Rey sat on her makeshift bunk deep in the cave the resistance claimed as their base. She separated herself as much as possible from the others, it helped her focus more. She stared down at the Jedi text and did her best to translate the ancient language, but all it did was feed her frustration. The last Jedi, left to figure it all out without a teacher. She barely finished the thought before it happened.

Suddenly she felt it, the air around her turned electric, the silence deafening in her ears. Her mouth went dry when she realized what was happening, the bond had somehow opened like before. Her heart raced, Rey knew she shouldn't have her back turned to him, yet she felt almost frozen, terrified of turning around.

He watched her as she stood there, her back to him, the energy of the room getting tenser with each passing moment. She must have sensed him, how could she not, he thought, he observed the rigidness in her stance, she knew he was there.

"No." Was all she said, her back still to him.

"What?"

She already whipped around before he could finish the word. It startled him, her abrupt movement, and seeing her face again. It was easier when she was not looking at him with a stony stare.

"No to, to this!" Her pointed finger went quickly from her to him then back to her. Rey felt her voice shake with nervousness, unsure if this was even real, this shouldn't be happening, this was over.

"You know as well as I neither of us control this." His voice resonated with frustration.

"Snoke is gone, and I know I'm not doing it, so end it!"

Of course, she thought he was lying, why wouldn't she? But it still stung. "I can't, so we'll just have to wait until it ends."

Rey couldn't even look at him, her anger simmering low, but threatening to rise. She didn't want to see him, she tried to separate the two sides of the man, Ben, and Kylo. She could deal with Kylo and his menacing antics, but it was Ben she didn't want to see, and this echoed too much of him. Kylo killed him, so it was better to forget.

"So what do we do when it happens again?"

"We could just hope it doesn't."

Rey couldn't read him, his voice was flat and uninterested as if she was a nuisance to him.

"I hope I don't ever have to see you again."

Her words were ice, filled with disdain.

"You will."

Rey was speechless as he faded away, back to wherever he was before. She was relieved and grateful the force seemed to cut the conversation short. Rey really had nothing more to say, and his last words unnerved her. She knew what he meant. They would meet again, and more than likely it would be in the field of battle, and there was a reasonable probability one of them wouldn't make it out alive. The thought of having to defeat him post-Starkiller Base but pre-everything else was plain-sailing, but now, it was painful to contemplate.

Her life before all of this was somehow unchallenging compared to what it was now. Her only concerns were eating, scavenging, and surviving. It was straight forward and monotonous, physically demanding, of course, but uncomplicated. Now all it was was a jumbled mess of complications, that seemed to grow with each passing day. She thought the bond was dead and gone. Now the small glimpses of him and what she thought were imagined whispers seemed more significant, concerning, and for some strange reason it made her heart skip a tiny beat.

"Hey, Rey." The sound of Finn's voice bouncing off the stone walls approaching pulled her from her worried trance; he turned the corner, giving her a small smile, "Leia's calling a meeting.".

On the other side of the bond, Kylo held his head in his hands, breathing fiercely, seeing her again enkindled a plethora of thoughts and emotions. How did the bond open, and why? Like she said, it should have died with Snoke. The worst question was why he could feel a tiny bit of relief twinge inside him when he realized what was happening. He knew he shouldn't be relieved; if anything, he should feel anger and annoyance. But Kylo didn't, he, of course, felt anger but not annoyance. That was replaced with another emotion, an odd type of grief he refused to address. She was so cold, he could feel small flurries of rage emanating off of her, but that didn't shock him. Of course she was angry, who wouldn't be, being suddenly, intimately connected to your mortal enemy can do that to you. Oh, he did not like his word choice, they were psychically connected via the force, that was it, nothing more. Hopefully, this was just some strange occurrence that wouldn't continue to threaten his days, but for some odd reason he felt that wouldn't be the case.

He couldn't dwell on it, there was work to be done. Sitting in his quarters brooding about that scavenger was not something he could afford. He had multiple meetings to attend, something Snoke never did, and he can understand why. They were tedious and boring, plus it was the ideal setting for Hux to undermine him. Kylo knew about war, or more so battle. He knew how to fight, how to pilot, how to be in the middle of the action. He was also no stranger to politics, following his mother around during childhood, but it was the in-between he didn't know. He could never be a general, planning, strategizing, he didn't have the patience for it. His go-to plan was always to go into it blasters blazing, he proved that to everyone on Crait, just another occurrence Hux would never let him live down. It was an embarrassing display, he acted like a petulant child; it was not a good look for the new Supreme Leader. Now was the time to prove himself, and he would not let himself become distracted.

While Kylo left for his meetings, Rey was joining the Leia and the rest of the resistance. The small group sat and stood surrounding the old princess, morale was good today, members were finally feeling like things were getting back on track. Of course, it would never be the same without the hope of Luke Skywalker returning, and the loss of so many friends and family, but it would soon become the new normal. Rey was just not sure if she would ever fill the hole Luke left, but she knew the others were counting on her assuming the position. She was already treated differently than the others, and today would prove her suspicions.

Leia and what was left of the high ranking members went over all the typical information shared at these meetings. Supply levels, new recruits, friendly planets or systems for possible relocation if needed, news on the First Order. It wasn't until the end did Leia give the big news.

"We've got news of a spy somewhere in the middle rim," a quiet burst of whispers amongst the group emerged. Leia raised her hand, quieting the room to silence, she never failed to command a room. "I have decided to send a small group on a mission to retrieve the information.".

Rey could feel the excitement bubbling up inside of her chest. Finally, a mission! She would be able to go out and make herself useful, instead of slaving over some old books and her broken saber. She would once again be out in action. Yet her enthusiasm was soon squashed.

"Poe, Finn, and Rose, we're counting on you to fly under the radar and find this informant, you'll leave in the morning."

"What?" Rey wasn't the type to question the general, yet the word came out before she could stop it. She felt her face burn as all eyes sought her out. Leia met her with a knowing look.

"We are dismissed, I'll see you all at dinner." Everyone started to disperse, going to their daily tasks. Rey followed suit with her head down until the General stopped her. "Rey, stay a minute, I'd like to speak with you.".

" I know you're not happy about the mission," she continued before Rey had the chance to falsely refute, "I get it, you want to be out with your friends helping us, but it will be dangerous, and you're too valuable to risk."

The statement made Rey uncomfortable, just a year ago she was nobody, and now she was too important to do anything too risky.

"But Leia, I can handle myself! I'm the best fighter we have!"

"That's precisely why we can't lose you, and you're not just our best fighter, you're... you're,"

"What the new Luke? I can't be!"

"That's not what I'm saying, but you are essential to this group, we can not lose you." Rey could hear a sliver of sadness break through her steady demeanor and immediately felt guilt and regret.

"I'm sorry, General, it's just..."

She stopped Rey by taking her hand in hers, "It's alright, I was just as eager as you to save the galaxy when I was young." Leia gave a sad smile. She gave her hand a small squeeze, as Rey began to pull away. "And no one expects you to be Luke, just you."

With that, she let the young girl go on her way. She watched her go as her mind began to wander. She reminded her so much of Ben when he was young before he became the man the galaxy knows now. Fiery, eager, powerful, yet insecure. She never asked Rey what happened on Snoke's ship, but if her family's bisected saber was any indication, she knew it must have been intense and significant.