The steady footsteps on the dirt path caught her attention. "Ben! You're back," she said excitedly, placing her data pad on the stone bench next to her.

"Yeah," the tall young man said sheepishly. "Thankfully."

"Didn't you have fun?" she pressed.

"I don't think anyone has fun on Hosnian Prime anymore," he replied with a half-smile. "The entire planet is one big argument."

She raised her eyebrows. "Politics?"

The boy snorted. "Yeah… trade this time." He lowered his tall, slender form onto the bench next to her. "Apparently tariffs on shipments the Kurana and Obess systems are too high… or too low… depends who you ask."

"And that takes the Senate to resolve?"

"The Centrists want more control over inter-system commerce. They'll grab onto any issue that will tighten their grip." He lowered his head slightly. "You know how they are."

"Careful," the woman offered with teasing tone, "My Father is a Centrist."

"Don't put him in a room with my mother then," he replied. "Of course, I can't even get in a room with her these days."

The young woman's humor faded. "I guess you didn't get much time with her."

"I was there eleven days. Eleven. I think we spent about six hours together, if that." He looked at the ground. "I think she feels like the Galaxy will fall apart if she takes a day off."

"Maybe it will," the young woman said only half-jokingly. "If things really are that bad, people need someone they can trust up front. There aren't a lot of politicians everyone respects."

"I don't think her respect goes quite as far as it used to," he said sourly. "After the war people respected her ideology, her principles. She was a hero, and they would listen to her."

"She's still a hero," the young woman insisted, "Without her there would be no Republic, no Jedi, no freedom."

"People don't think like that," he responded. "When I was little, they would do what she said because it was coming from her. But now, that stuff that inspired the Rebellion… it doesn't really help people in there day to day, you know? Where does hope and integrity fit in with tax policy?"

"They still trust her judgement."

"Maybe" He shrugged. "That doesn't mean she needs to have her fingerprints on everything," the young man grow, running a hand through ebony hair. "Not everything is a crisis."

"Everything is a crisis to someone," she said. "Some of the younglings think it's a crisis when the cafeteria runs out of Blue Milk."

"That is a crisis," the man insisted, a smile forming on his lips. But it was transitory. "At least she has an excuse."

The woman's face hardened. "He didn't show again?"

"I've seen the man once in the last two years. He says he's busy on the racing circuit."

"But you think there is more to it than that," she said, reaching out to hold his hand in hers. "I learned a long time ago: you can't read more into what people do than what is there. Even if you're a Jedi."

"What do you mean?" the man asked.

She shrugged. "He's not there. Maybe that makes him a nerf herder, but it doesn't mean anything about you."

He shook his head again. "You don't know him like I do. Nothing bothers him. Nothing phases him. The guy isn't afraid of anything. Except me."

"That isn't true," she said, but the protestation was halfhearted at best. "He loves you."

"You can be feared and loved at the same time." He let out a chuckle. "Seems like that was a pretty common thing for the Jedi in some places."

"People are uncomfortable around what they don't understand. Sometimes they—"

"Then why isn't he like that with Mom or Luke," the man demanded, a flash of frustration evident on his features.

"Maybe you should ask them," she suggested, taking his irritation in stride.

"It wouldn't help. Luke can't even explain that damn dream I keep having."

"The dream," she said. "The one with the creature?"

The young man nodded. "Some kind of disfigured man, really."

"And Master Skywalker doesn't know what it is?"

"He says he doesn't sense anything—that sometimes a dream is just a dream."

"He might be right," she observed.

"No," he said, biting down gently on his lip. "I can feel it. It isn't just something I see. I can feel it. How it looks inside my thoughts."

"Dreams come in many forms," she said.

He couldn't hide the sadness in his eyes he returned her gaze. "Dreams don't hurt. Not like this."

"He is the Master. Maybe you just need to accept what he says."

"Not when he won't do what I ask him!" the man rasped more harshly than he had intended.

Her gaze broke away from his, uncomfortable with the hostility building in his eyes and unsettled by the fear within him. "What did you want him to do?" she asked tepidly.

"Whatever it takes," he said, his voice suddenly quiet an unemotional. She shuddered slightly at the abrupt change. "He has the power to go deeper into my thoughts, to explore my mind. But he claims such invasive techniques are too close to the Dark Side." The impassive veil lifted, replaced by a look of obvious irritation. "How can probing my mind, to help me and with my consent, be wrong?"

"You know that's not how it works," she said sharply.

His cold, dark eyes bored into her. "Maybe its how it should be," he said softly.

She reached out and squeezed his hand with her slender, delicate fingers. "If you were anyone else…"

He pulled away. "Yes, I know. You'd need to tell Luke." He inhaled sharply. "I don't need to be watched over constantly by a babysitter. Jedi Master or not."

"We are all here for his guidance," the woman stated diplomatically.

"Or because our parents thought we needed his guidance." He sighed. "If he were as powerful as he claims he'd be able to tell me why I'm seeing these things. Feeling these things."

"Even the greatest Jedi have their limits."

He arched a raven eyebrow. "Do they? Or are they just afraid to push the boundary?"

The woman stiffened noticeably. "The boundaries are there for a reason."

"What reason is that?" he asked.

"You're obviously upset about your trip. Maybe some meditation will help you see things more clearly," she suggested.

"You mean help me see things his way," the young man scoffed.

"You're starting to scare me Ben. I really think—"

"He is lying to me," the man interrupted.

The young woman frowned in confusion. "He wouldn't lie to you. Not intentionally."

"How would you know?" he bit out. "There is something he isn't telling me," he continued more calmly. Something significant."

"If he is withholding something, I'm sure he has his reasons."

"Just like he has his reasons to let me live with this torment. This thing plying my mind! And his reasons to limit my power… I'm tired of reasons." The man spat the last sentence almost petulantly, causing his companion to pull away and come to her feet.

"I think it is time for me to go."

"No!" he snarled, grabbing her arm, then letting go just as quickly. The intensity in his eyes faded to concern and then sadness as he realized how she had perceived his outburst. "I mean… please stay. I'm sorry. It's just… I think you're right. The trip must have taken more out of me than I thought. But I don't want to be alone." He could feel the darkness approaching, and without the light of another to keep it at bay he feared what was ahead.

"I'm sorry Ben," she said, her voice quivering as she sensed the carefully controlled darkness swirling around him, slowly eroding the beacon of light that had once defined her friend. "I think it is time for me to go."

He reached out once more but resisted the urge to restrain her, instead solemnly lowering his eyes to the ground. He stood slowly, walking several steps into the soft grass before laying down. This was how it always ended. Whether by his own actions or by their fear, he drove them all always. His friends, his fellow students… Even his parents.

He rolled over, letting his eyes focus on the soft hues of the evening sky. The sound of running water and younglings playing in the distance combined with the music of the universe as he closed his eyes, reaching out to the Force in an effort to find calm.

"I see you have returned, Master Solo," an old man said from a nearby path.

The younger man's eyes snapped open and he struggled to his feet. "Master San Tekka. I did not sense your approach."

"Perhaps the same confliction that clouds your conscious thoughts clouds your senses," San Tekka replied. His aging lips curled upward as he motioned for the younger man to relax. "Please, no formalities, I'm merely here because I saw a friend in trouble."

The young man resisted the urge to frown. San Tekka knew nothing of his trouble. The doddering old man was a religious zealot, not a practitioner of the Force. He understood the history of the Jedi, but lacked the experience to comprehend the trials they faced. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm OK."

"It does not take a Jedi to know when someone is unsettled," the white haired man said as if reading the younger man's thoughts. "Do not dismiss council just because it comes from someone with a different viewpoint," he continued, demonstrating yet again while he lacked the skills of a Jedi he possessed impressive skills of observation and uncanny perception.

Or had he seen Aleesa storming away and come to the most logical conclusion.

"I've already spoken to Master Skywalker," the Padawan said.

The old man raised his white eyebrows slightly. "And what did he say?"

The slender young man ran a hand through his dark hair, unsure if he should confide in the old man. "He was unwilling to help."

"That hardly sounds like Master Skywalker," San Tekka replied.

"He claimed to do what I asked would take him too close to the Dark Side."

"Ahh," the old man said in understanding.

"But if there is a good reason… if it's too eliminate pain and suffering, to help others, how can it be wrong?"

"A Padawan should know the answer," he replied, gently scolding the younger man. "The Darkness is invasive. Many Jedi have fallen in an attempt to help others."

"Only because they lack the self-control to stop," the young man argued.

"It is not a matter of conscious control," the old man chided. "The only way to resist the Dark Side is to oppose it, even when it seems to offer hope. Hope derived from darkness is a lie."

"I will not be fooled so easily," the Padawan replied bitterly.

"I hope not," San Tekka said solemnly. "There is no worse fate for a Jedi than to become a servant of the Darkness."

"Maybe," he conceded to the old man, drawing a scolding glance from San Tekka. The younger man's eyes glowed, but he contained his anger. "I understand," he said without conviction, "Luke must maintain the line between Light and Dark within him. No exceptions."

"So it is for all Jedi," San Tekka affirmed. "Never underestimate the allure of the Dark Side." The old man offered a grandfatherly smile. "Have a good evening, Ben. Do not hesitate to call on me if I can be of assistance."

Ben Solo's lips twitched as he fought the urge to tell the old man exactly how much he valued his assistance. "Good evening, Lor," he said quietly, unable to completely hide the irritation in his voice.

As he watched San Tekka walk away, he could feel resentment boiling within him. It was the same feeble argument. The Jedi claimed fear was the path to the Dark Side, yet they feared the Darkness itself. Pain and suffering pervaded the Galaxy because those with the power to stop it were terrorized of their own potential.

The arrogant old man thought he could understand the Force through history. But the past failings of others were not omens of the future.

One day, Lor San Tekka would see his power.

So anytime Kylo sleeps, gets knocked unconscious, etc, I need to take the chance to explore what Ben Solo was and how Kylo Ren came to be! Hopefully it made for an interesting change of pace, and I do intend for it to be relevant in later chapters!

As always, thank you for the faves, follows, views, and especially reviews!