Fragments in itallics are used to dive into specific characters' heads throughout the narrative.

Chapter 16: "The seeds of the First Order and the seeds of the Rebellion"

A long time ago in the distant planet of Bellhier, a kid woke up. This was a tropical planet with hundreds of volcanoes spread throughout its surface. At this age, the kid wasn't allowed to have a name. He was simply FN-2187. Many years later, he would become a Rebel hero, but back then, he was simply being trained to become a Stormtrooper. He was young enough not to have lived the moment in which Bellhier was invaded by the First Order to establish this academy. Eight years old. The first thing he had to do was get in line alongside other kids his age, and recite the First Order's creed.

"To bring order and purity to every galaxy that is known. To battle the hate and oppression against our kind. To jump into battle and fight for the cause to our last breath. To remain loyal to the First Order no matter the cost. Long live order. Long live loyalty. Long live strength. Long live the supreme species and long live the Supreme Leader" the kids said in synchrony, following the word of a caped Stormtrooper standing in front of them. He then ordered them to complete a series of physically demanding exercises over the course of one hour.

Periodically, ships would fly over the academy camp, playing a recording that said "Long live the First Order".

On the lunch break, giant screens on the dinner area would play footage of the First Order invading the Vawn system, with a voiceover championing the troopers' efforts.

"Just recently, the Vawn system had approved an act that made it imperative for people of other species to have housing and education. The supreme species ends up being affected negatively in both aspects, all because of a senseless need to break the established order and conspire against us," FN-2187 saw the screens as he ate alongside other children, "But the First Order decided recently to intervene to put matters back how they're supposed to be. The ineffectual New Republic is a useless, dangerous structure that is destined to doom the galaxy. The First Order must be strong and resilient. We must do anything in our power to make this galaxy work well once more".

Years later, the First Order was still doing anything in its power to make the galaxy work according to its own rules, but the Rebellion would not give up. A team of four brave Rebels, accompanied by three deserting Stormtroopers, was now about to take their next step: awakening the Rebellion in the Fegwet system. They were just arriving to a populated region, still in hiding, as the Sun came out.

"So, now what?" Poe asks.

"We ask," Rey responds, "I suppose". The seven approach a crowded market. Rey sees a hooded stranger and walks towards him.

"Excuse me," she says, "Do you know if there are Rebels in here?"

The stranger looks at Rey, and then at the six people behind her right in their eyes.

"Yes, there are," he responds, "If not, then who killed my daughter?"

"I'm s-" Rey is pushed aside by the stranger before she can talk, "Hey, excuse me!"

"It's all right, Rey," Finn says, "If the first person we bumped into knows of a Rebellion, then surely it won't be too hard to find others in the know" he rationalizes.

"And they say Stormtroopers aren't smart," Cade remarks, smugly, patting Finn on the shoulder. Finn looks back at him, rolling his eyes. Rey connects dots inside her head.

"Feelings," she mouths to herself, "That's it!" she tells Finn. Then, she sits down, still amidst the crowd. Her partners are taken aback by this.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Poe says, "If somebody walks over you, I'm afraid that would be just a tad too symbolic for me".

Rey touches the ground, and everything around her stops. She feels everyone around her, and the emotions inside them. Rey reaches out farther, searching for whoever might lead them to the Rebellion.

"You stay here alongside her," Poe tells the three recently deserting Stormtroopers, pointing to Rey, "We'll keep asking".

"Alright," Terr responds. Poe, Finn and Rose go on to ask everyone present about whether there is a Rebellion, and if there is, where they could find it.

"I don't know," one responds, clearly lying.

"Not worth your time, son," another stranger replies.

"You don't wanna follow that path," yet another one advises.

Rey senses rage, regret, pain, despair, loss. A world of broken spirits, but nothing clear. She opens her eyes again, with a look of disappointment on her face. She stands up as Cade, Terr, and Waldenhur turn to look at her. The four of them thus also turn to the task of asking people directly, and yet again, there are only cryptic answers, obvious lies, discouragement, silence, ignorance, and apathy. A lost cause, apparently. Sunset comes and the travelling Rebels find a small cave near the urban region, where they set a fireplace and make a circle around it. Everyone pulls out blankets from their backpacks. Everyone but Rey lies down as if they're about to sleep. She just sits down, uneasy.

"Your powers didn't work," Finn tells Rey, "did they?"

"Something terrible must have happened here," Rey says, her eyes lost, "I felt everything so… stagnated… so cloudy and… unmoving… and all that I felt was darkness, mourning…".

"I can't believe how unlucky we were today," Rose says, "Why are things like this?"

"Maybe there just isn't a Rebellion here," Cade hypothesizes, "right? It's possible".

Finn and Rose look at each other with sadness. Perhaps the Rebellion isn't as powerful as they thought. Rey seems distraught, but suddenly she flinches, noticing something nearby.

"Rey?" Poe asks, "What's going on?"

Rey turns around, as a young woman walks out of the shadows and into the flame's light.

"Hello," she says, timidly. She wears a thick, dirty dark hooded jacket for the cold, and takes off the large hood as she approaches, revealing short brown hair and nervously sweaty, dark orange skin. Her face is slightly scarred.

"Hi…" Rey responds, "Who are you?"

"Are you okay?" Rose asks.

"Yeah," the mysterious youth replies, "My name is Viera, I'm a native. I don't think you guys are".

"Are you armed?" Poe asks.

"Not exactly," she responds, as she pulls out a small hilt, which she clicks, projecting a holographic shield that covers the size of her face, "It's good to protect myself".

"Come sit down," Rey says, "it's okay". Viera nervously sits down alongside Rey on one side and Poe on the other. Everyone remains quiet for a few seconds.

"Can we ask why you're here?" Rey inquires.

"I was told someone was asking about the Rebellion today," she responds, while taking off her gloves to heat up her hands with the fire, "Like, stupidly insisting on where they could find the Rebellion".

"That sounds like us," Poe says.

"I was told you were last seen nearby, and you fit the descriptions I was given," Viera continues to explain, "But, anyway… the Rebellion". A smile begins to make its way to Rose's face, "It's dead here, mostly," she adds, "It was very alive years ago, but… war, right?"

Rose's smile fades, "What happened?" she asks.

"It built up for years," Viera answers, "There were thousands of them, and they honored their name… they rebelled". Everyone listens attentively, "It worked. We- they defeated the troops… but not all of the Empire was here, of course…".

"The First Order, you mean?" Poe asks.

"The Empire," she clarifies, "They had us since back then. They rebelled, the Empire came back and slaughtered them all. The Emperor died, but we were still under Imperial control in here, and then the First Order came along before we could be free and it got worse and it… it just never ended," she concludes.

"I'm so sorry," Rey says.

"Thousands died. Families were broken, destroyed, even," Viera says, "I guess Rebellion is not for us".

"So there just isn't a Rebellion anymore?" Poe asks, "None at all?"

"Well… when we heard of what happened in Crait," she responds, "All of you making it out alive against all odds… and Luke Skywalker walking out to face the First Order by himself…" her eyes get lost and she smiles, "It was really inspiring. Some friends and I got together to start a new Rebellion, but… we're not even sure of what we're doing, honestly"

"It's very brave that you're daring to fight again," Rose says, "I mean, all due respect to the people who died in here years ago and their close ones, but… we can't stop fighting, not until we're free".

"That's in very poor taste!" Cade says, almost interrupting Rose, "And very impractical… they'll just keep dying and dying, what's the point?!".

"If everybody believed that," Rose responds, "the First Order would win automatically. They only win if we stop fighting"

"You're making it easier for them!" Cade adds, "You put targets on your head. The First Order can easily kill all of its enemies. It's pointless".

"So we're just supposed to give in the whoever has the most powerful guns?" Rose asks, confrontationally.

"Again, you're just making it easier for them to know who to kill!" Cade says.

"Maybe if being a Rebel meant just going out into a battlefield and getting shot at," Poe interjects, aggressively, "But it's not about that; it's fighting smart, too".

"If the Rebellion failed all those years ago," Rose says, "It doesn't mean we should give up, it just means we have to learn and fight better". Cade rolls his eyes.

"You'll all die before you've won," Terr adds, "What's the point?"

"It's not for us," Rose responds, "It'll be great if we live to see the aftermath, but this isn't just for our own good, it's for everyone's… even Stormtroopers".

Everyone quiets down for a moment. Looks are exchanged.

"Cheap shot, but it's true," Viera says.

"Bottom line is, you live better if you just don't fight," Cade says, "To have a normal life, like we're about to have".

"But there are millions, if not more, across the galaxy, who can't have that normal life. Slavery, poverty, cruelty, violence, deportation, and yes, the Stormtrooper program," Rose argues, "And that's why we have to fight! You deserted to have a life because you know you deserve one just because you're alive!", she exclaims, passionately. Cade's expression denotes a catharsis, "Don't you wish you'd had a life in the first place? Don't you wish you could've at least chosen what kind of life you wanted? You've got no time left. What little time you can keep living before this machine, this madness kills you… it's nothing. I think deep down, you already know all of this," she points to the three former Stormtroopers, "At least you got this chance to desert. Millions can't. And yet you come here and tell us it's not worth fighting for? You don't get to do that". Cade, Terr, and Waldenhur look like children who were just scolded for stealing and trying to lie their way out of it.

"Enough for the day," Waldenhur says, as he crawls back into a comfortable position to sleep. His two friends do the same, without saying anything. The four Rebel heroes and Viera remain on an awkward silence.

"Are they Stormtroopers?" Viera breaks the silence by asking Rey, "Or Rebels?".

"They're not Stormtroopers anymore," Rey responds, "They deserted, but they're not Rebels".

"Speaking of which, though," Rose says, "Can you take us to your Rebel friends?"

"Yeah," she replies.

"Can you wait a few hours?" Poe asks, "Finn and I haven't slept in a while, we need to rest and… well, you already slept a while back, so… can you…?"

"Sure," Rey says, "Go ahead, rest". Finn and Poe get in their respective positions looking away from the fire. Rey pulls her backpack closer and reaches into it, looking for something.

"I'll sleep, too," Viera says, while laying down into some of the backpacks behind her, "if it's okay".

"Sure," Rey says, and then turns to Rose while pulling one of the Jedi texts from her backpack. Rose looks distraught, her eyes simply gazing at the fire while savoring the feelings she recently poured out, "Do you want one? I brought many along, I knew I'd need them for times like these," Rey offers as she pulls out another book from the backpack.

"Actually, I think I'll rest for a while," she responds, as she comes back to the tangible world, "Who knows what we might get into once we're with the Rebels", she lies and covers herself with a blanket. Rey is alone once more, with the ancient Jedi teachings in her hands, and a million thoughts in the back of her head.