks.

Stegger is pleading the students' case. "The First Order is making an example out of those kids by coming down hard in a show of force. Those kids are innocents for the most part. But that won't matter. Not unless someone important champions their cause."

Rey knows where this is leading. "How about you? You're their Senator."

"I can only do so much. I am too close to this."

"Because you helped to plan the event?" Rey asks pointedly.

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't ask that question," Cato responds. "Will you help

those kids? Will you intercede for them?"

"I'll think about."

Clearly, this is not the answer he had hoped to hear. Stegger's face hardens. "Don't take too much time, Empress. First Order interrogations aren't pretty."

"What makes you think I can help?" Rey challenges.

"Because Ren listens to you."

Rey brushes this off. "He listens to me on big picture issues. On the direction to lead, not the specifics. I don't intervene in stuff like this."

"There's a first time for everything. Let him see you in that dress, Empress, and he will be putty in your hands. Like me." Stegger is back to his smarmy innuendo self and it's especially annoying given the serious topic at hand.

"It's not that simple." Rey can feel her temper rise. She's uncomfortable with being asked to do this. From the beginning, she has told Cato Stegger that she wants nothing to do with extremists. "Kylo didn't win the galaxy so that your friends can plan to blow up First Order garrisons and walk free."

Cato doesn't deny it. "You always know more than you let on, don't you?"

"I could say the same for you," Rey replies.

"All I am asking is that you promote justice by helping these kids get fair treatment commensurate with their involvement." Stegger steps closer to lower his voice. He is very serious now. "Rey, this is an opportunity for you. Prove your bona fides in this and there may be those willing to support you in a bid to replace Ren."

Ah . . . Now, we get to the good stuff.

"You have the cred with the Order, the Palpatine heritage, and the Force. And if you can manage to gain the goodwill of my friends without alienating the party loyalists, you will have a powerful coalition. Ren has a lot of enemies. And not all of them are on my side of the political spectrum. There are plenty in the Order who he has alienated through the years."

"Are you suggesting I position myself to stage a coup?"

Keep him talking. I want details.

"I'm saying that you could be a powerful voice for positive change. You know, as Sheev Palpatine's great-granddaughter, you might have a better claim to rule than Kylo Ren."

This is an argument only a Coruscant aristocrat would make, Rey thinks. That breeding matters more than brute power. But she's Rey of Jakku and she grew up under Unkar Plutt respecting brute power. In many ways, her background is what had primed her to understand Kylo Ren. And so, Rey's eyes narrow on Cato now as she explains, "Emperor Ren conquered the galaxy. That's all the right to rule he needs. But Kylo too has a strong claim to his position. He is Darth Vader's grandson and the Apprentice to Emperor Palpatine's Sith Master. He's been schooled for this job since he was fifteen, Cato. He is ruthless. Power is his god and he will not relinquish it easily."

I love how you get me.

"Fair enough. But he didn't conquer you. It rather seems in some ways like you might have conquered him," Stegger observes. "Rey, he is vulnerable to you and you are close to him. You have all the access you need to make something happen."

"You mean like an event?" Rey gets right to the point.

Stegger meets her eyes. "Yes. If we work together with my friends, we could be rid of him. Once and for all."

Keep him talking. Let him talk.

"And then what?" Rey wants to know.

"Then we form a democratic government with you as titular Empress. You would be a figure head mostly, Rey. The real power would reside with the people where it belongs."

"No," Rey corrects the Senator sharply. "First, there will be a civil war. Let's not pretend otherwise. It was a year after the Old Emperor died at Endor before the Empire fell at Jakku. If Kylo dies, then Nestor and the generals and the rest of the party loyalists will step up to fill the power vacuum. Even if some are enemies of Kylo, the First Order is still very unified by common goals. And they have enormous firepower at their command. Don't kid yourself that your liberal friends will remain allied with Kylo's far right First Order enemies for one second after he is dead."

Rey, you're supposed to pretend to be interested. Stop talking him out of it.

But the Senator does not dispute her words. "Killing Ren will set things in motion. It will be the catalyst for the change we need."

And what was that line Stegger had once fed her? That extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. That is the attitude of an assassin. It is the justification of a man trying to start a war. This is everything Rey wants to avoid. Kylo, now too. And what a strange irony that it is the Sith who wants peace this time around.

"You might end up with a far less tolerant leader in the end," Rey warns, thinking of First Order true believer and second-in-command Nestor Flick. She fixes Cato with a hard look. "What about the reforms that are in the works? I thought that you and I were jointly working towards reforms. Kylo cares about those reforms. There is a peaceful means to achieve our goals-"

"Those reforms are a step in the right direction, but they are not enough. And with Ren in power, they can be revoked at his whim. Ren will do what is politically expedient at the time."

"That's not true. None of this is politically expedient for him." Not in the short term, at least.

Rey, you're doing this all wrong. Don't try to talk him out of it.

But Rey is far too direct of a personality for all this guile and subterfuge. She is blunt now. "You're asking me to kill my husband, Cato."

The Senator hastens to assure her, "My friends will do the dirty work. You just have to get us the opportunity, Rey. Your hands will stay clean. Like mine do."

"It's the same thing—"

"I'm asking you to free yourself and to free the galaxy from Ren. You deserve better than a man who locks you away and threatens to kill you. You should be valued for something more than your pedigree and your Force."

"What about my son?" Rey demands.

Stegger hesitates and it's telling.

"There would be no hereditary office, Rey. Your son would be a private citizen living a normal life."

Don't fall for that.

She won't. "And what happens when my son comes of age as the most powerful Force-user the galaxy has seen in generations? What happens when he takes up his father's sword and dons his father's helmet and sets out to regain his father's Empire and finish what Kylo Ren started? What happens when the Rim and all the former members of the Order flock to support Emperor Ren's son? What then, Cato?"

You can't keep a Skywalker down.

"We'll have to figure out a solution for your son," Cato equivocates. "There is a lot to be planned out, Rey. And you would be a voice at the table making it happen." And now the Senator issues a threat for an incentive. "This will happen, Rey. With or without your cooperation, it will eventually happen. But this will be so much easier with your help." He steps forward to crowd her space now, looking down on her. "I can protect you and your son if you help."

Don't tell him no. Be noncommittal. String him along.

"I'll think about it." Then Rey adds, "But first, I'll get you an answer about those kids." She lies, "I feel badly about those poor kids."

Tomorrow. Tell him you'll have an answer for him tomorrow.

"I'll raise it with Kylo tonight," she promises. "I understand the . . . uh . . . urgency of the situation. I'll contact you tomorrow first thing."

Stegger now steps even closer still. He's staring down into her worried eyes. "Rey, I know that deep down you are one of us. Find your courage again. You did this before with Luke Skywalker and the Resistance. You can do it again."

This terrorist hard sell rubs Rey the wrong way. "You're no Luke Skywalker, Cato Stegger," she answers tartly.

laughing

Stegger is undeterred. "I may not be a Jedi, but I have powerful friends, Rey. We are not in this alone."

Ask him about the friends.

"Who are these friends?"

"When the time is right, you will meet them," Cato promises. "But first, I need you to convince Ren on the students. My friends need to see that you are one of us in your words and in your deeds. That you are willing to take risks like us. Empress, this is high treason. My friends do not trust easily, although they are inclined favorably towards you."

"From Empire Day," she guesses.

"Yes."

Pretend like you are interested.

"Do you think this could actually work?" Rey looks up to search Stegger's handsome face. Her voice drops to a near whisper. "Cato, I have tried to be free of him before. There are things you don't know about the past. . . "

"This is about the future, Rey. I'm giving you a way out. Help us and we will help you be free."

That's it. Look scared. Like you're tempted but afraid.

"It would have to be the perfect plan. There would be no room for error," she worries aloud. Then Rey casts a warning look. "I'd be taking an awful risk, Cato. This had better work."

"I understand."

"And my son would have to be safe. I would have to be confident that my son would be safe. Tell your friends that my son must be safe."

"I will."

Rey hurriedly downs the rest of her drink. Then she sets down her glass and wanders a few steps farther onto the terrace. The night air is cool and Rey crosses her arms to rub at her bare shoulders. It is a defensive, vulnerable posture. "I don't know . . . " She shakes her head and pretends to mull it over. "I just don't know, Cato . . . "

"Hey." Cato follows her to step up close from behind. "Are you cold?" His hands now rest on her arms.

"I'm scared," Rey admits and it's the truth. She is scared for what this means for Kylo, for herself, and for her son. "You don't know Kylo like I do. You don't know what he is capable of—"

"I've heard the stories."

"They're probably all true."

They are.

"Help us and I will protect you and your son," Cato whispers directly into her ear. Then he sweeps her hair to one side to uncover the slope of her shoulder. "Once Ren is gone, he will never hurt you again . . . " And now, Stegger drops a kiss on her bare skin. Apparently, all this talk of treason has put him in the mood for romance. And in the moment, Rey can't help it. She shivers under his seduction. Because it's chilly now and his lips are unexpectedly soft and warm. Because the scratch of his beard reminds her of the scrape of Cade Bigg's beard against her skin. Because it's been so long since Rey has felt a man's touch. Not since that awful night with Kylo that she doesn't know how to feel about.

What the FUCK, Rey? Stop him!

Cato nuzzles her neck now. He kisses her again and Rey sucks in a quick breath. She knows this needs to stop.

"Please . . . " she stammers. "Cato, please don't—"

"I aim to please," the Senator answers huskily. Cato hooks his thumb under the wispy strap of her dress and moves it to the side to kiss where it had lain. And now Rey is preoccupied with keeping her dress up while Stegger takes full advantage.

Don't you dare cheat on me! And with this traitor fucker of all guys! I'm going to kill him! I am going to pull my sword and kill him-

"No!" Did she say that out loud?

Yes, you did.

She meant it to Kylo. Well, maybe to both men. This mind connection is so confusing.

"Don't be shy. I won't hurt you," Cato croons. And now he is kissing her jaw and her neck. Damn, this man has skills and he's just kissing her shoulder. What can he do when he really gets going, Rey wonders. If he's the experienced player Cesi says, then Cato Stegger must be very good in bed.

He's nothing. I can keep you up all night, Rey. You should see what I can do with these metal fingers you gave me.

"Stop!" Did she say that out loud?

Yes, you did.

"Please don't."

Please don't? What the fuck kind of 'no' is that? Knee him in the balls, Rey.

She whirls in the Senator's arms now. Gazing up at him, she whispers, "Cato, we can't do this. We can't."

No means no, asshole.

Stegger's arms creep around her and now his lips find hers. And, oh my. Yes, this man has skills. And a beard. She has missed kissing a man with a beard.

Rey, stop! You're killing me! And I am killing him! I am reaching for my sword. Do you hear me? I am pulling the sword.

Kissing Cato Stegger is like one of those holonet moments when the music swells and the camera zooms in and time stops for the hero and heroine. This is rapture like Rey remembers from the old days with Kylo. When she would lie back with him on top, his hungry lips on hers. Kylo in bed was full of endearments between persistent, seductive kisses. I love you, I need you, I want you. There were no sweeter words than those for the lonely, orphan girl from Jakku. Rey is in Cato Stegger's arms now but all she can think of is the man in the next room. Kylo is always in the next room, it seems. So close, but so far away. Rey will never again let herself succumb to Kylo Ren, even if she thinks about it more often lately than she cares to admit. Like now. Like right now as she wishes that her hands were in Kylo's dusky thick locks and it was the Sith's hot breath on her cheek.

Well, alright. I guess that's okay. But that's enough. Stop it, Rey. Stop. It. Now.

Rey pulls back and breaks away. She's supposed to lead this guy on to treason, not to sex. She's not exactly sure how that kiss had happened. But she knows it is far more dangerous than any words spoken here tonight. And, truthfully, Rey is actually a little surprised and impressed by Kylo's restraint. But things can't go any farther. "He'll kill you," Rey warns Cato. It sounds like exaggeration, but it's true. "If we do this, Kylo will kill you."

Slowly. I will kill him slowly.

"I'll take the risk," Stegger volunteers. He steps forward to take her hand, his eyes intent and his handsome face full of lust. "Come inside with me now," Cato urges huskily.

Rey skitters out of his grasp. "Cato, I don't want that," she cries aloud. And now, she starts improvising. "We can't risk this! Cato, you'll end up dead and then who will lead the cause for freedom?"

"You're worth the risk," vows the Senator with his bedroom eyes.

And now, for lack of a better idea, Rey starts dramatically wailing. "But the galaxy needs you! It needs patriots like you. We can't risk this! Cato, you'll end up dead!"

I am rolling my eyes, Rey. This is so Across the Stars. Slow clap, babe, slow clap.

"This is business. It can never be anything more." Rey looks away and covers her mouth with her hand as if in dismay. Kylo's howling laughter in her mind is threatening to make her giggle. "For your own sake, we cannot risk this." Then Rey has to turn away because she feels a smile tug at her lips. For good measure she peeks back over her shoulder at Stegger and adds with feigned regret, "I wish we could, Cato. If we could be together, you know I would. Cato, I think about it all the time . . . "

Hey!

Rey whirls back around, now determined to extricate herself ASAP. Before Kylo charges in with a lit sword or she bursts into a hysterical mix of laughter and tears. "Cato, this has taken too long and I will be missed. I need to go. Kylo will be suspicious and I need him receptive if I'm going to ask him about those students."

Cato nods reluctantly. "Maybe another time. What will you tell him about tonight?"

"That we met to discuss the education reforms. You're worried it's all stormtrooper training in disguise—that sort of thing. Cato, my guard is here so I can't hide that we met." Rey looks to the exit as she says this. "My guard is loyal to Kylo, not to me."

"Yes, I gathered that. Will Ren believe you?" Stegger is worried. "We know that he can read people's minds."

Rey nods. "It's true. But don't worry. If he asks too many questions, I'll distract him. That usually works."

Stegger frowns, then recoils. "Don't tell me anymore."

Metal fingers . . . I've got those metal fingers . . .

Rey endeavors to look resigned to her plight now as she outright lies, "Don't judge me, Cato. It's how I have stayed alive all these years." Rey finishes that statement with a heavy sigh.

Oh, the martyrdom! Are you like the Scheherazade of sex?

"I'm so sorry, Rey." Cato Stegger looks utterly sincere in the moment as he pities her. And for the first time tonight, Rey feels a pang of regret for her ruse. Cato might be a ladies' man and a closet extremist, but he is not a completely bad person. He's like Poe Dameron and so many others Rey recalls from the Resistance during the war years. Idealists who would stop at nothing to help the cause. And, in some ways, that is not that different from how the old Kylo had been. From the beginning, Senator Stegger has reminded Rey of Kylo.

I don't see it. I don't see it at all. In fact, I'm offended, Rey.

She ignores this.

"I don't suppose you would stab him in bed for us," Stegger makes a lame attempt at humor now.

He's not expecting Rey's serious response. "Cato, I tried that once. It didn't work. I only cut his hand off."

"You cut his hand off?" the Senator parrots back.

"His right hand is mechanical," Rey reveals matter of fact. "It's why he wears the gloves."

Cato Stegger is impressed. "You really are one of us," he sizes her up thoughtfully.

Say yes.

"Yes. I am," she lies. "Goodnight, Cato."

"Goodnight, brave Rey. Be safe."

Rey breaks their silence as the speeder pulls away. "You're remarkably calm about this," she observes through gritted teeth. Rey is upset and driving fast. Her diffuse fear, frustration, and anger are screaming at him in the Force.

He shrugs. "To be Sith is to be marked for death. This isn't the first plot and it won't be the last. I'm used to this, Rey."

"I'm not," she snaps back.

"I'm not the only one marked for death in this plot," he continues calmly. "Titus is too."

"I know."

"The galaxy saw just an inkling of what our boy is capable of on Empire Day. But they saw enough. Any plot will eventually plan on taking out him too, Rey. It's why I was glad to give him a sword. Titus is going to need it. I want him prepared to defend himself."

"I agree."

"Good. Tomorrow, I start training him with a sword. Rey, I want you to be there for a refresher yourself."

She looks over at him and scowls. "I don't want a sword."

"You will carry a sword." It is an order, not a request.

"I don't want a—"

He overrides her. "I have indulged your disdain for security, Rey. But if you will not be protected, then you must protect yourself. I have many enemies. If nothing else, tonight should show you how my enemies will seek to use you for their own aims." He matches Rey's hard look now with one of his own. "Stegger and his crew want you for an ally for now. But next week, they might decide they prefer a hostage."

Rey makes a face but she nods to the truth of his words. "Does it have to be a sword?" She reaches with one hand into her lap and pulls aside the fabric of her skirt where her dress is slit. Rey has a small blaster strapped high inside her right thigh. "Cesi gave it to me," she explains.

Kylo stares at all that flesh encircled with two leather straps and a small holster in between. He sucks in a quick breath as he sees the gun nestled not far from the spidery nude lace of her panties. Damn, that's hot, he thinks. Rey has been hiding that weapon all night between her legs. That is really, really hot.

"That works," he croaks out weakly. Then, he tears his eyes away. They are supposed to be friends and allies now, nothing more. Kylo had sort of forgot that fact during the ridiculous love scene with Cato Stegger.

Kylo swallows hard and changes the topic. Where was he? Oh, yes, Stegger's plot. "I will show those students mercy," he informs Rey. "After their interrogations, they will get a fair trial. They will most likely spend some time in prison, but they will live. Tell Stegger that first thing tomorrow. They will get full due process of law and a jury of their peers will decide their fate."

"So, you're playing along?" Rey surmises with a marked lack of enthusiasm.

"I'm springing the trap, remember? Mercy for the students will earn me some public goodwill. It will Make me look measured in my response to this threat. And I want it to look like you have achieved what Stegger is asking so you can impress his terrorist friends."

She nods and he continues. "Rey, I want to find out who his backers are. Where the money is coming from. We know some, but not all of Stegger's friends." Kylo gives Rey a serious look. "I'm going to need your continued help in this. I can't send some Intel agent to handle this. It has to be you. Unfortunately, this entire plot revolves around you."

"I know. But don't you dare ask me to sleep with him—"

"What?" Did he hear right?

"I'm not sleeping with Stegger, Kylo! Not to get more information about his plot."

"Of course, not!" Does Rey really think he would ask that of her? Kylo is outraged. "Do you think I liked having that guy kiss my wife?"

"I told you that might happen!" Rey hollers back. "And I'm not your wife. Not like that. Not anymore."

And now, Rey starts trying to compromise. His Jakku girl grew up in a barter economy and her natural inclination is always to make a deal. "Maybe if you gave in to more of his ideas, Stegger would back down."

Kylo dismisses this idea. "He won't. I know his type. I grew up with a mother like him. There will never be enough concessions for people like him. Stegger and his band of fanatics don't compromise, Rey. And most of them are just itching to be martyred for their glorious cause. He doesn't want incremental change, he wants revolution. And to accomplish that, he would cheerfully kill me and kill Titus." He shoots Rey a sideways look. "Maybe even you too. Your connection to me will always make you suspect in their eyes."

"Just like my connection to the Resistance will always make me suspect to the First Order," Rey says sourly.

"Yes," he confirms. Rey's past is problematic to everyone but him, it seems. "In war, there is no middle ground. Compromise is dead the moment the first shots are fired." And that's why Emperor Ren is determined to diffuse conflicts before they flare up. Peace is a lie, but conflict can be managed. War, he has learned, cannot. And its aftereffects are sometimes as challenging as the war itself.

"Are you sure you can't discredit him by accepting more of his ideas?" Rey keeps looking for solution. "Then, when Stegger wants more, he will look unreasonable, right?"

"I don't give in to terrorists. Especially those who threaten my family. I will tolerate some opposition and dissent. But only to a degree and only when it is nonviolent. When my critics threaten violence, that's when I crack down hard."

"I understand." And from her tone, Kylo can tell that she doesn't disagree. His girl hates war, eschews violence, and loves their son. Tonight's plot had managed to trigger her on all fronts. Stegger could not have chosen a better pitch to alienate Rey, especially coming on the heels of what happened with Malia Biggs. Kylo would call it luck, but he knows there is no such thing as luck.

Still, he is touched by Rey's natural reaction to support his goals. For all their differences, he and Rey have far more in common politically now than they did years ago. And there is also their young son. Kylo looks over at the woman the galaxy thinks to be his wife. He feels like he should acknowledge their solidarity. "Your loyalty tonight was genuine. Thank you." He is sincere.

Rey looks confused a moment. Then she pushes back. "Don't thank me. This isn't about you, Kylo. I don't want a galaxy at war again. I don't want my son to lose the only father he has left. And you know that I never wanted to be an Empress, let alone to rule an Empire. There is nothing in Stegger's plot that appeals to me." Rey looks so unsettled now as she nervously tucks and re-tucks her hair behind her ear. "So long as you continue on your path to reform, things will improve," she concludes. "You are the better choice, Kylo. That's all."

That's all. Kylo can't help but feel disappointed at her summation. By the complete lack of sentiment behind her words. Still, he persists. Wanting Rey to at least admit that they are now allies of her own free will. "Together, we can make things better," he urges as they stop at a traffic light.

Stressed Rey looks over his way. "We had better, Kylo. Because I don't want to regret not telling Stegger yes."

She's all Jakku in the moment. The girl outside her AT-AT poised with her stick. It makes him smile. "You couldn't kill me," he says softly. And it's something of a teasing endearment coming from a Sith.

It sets her off. "I don't want to kill you! Or anyone! You know that," she glares and then falls silent. Kylo does too now, for Cato Stegger has given him much food for thought. And the more Kylo thinks, the more important tonight seems. And that only gets him thinking more.

There are times in life when you can sense change, he knows. You don't have to be a Force user to sense it in your personal life, in your surroundings, in others. Maybe it's a change in circumstance, a change in viewpoint, or a change in attitude. Or maybe you can't quite pinpoint what exactly is changing. But something is different or soon will be. It is unsettling. Stressful. Upsetting, even, to try and make sense of it all. For that is our natural inclination—to make sense of things. To put what happens in life into a framework we know and understand. But when occurrences don't fit into our expected narrative is when we are truly tested as individuals. Forced to reconsider who we are and what matters to us.

Old Snoke had firmly believed the adage that Force-users are agents of change. The Muun had plenty of evidence for this teaching, for history is writ large with the important, pivotal accomplishments and defeats of the Jedi and the Sith. But those watershed moments, those climaxes in the never-ending tale of history, tend to overshadow things. Because most change is not momentous, it is incremental. We just fail to recognize it for what it is until it matters in a big way.

He sees now that Rey is the recurring agent of change in his life. She appeared on Jakku and stole his heart before walking away the first time. Rey's initial rejection had disappointed him, yes. But more importantly, it had unwittingly served to flush his uncle out of hiding. Stuck with the Resistance after the Starkiller, Rey had resisted his mother's and his uncle's overtures before she ultimately found her way back to him. But only a few brief months after that, it was Rey's abduction by General Hux that had brought together three generations of Skywalker men for a tragic confrontation. Then Rey was back again and she was his princess for a brief time. Rey's quest for peace had failed twice, but her ideas had lingered and ultimately prevailed so that even after she left him, her influence remained. Because even in death, Rey was that important to him, to the Force, and to his future.

She was lost to him for over a decade and things remained basically the same. All until one night when Nestor had appeared up with a datapad and incredible news. Rey was back and so was their secret son. Naturally, she brought with her more change. Their troubled young son grown too Dark too soon has forced Kylo to reconsider the elusive dream of balance he had once given up. More and more, Kylo comes to value the Light. That's why he had dragged out the holochron secrets of the Jedi cult locked away for decades in his grandfather's castle. That's why he plans a series of meaningful political reforms. That's why he is pressing for his would-be Sith Apprentice to be the ultimate Chosen One. A year ago, it would all have been unthinkable. But now, it's his new agenda and it is all because of Rey.

This woman has one way or the other been a part of all of the major milestones of his adult life. The variable fortunes of their personal relationship always seem to be reflected in the larger scheme of events. Rey comes in and out of his life at different times and for different purposes, and fate changes as a result. Quite simply, Rey is his destiny. She is that unavoidable, uncontrollable, and unpredictable for him. The very embodiment of destiny itself.

At age thirty, the thought that this woman was his destiny was a romantic daydream like so many of Kylo's ambitious plans. He and Rey would slash hands in his temple and pledge forever and it would be Skywalkers happily ever after together in the Force. Now at age forty-five, life experience has turned out a bit differently. He never did get a pledge from his commitment-phobe Rey. The best he has is a lie that his lawyers put on paper which they consummated in her prison cell. Rey won't wear his ring, she won't take his name, and she barely tolerates the title Empress. She is more friend and colleague than wife. With Rey, he has a Force-strong son who is a Skywalker through and through. All the talent, all the angst, and all the requisite family drama. Kylo loves a boy who says that he hates him. He willingly trains an Apprentice who has already threatened to kill him. A child who is more comfortable calling him Master than father. This is everything Kylo has ever wanted to avoid in his personal life. This is the past that he had vowed time and again never to repeat. But this is his present and Kylo knows that he has himself in large part to blame.

And into this combustible mix enters Senator Cato Stegger. Just when everything is primed to fall apart. There is conspiracy afoot and it's the worst, most nefarious kind. It's the kind that resurrects the age-old struggle that is the antithesis of the balance Kylo seeks. And it's the kind that separates Skywalkers in dramatic betrayal and death. Husband versus wife. Father versus son. Light versus Dark. Jedi versus Sith. Tonight, he uncovers a plot that will plunge the galaxy into civil war and undo the progress of his fledgling Empire. And it's a plot that will mean that the Skywalker Siths gone before him, his beloved Snoke and his revered grandfather, will have died in vain.

Cato Stegger is far more dangerous than Kylo Ren had ever contemplated. That much is clear.

So what does it mean now for Rey to be his destiny? The pessimistic answer is that it means the Skywalkers will once again choose sides and everyone will end in defeat. But Kylo Ren is ever the ambitious optimist. You don't conquer the galaxy unless you dream big. And so, staring at the subdued woman at his side, Kylo thinks that this is yet another example of how Rey of Jakku brings him crises that become turning points. This is just her latest consequence as his personal harbinger of change. Stegger and his terrorist friends will not tear his family apart, they will bring them back together. When all is said and done, Kylo vows, his Empire and his family will be stronger for it. And Cato Stegger and his friends will be very, very dead.

And so, the Sith sits and quietly he plots.

Rey too is silent the rest of the ride home until they make it to her palace door. Rey talks first, as usual. "Stegger sort of ruined the night," she sighs and looks away.

It's true. Tonight's attempt to escape from the daily grind and to add more spontaneous fun to his life had only compounded his troubles and ended with Rey stressed and upset. So much for fun, Kylo thinks. But that's life for a Sith Emperor. No one said it would be easy, he remembers old Snoke telling him. Tonight, listening in as his enemy plotted his murder and kissed his estranged wife, had pretty much proved that point.

"We'll do it again soon," Kylo promises, trying to sound upbeat. "It will be more fun next time."

Rey nods. Is she lingering? He thinks she might be lingering. And there is so much Kylo wants to say right now, but one thing rises to the forefront. And it's probably something he should have told Rey long ago. But it had never occurred to him that it was an issue until tonight.

"Stegger is wrong about us. You know that, right?" Her confused look tells him she's not following. So, Kylo spells it out. "I love you. I love your Force too, I won't lie, but I love you. Rey, I loved you from Jakku. Before I knew you were a Palpatine. Before you had brought me the droid with the map and we had gone to bed. You and I were never about bolstering my claim to rule. We were more than just my call to the Light. I loved a scavenger girl in the desert with a big stick and a big smile. A girl with no past and no future."

"I know," she says simply. Then adds, "We're a long way from that now."

Are they? They don't have to be, he thinks. Rey is the girl he was supposed to kill but didn't. Twice. And then when he truly did try to kill her, he couldn't even manage it then. Kylo used to tell himself that was because the Force was with Rey, but maybe he has been wrong all along. Maybe it's that the Force is with them as a couple. Is he Rey's destiny in the same manner that she is his? He wonders.

"We're a long way from those days now," Rey repeats glumly as she opens her door.

"Yes and no," is his ambiguous reply. "Goodnight, Rey," Kylo tells her retreating form. Then, once again: "Thank you."