Raj may still be honing his political instincts and media savvy, but when it comes to palace gossip from Coruscant, he is a virtuoso. Raj knows the complete list of high ranking First Order military commanders and civilian officials from his pre-praetorian days. Because for years before Raj was a second-string Snoke guard, he was just a regular bodyguard assigned to protect a wide array of notables. From those days, Raj also knows most of the other security guards, all of whom are now stationed at Coruscant. So when Raj really wants to know what's going on in Kylo Ren's palace, he calls up his old buddies to check in. These men know all the comings and goings of the First Order elites and they hang in corners of crowded meeting rooms as silent witnesses to power. From one of them, Raj randomly finds out about Emperor Ren's plans for a new Senate.

It's big news. And not the good news Rey might expect.

Raj bursts into her office on one of the few afternoons Rey is not scheduled for an appearance or a meeting. "Hux is the new Senate Chancellor," her breathless chief of staff blurts out.

"What?" Rey puts down her datapad. "You're kidding me."

"It's true. Hux convened a meeting of his posse last week to talk about his new post. He's been put in charge of designing a Senate from scratch."

"No!" Outraged Rey shoots to her feet. "Hux? Armitage Hux is designing the Senate?"

"He's already assembled a working group for the project. They are meeting bi-weekly for the next few months. It's top secret stuff even at the palace. But I've got buddies guarding guys on the team, so we'll get some leaks."

Rey's eyes narrow. She wants more than just leaks. "How close are they to announcing a Senate?"

"They haven't even met yet. Months, I would assume," Raj guesses. "But who knows?"

"When do they meet next?"

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Rey echoes, her mind racing. "Tomorrow when?"

"Afternoon local time, I think. I'll check."

Rey does the math on the time zones and the flight time in her head. "If it's afternoon, then we can still make it. Go check the timing and pack a bag, Raj. We leave in half an hour," Rey decides. She'll be damned if she will allow her Senate to be hijacked by Mr. Starkiller himself, General Hux.

The next day, afternoon Coruscant local time, the Empress sweeps down the hallways of her official residence hoping not to get lost. Thankfully, Raj has the details down and together they march into the right conference room just as General Hux is calling the meeting to order. The timing is perfect to maximize the drama of the moment.

Hux looks up in surprise. Then he eyes her a long moment. But he dutifully stands to his feet like all the other occupants in the room. "Your Excellency. A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one." Hux smiles like an oily courtier to a Hutt.

Rey inclines her head. "General."

"Are you perchance lost? Never fear, we will get you where you need to be." Hux beckons to an aide and starts throwing shade. "Escort our Empress to her destination. She is so seldom here in Coruscant, she does not know her way around."

"I believe I am in the right place," Rey counters coolly. "This is the meeting on the Senate, is it not?"

"We're calling it a legislature," the general replies smoothly. "Had you been invited, you would have known that."

Rey responds by seating herself opposite Hux at the open chair at the far end of the long table. Then she gives a regal wave to invite the roomful of standing men and women back into their chairs.

Hux remains standing at the far end of the room. His eyes flit past Rey to focus on Raj standing sentry at her shoulder. "I see you brought your rebel praetorian with you."

"The captain is my chief of staff. He, like myself, was undercover with the Resistance. He is loyal to the Emperor, as am I."

"First, there is a rebel stormtrooper general. Now, there is a rebel praetorian captain. Everyone who gets near you falls victim to democracy." Hux says this like it's some contagious disease. "Even our esteemed Emperor has been known to waver from time to time."

"Which is why we are here today, is it not?" Rey counters. "For democracy."

The general stubbornly remains standing. He purses his lips. Hux clearly is not pleased to have his meeting hijacked. "Can you not busy yourself liberating the Rim? Don't you have widows and orphans to be helping on Rakata Prime or something?"

"Jakku, Army," a colonel Rey doesn't recognize corrects Hux. "She's from Jakku."

"I stand corrected," Hux nods to his crony. "Forgive me, but all those wretched Rim systems run together for me. I can't tell one hellhole from the next."

Rey just favors her adversary with a tight smile. Scornful comments like Hux's make the chip on her Jakku-born shoulder get bigger. For the arrogant general, like so many others from Imperial exile families, is very Core in his mindset. The First Order elites might have lived among the Rimmers, but they don't consider themselves from the Rim. All in all, they feel relieved and vindicated to be back in charge of Coruscant. Now, the officers of the First Order finally have fancy surroundings that match their fancy accents.

The cause of the Rim was a convenient means to an end for Snoke. A populist rallying cry that suckered many thousands into signing up for service or handing their children over as stormtroopers. The rhetoric of the regime still pays lip service to their original supporters, but Rey knows that her work is far from a priority. The Rim was used, Rey knows. Just like she was.

That makes it particularly annoying to hear the same attitudes of the disdainful Core worlds come out of the mouths of men wearing black uniforms. The Rim is not an angry backward monolith, Rey knows. The working class of the Rim are far more diverse than the Core believes. Far more tolerant of alien cultures and much more egalitarian and self-reliant too. But in this room, the people Rey champions are considered uneducated cretins from flyover systems. And she, as the self-exiled Resistance-loving Jakku Empress, is equally worthy of contempt. Everyone knows she is out of favor with his Excellency. So much so that apparently there's no risk in openly mocking her in her own palace.

It makes Rey inwardly seethe.

All along, the downtrodden citizens in the Rim should have been Resistance supporters. But the contradictions and outright lies of politics mean that the rhetoric rarely matches the deeds. This is why the poor will always be with us, Rey thinks cynically. Because no matter who is in power, the people who lack influence and means always get fucked.

"Take a seat, General, and let's begin," Rey says in her most Empress-y tone. She's done with the bickering and name calling.

The handsome, redheaded general dutifully sits, but the turf battle continues. Hux wags a finger at Rey from the other end of the table. "I will tolerate your meddling in the Rim. I will not tolerate your meddling here. But since you are present, you may observe for today," he informs Rey dismissively.

But she has no intention of being seen but not heard. Rey didn't fly all night from Tatooine to sit quietly with her hands in her lap. "This is my Senate," she hisses. "The Emperor promised me a Senate years ago. Now, be so kind as to brief me on where things currently stand on my Senate."

"I am the Chancellor of the legislature." Hux puts his emphasis on the first person.

Rey doesn't back down. She's a fighter thanks to Jakku. These days, she's still fighting even as Empress. "General, putting a fascist like you in charge of democracy is like asking the fox to guard the hen house."

"Stop calling it democracy," Hux snaps. "We are not recreating the Republic here. You and your rebel friends lost the war. The legislature will be an advisory council to the Emperor, nothing more. It is merely the next iteration of the existing First Order Council. This legislature serves the First Order."

"I can see my input is sorely needed," Rey announces. Then, she schools Hux on the basics. "The Senate serves the people. Democracy is about the will of the people." Rey leans forward now in her chair. "Tell me, General, have you ever worked in the context of a truly collaborative body? Or have you only ever operated according to a chain of command?" When Hux doesn't immediately answer, Rey keeps going. "I thought so. I have learned a few things from the rebel council and from our experience in the Rim Committee. You could benefit from my experience."

"Oh, by all means, bog us down. Democracy deferred is democracy denied," Hux responds breezily and several in his roomful of cronies chuckle.

"Don't be so smug," Rey retorts. "There is one chance to get this right. We can announce some refinements as we go, but if we launch a Senate structure that fails, everyone loses."

"Fine. Enough." Hux scowls openly at her. "Let's get to work."

The lengthy meeting that follows maintains the same snippy atmosphere, although the discussion is largely substantive. There is a lot to resolve about the Senate, from how its members are selected, to what powers the body has, to how its decisions are made. Each big picture issue has a host of individual related items to decide. Plus, all of it has a political angle. Give too much power to the Core and the First Order risks losing control. But ignore the Core at your peril. All in all, there is much to consider. This is a very big project.

When they are done for the day, Hux adjourns the meeting and then marches out of the room with his subordinates trailing after him. That just leaves Rey and Raj.

"That could have gone better," Rey sighs as she flops back into her chair. She's feeling dejected and depleted from three hours on the hot seat sparring with Hux and his yes-men.

"Why does Hux hate you so much?" Raj wants to know.

"I choked him with the Force years ago," Rey admits. "But he hated me even before then. I think he hates everything I stand for and believe in. Hux is the worst possible choice as Senate Chancellor." She is glum as she pokes at her temples. Stressful meetings like this give her a headache. "I think every meeting with him is going to be as bad as this one."

"Maybe you should spend more time here on Coruscant. Perhaps if you were here more often, they would be more respectful," Raj suggests. He is clearly feeling dissed on Rey's behalf.

"It wouldn't matter."

"I'm surprised Ren lets his people treat you like that."

"I doubt he knows. And if he does, he probably wouldn't care." Rey shrugs and pretends like it doesn't bother her. And whatever. Hux isn't the first arrogant asshole she's dealt with. "I can handle myself."

"Yes," Raj nods, "You sure can. But you shouldn't have to." Looking around the now empty room he recalls, "You know, years ago I guarded Hux's father a time or two. If you can believe it, he was worse than his son. Hux Senior was an arrogant moofmilker if there ever was one. But I guess they all are. You pretty much have to be a narcissistic prick to get to these levels of power."

"Ren is not," she volunteers softly.

"Yeah?"

"He's not in it for himself." Ben has that redeeming quality at least. He's in it for the Force. She's in it to help others. Neither of them has vainglory as their motivation. But most everyone surrounding them does.

"Let's get out of here, Empress," Raj suggests. She nods and he picks up his comlink and informs the shuttle pilot to prepare for takeoff.

They get lost twice on the way back to the landing pad. It's a bit embarrassing to have to ask for directions in your own palace, but Rey brazens through it. Finally, she and Raj hit upon the right corridor and exit into the coolness of Coruscant's early evening. Front and center in the prime spot on the landing pad, Rey's shuttle sits fully warmed up and waiting with the ramp deployed. And next to it, newly landed based on the decrescendo of its ion engines, is a very familiar, slightly battle scarred black command shuttle.

It seems that Emperor Ren has returned home for the day.

Great, just great, Rey thinks. As if this day hasn't been bad enough. And sure enough, Ben stalks down the ramp followed by a pack of uniformed aides. He sees her and stops in his tracks. The breeze lifts his cape and tosses the hem of his robes. It makes him look altogether too dashing. Ben is far more handsome in person than on the holonet. She has forgotten how magnetic his presence feels.

She probably ought to just ignore him and leave, but on a whim Rey marches right up to Ben. After today's frustrating meeting, Rey is more irate than ever about the situation. She is not impulsive by nature, but somehow Ben seems to bring out that trait in her. Rey casts away her fears about her violent, estranged husband and confronts him.

Raj stops a few discrete paces back and so does Ben's entourage. But anyone can hear the gist of the conversation as Rey loudly demands without preamble, "Why did you put Hux in charge of the Senate?"

"Rey," Ben breathes out her name in response. "Are you leaving? Did I miss you? Was there an event today?" The words come out in a rush.

Rey ignores his surprise and omits an explanation. "Well?" she prods. "Why Hux?" Why not me, she thinks to herself. That Senate was for me. It was supposed to be a wedding present.

Ben shrugs and answers flippantly. "Hux could use a little democracy." Then, Ben reverts to talking about her. He is looking Rey over intently. "How are you? It's good to see you."

Really? Well, whatever. Rey stays focused on her point. "Hux is a terrible choice." Her voice is raised and sharp. It causes a ripple of looks from the group standing behind Ben.

Ben must not want a scene in full public view on the landing pad. He steps forward to tell her quietly, "Come inside. We can talk in private there. And we're not calling it a Senate. It's a legislature."

Rey stands her ground. "Hux is a terrible choice! He fired the Starkiller at the New Republic." The optics are terrible, Rey thinks.

"He is the perfect choice," Kylo counters calmly. "Putting Hux at the helm keeps the connection to the council he already runs and makes the legislature acceptable to the First Order loyalists."

"Why is that still necessary? Your diehards aren't complaining about what I'm doing in the Rim. We basically have our own Senate out there," Rey points out.

"I know. You're helping pave the way for this. But your work alone doesn't mean that there will be widespread support for a Senate. Especially if it's called a Senate. Come, walk apart with me." Ben determinedly conducts her away from their helpers and handlers who are listening in.

Rey balks at his attempt at hand holding to lead her away, but she dutifully follows Ben a distance apart from the others. Once they are far enough away with their backs turned, Rey starts in again. She's angry enough now that she drops the usual chilly formal politeness she uses with Ben. Rey doesn't mince words. "I'm not letting Hux screw this up! You owe me a Senate!"

Understanding dawns. "That's why you are here today? To storm Hux's meeting?"

"Yes." She is unapologetic.

Ben's face splits in a rare grin. "I'm sorry I missed that. Well, poke your nose in all you want. But Hux stays in charge. I need to keep him busy with some skin in the game. It will keep him loyal."

"Worried about a coup?" Rey challenges.

Ben frowns at this plain speaking out in the open. "I'm acting prudently in the context of the political realities." He shoots her a look. "You can understand that. I'm keeping the peace."

"That is my Senate!" Rey hisses, feeling betrayed. "I married you for that Senate!" she rages. It comes out a little too loudly and her voice carries. Rey glances over at their respective aides-de-camp cooling their heels and knows that she has been overheard.

Ben scowls at her. "Keep your voice down."

"You owe me this! I've been waiting years for this!"

"Look, Rey, it can't be you at the helm of the legislature. That's not good politics."

"Fine. But Hux? Really, Ben." It's like a slap in the face. Rey shakes her head. Suddenly, she feels like she might cry right here, right now on the palace landing pad. Because it's been a bad day and this is about a Senate but it's also about so much more. "You really are a disappointment," she chokes out. "Nothing you promised me was sincere. N-Nothing . . . "

Ben shoots her a hurt look. Then another. "Don't say that," he grinds out. "Not much of this Empire is turning out like I wanted either. It's hard. Really hard. But I am doing my best."

Oh, please, she thinks. "Don't whine. It ill becomes the Emperor of the known universe."

Ben stares at her long and hard. His expression is upset. Suddenly, he looks like he wants to cry too. "Rey, I wish . . . " He doesn't finish his sentence. He just stands there looking miserable. Then, the moment passes and Ben recovers fast. "Come inside." This time it's an order, not an invitation. "Come inside and yell at me and say everything you want to say."

Wary Rey's eyes widen. She shakes her head. "This is about the Senate. There's nothing else to talk about between us." Rey has no desire to dredge up the painful past. Especially not today.

"It's been over two years and we have never talked about it. We never talk about anything."

"And we're not going to," she informs him curtly. "There's nothing to say." And that's a lie because there is everything to say. But that's a conversation she doesn't want to have.

But Ben won't let it go. "Rey, I'm sorry! I never should have—"

"Stop. Just stop!" She has the courage to confront Ben over the Senate or on behalf of her Rim citizens, but she cannot confront him over their personal relationship. There's no point to that discussion. They can't change the past. Plus, all the disappointment and anger it dredges up just overwhelms her. It undercuts her hard-won confidence.

"Alright." Ben instantly backs down. Looking resigned and resentful, he makes a face and looks away. "You win. You always win. I won't fight you."

It doesn't feel like she's winning. Not at all, Rey thinks. It feels like it has felt for years now: like she is coping and making the best of a bad situation she cannot make better. She has salvaged all the power she can and found a way to give her life meaning. It's not what she wanted, but it's enough.

Rey looks down and then away. Anywhere but Ben's intense dark eyes that bore into her. Always, Rey is tense and very uncomfortable in his presence. She can count on one hand the number of times they have met since he choked her. Their meetings are fraught with heartbreak still.

There is just so much left unsaid. So much pain unresolved. Rey can feel the Force cracking and popping around them. It only adds to the anxiety of this chance meeting. Belatedly, she wishes she had just boarded her shuttle and left. This was a battle she should not have picked.

"You're doing amazing things in the Rim," Ben says offhand now. It's an awkward compliment followed by an admission. "You're far better at this governing thing than I am. Maybe you should give me some pointers sometime."

"I should go." Rey starts walking away.

"Stay just a minute. Please."

Something about his uncharacteristically pleading tone stops her and Rey half turns.

"Stay and tell me about the meeting. Give me your ideas for the Senate."

"I'll have Raj send a memo."

"I want to hear it from you. Tell me about the meeting. Tell me about you, too."

"I'm great." She's as great as she can possibly be given she's alone and miserable. "I'm great." Rey repeats herself with the same determined confidence. Because maybe if she says it enough, she will start to believe it.

"Yeah, I can see that," he says softly. And was that comment sincere or was that sarcasm? Rey isn't sure. Is he seeing through her bluster? Does he know how hard this is for her?

Maybe she's supposed to ask about him now. That would be the polite thing to do. But Rey just wants to get out of here before she says or does something she will regret. Her strategy when she encounters Ben is always to keep it as brief as possible.

"I dream of you."

Oh, fuck. Rey feels herself momentarily crumple and she raises her hands to her face. Because she can't do this. Not now. Now ever.

"It's like you haunt me."

And wait—suddenly, she's the bad guy now? "Well, I'm great." It comes out very defensively. "I'm great and I'm leaving." She starts walking away again.

He calls after her. "Hux is meeting every two weeks on the legislature. Come back in two weeks."

Rey doesn't reply although she full intends to return. She's not giving up her Senate without a fight.

And now, suddenly Ben is at her side matching her stride for stride. He's giving chase now and it feels threatening.

"Rey—" he persists.

Desperate for any topic other than them, Rey blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. "How is Pell? The slave boy Nestor takes care of."

"He's fine. He lives here on Coruscant with Nestor's family." Ben stops and she stops too. "Why?" he demands, watching her closely. He looks almost paranoid as he asks, "Why are you asking about Pell? What's so special about Pell?"

"Nestor has a family?" She's surprised.

Ben nods. "He's got a wife and three kids. None of them are Force sensitive. It doesn't always pass on."

"Oh. I didn't know knights could marry." That had never occurred to Rey but maybe it's obvious since she and Ben are married. "So, the boy has a home?"

"Yes. That kid is the son Nestor always wanted." Ben stares at her. He looks worried. "Why do you ask?"

"Nestor dropped by with the boy a few months ago. I just wondered about him. That's all. I wanted him to have a home." Rey feels sheepish now. She's embarrassed to appear lonely to Ben.

"We will take care of him," Ben assures her. "We always take care of our own. Pell will be raised in the Force and properly trained when he is old enough."

"Okay. Well, good. Are there more like him?"

"Not that we've found. Force sensitivity is very rare. At the height of the Old Republic, there were only ten thousand Jedi knights among many trillions of citizens. And that was back when the Jedi Order had a systematic way to search for Force strong children. Thanks to Snoke vilifying Luke Skywalker and what happened at the temple, no one voluntarily comes forward as Force sensitive anymore."

She nods. That makes sense. "Well, when you next find an orphan child with the Force, send them to me."

"No."

No? Her eyes shoot to his and Ben explains, "Rey, you have never been properly trained yourself. Any new padawans must be raised in our religion as a believer."

She is annoyed and it shows. "So I'm not pious enough for you?"

"No. You're not."

"Because I don't have blind faith in you as our messiah?" she goads.

"This isn't about me. Our faith is in the Force." Ben sighs and looks away. "What's this all about, Rey? Why are you so interested in this boy? Tell me. I want to know."

"I just wanted him to have a home, that's all. I should be going."

This time as she walks off, he doesn't follow. "Come back in two weeks," he calls after her.

She doesn't reply.

"And send me that memo."