There wasn't a lot of space on the speeder, so D-O, the little droid they had met on Ochi's ship, hid behind Rey. It seemed that she had gained its trust, but it was still skittish around the others.

Luke was driving the speeder, and he had insisted on stopping at the Falcon to translate the dagger. Now that he had a purpose, he gave it his full focus. Rey wondered if he had been this intense while training Ben. She looked at Finn and wondered if he was ready to be trained by Luke. Her own limited time training with Luke had been nothing like she had expected.

Rey shivered from the cold. The sun was setting, and the speeder was going at top speed. Ben must have noticed because he moved closer to her, allowing her to lean into his body heat.

D-O backed away from Ben with a startled beep, rolling back into the edge of the speeder.

Ben knelt down beside the droid. "I'm not going to hurt you."

D-O looked at Rey.

"He won't," Rey said, giving the droid a reassuring smile. "I promise." She didn't want D-O to think that any of them would treat him the way his last owner had.

D-O rolled into Ben's leg with enough speed to leave bruises.

Ben winced. "I know what you're doing, droid," he said softly, "and I'm still not going to hurt you."

"My name is Dee-Oh," it said in its squeaky and robotic voice.

"Dee-Oh," Ben said, sounding apologetic, "I won't hurt you."

D-O nodded and moved between Rey and Ben. It looked like D-O was going to give Ben a chance.

...

Far sooner than anyone travelling at a safe speed would have gotten there, they arrived at the Falcon. Luke went ahead to open the boarding ramp.

Finn sighed. "I could sleep for a standard week," he said, resting his chin on his hand. The last few days looked like they were catching up with him.

Ben snorted.

"What?" Finn asked.

"You think we're going to have time to sleep?" Ben asked, eyebrows raised.

Finn looked alarmed by Ben's words. "I hope we do."

Ben shook his head. "Luke has got it into his head that we need to get that wayfinder as soon as possible–"

"You don't agree?" Finn interrupted.

"–and you've agreed to let him teach you," Ben continued, "so you definitely aren't going to be sleeping."

Ben had a point, but he was being more dramatic than necessary. "Don't scare him off," Rey said. They were going to be busy, but there would be some time to rest. Without rest they wouldn't accomplish anything.

"I don't need to scare him off. Luke can do that well enough on his own," Ben said.

Finn crossed his arms. "I'll take my chances."

Ben mimicked Finn's posture. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Are you done talking about me?" Luke asked, standing at the foot of the boarding ramp, having clearly been listening the whole time.

Ben gave Luke a half-shrug. "Sure."

Finn looked between the two of them like he was waiting for a fight to break out, but thankfully, Ben and Luke kept their hostility verbal, neither of them getting their lightsabers out.

Rey walked towards the boarding ramp, leading everyone onto the Falcon. She didn't have the patience to deal with their posturing. "The translator is in the crew cabin," she said. D-O trailed closely behind her.

...

Rey had stored the translator on one of the top bunks. Walking over to it, she reached for where she knew she put it, but was unable to reach it. Ben came up behind her and grabbed it easily. He was warm against her back.

Ben didn't move away from her until Luke coughed. She could see the tips of his ears though his hair, and they were slightly red.

Ben handed the translator to Luke, and Luke turned it on and held it over the blade.

Nothing happened.

Luke tried again.

Nothing.

Just like Rey expected. She had doubted that the translator would be able to translate a Sith language. Knowing the location of the Sith wayfinder, but not being able to tell anyone was frustrating.

Ben must have picked up on what she was feeling. What's wrong?

This is a waste of time, she replied. We know where the wayfinder is.

"Is the translator broken?" Finn asked.

Luke sighed. "No, but it doesn't know the language. We need another option." He put the translator on the nearest bunk and attached the dagger to his belt. "Does Leia still have C-3PO?"

"Yes," Rey said. She felt a twinge of guilt when she remembered what they had done to C-3PO in the original timeline. She didn't know if she could let C-3PO get his memory wiped again, but she didn't know how to explain how she knew where the wayfinder was.

"Good." Luke nodded. "Then we need to find the Resistance." He didn't sound enthusiastic about going to the Resistance, whether that was because of having to face Leia or something else, she didn't know.

Rey hoped that more of the Resistance had survived this time. Her heart sped up, and she glanced at Ben, sensing that some of the apprehension she felt was coming from him. She hoped that Leia hadn't been injured.

"Do you have the binary beacon?" Finn asked Ben.

Ben took the binary beacon out of his pocket. "I do," he said, the blue light reflecting on his skin, drawing her attention to the cut of his jaw.

"Then we can follow its signal back to the Resistance," Finn said.

Rey forced herself to tear her eyes away from Ben.

"Only if they have the other one," Luke said with the level of pessimism she had come to expect from him.

…

When they got back on the speeder, Ben wrapped his arm around her back, and she leaned into him.

Finn and Luke pretended not to notice.

"Are you nervous to go back?" Rey asked.

"No, are you?"

"A little," she admitted. "I don't know what we'll find."

"Whatever we find," Ben said, tucking her hair behind her ear, "I'll be with you."

"You'd better be," Rey said in a tone that was meant to be threatening.

There must have been some affection in her voice because the corner of Ben's lips twitched, like he was trying not to smile. "You won't be able to get rid of me," he promised.

...

"You got it?" Han asked as soon as they stepped inside. He led them to the room where everyone was waiting.

"We did," Luke confirmed.

"Well done," Han said gruffly.

Paige and Chewie were sitting together on the couch and Rose sat in an armchair beside them.

Lando walked over to them with his arms out. "You found it, didn't you?" he asked.

Ben gave Lando a small smile. "We did," he said. It was nice to see him so comfortable with someone. He didn't have the same baggage with Lando as he did with the others.

"It needs to be translated," Luke said.

Han shrugged. "Good thing Rey fixed–"

"Already tried that," Finn said, cutting Han off. "Doesn't speak Sith."

"Threepio could do it," Luke said.

Han looked pained. "Goldenrod, really?"

"Really," Luke confirmed.

"So we're going to the Resistance?" Paige asked, her eyes lighting up. Rey wondered how many friends she had left behind and how many would be alive when they found the Resistance.

"Sounds like it," Han said.

Rose glanced at her sister. "Have any of you been able to get in touch with them?"

"Not yet," Han said, running his hand through his hair. Like his son, it was something he did when he was uncomfortable.

Chewie let out a sad moan.

Paige's shoulders tensed and she fidgeted with her tunic. "So we don't know what we're walking into."

"That's the thing about war," Han said, sounding tired, "you never know what you're walking into."

Lando clasped Han's shoulder. "But luck is on your side." He looked at Paige and Rose. "I've never met anyone luckier than Han Solo."

Neither of them looked reassured.

"I don't know about that," Han said.

"You survived dinner with Darth Vader," Lando reminded him.

Rey looked at Ben with wide eyes. She hadn't heard that story before.

"Not this story again," Ben said in a voice low enough that only Rey heard. His tone of voice made Rey imagine a young Ben hearing the same stories about his family over and over again until he got tired of them. She could see him rolling his eyes every time the stories were told.

"So did you and Chewie," Han said, pointing between Lando and Chewie. "Leia was also there."

"Han's right," Lando said. "Leia is the reason we survived, and she's with the Resistance, so they are in good hands."

Paige exhaled slowly, and Rose patted her knee.

"Lando has a point," Rose said in a steady voice that was more calming than Lando's bravado had been. "General Organa is a strong leader. We should have hope."

Rey remembered what happened in the original timeline too well to be as hopeful as Rose was.

Ben took her hand and squeezed it gently. We would have felt it if anything happened to my mom.

Rey swallowed. I know.

"Are you holding hands?" Paige asked, startling Rey.

"Be glad that's all you've seen," Luke muttered.

Rey's face heated up.

"Really?" Lando asked, looking far too smug, causing Chewie to let out a loud laugh.

"I don't want to talk about it," Finn said in a miserable voice.

He hasn't seen that much, Rey thought. He doesn't need to sound so pained by what little he has seen.

Paige and Rose shared a look that told Rey that they would be asking Finn questions later. He saw them looking at him and sighed.

Ben tried to let go of her hand, but she tightened her grip so that he couldn't. He slowly started to relax, growing more comfortable with the attention they were drawing.

Han looked down at their hands and smiled.

…

Lando had decided not to go with them. "I'll be more useful to the Resistance out here," he said.

"I'm sure Leia would be happy to see you," Han said.

Lando shook his head. "You don't need to lie." He received looks of confusion from most of the room, from everyone who had only recently met them. "Leia's not my biggest fan," he explained.

Luke snorted. "You have a point, but that was a long time ago."

"It was, but you won't change my mind," Lando said. "Before you leave, I have something for each of you." He gave out bags of varying sizes. "It's mostly food and clothes. Eat the food before it goes bad."

Lando gave Ben the biggest bag. "Promise me you'll wear some of this."

"No promises."

Rey wondered what types of clothing were in the bag.

Lando shook his head. "You need some colour in your life."

The bag he gave Rey, smaller than the one he gave Ben, was heavier than Rey had expected. "Take care of this one," Lando said, nodding at Ben. "He'll need it."

"I will," Rey promised. They would take care of each other.

…

Ben and Han had a moment alone with Lando before they left. When Ben came back, his eyes were watery.

...

Once they were on the Falcon, Han and Chewie went to the cockpit.

Finn joined Luke for training. When Luke had suggested starting their training immediately, Finn had given Ben a worried look, like he was starting to believe him about the lack of sleep in his future.

That left Rey and Ben with Paige and Rose.

"How long have you two been…" Paige said, trailing off. She gestured between Rey and Ben.

"Been what?" Rey asked, knowing what Paige meant, but needing some time to collect her thoughts.

"Been romantically involved," Paige said.

Ben looked uncomfortable, so she smiled up at him as she answered. "Since Ahch-To," she said, knowing there were many moments on Ahch-To that she could point to. There was one moment that was the most honest answer, and that moment was the first time they touched hands though their bond.

Rose was watching them carefully. "And you knew who he was the whole time?" she asked.

"Yes," Rey said, but who Ben was and who Rose thought he was weren't the same. "He is and has always been Ben Solo."

"You know that's not true," Ben said. "I–"

"It is true," Rey said, not allowing him to finish. "You did everything you could to pretend Ben Solo was dead, but you never succeeded."

"I am capable of terrible acts," he said.

"We all are," Rey reminded him.

"I agree," Rose said.

"You do?" Ben asked in a small voice.

Rose stood straight and looked certain about her answer. "You can't change the past," she told Ben. "It's what you do now that matters."

Even if Rey hadn't been able to sense some of Ben's emotions, she would have seen that Rose's words got through to Ben by the expression on his face. His forehead wrinkled, his eyes widened slightly, and his jaw tightened.

"Rose is right," Paige said. "What matters is that you're on our side now. We need all the allies we can get."

… … …

While they had a new base of operations on Ajan Kloss, the Resistance was in a precarious position. Potential allies were wary of supporting them. Instead of galvanizing potential allies, the destruction of Hosnian Prime made many of them question the value of fighting against the First Order. They didn't want to take the risk.

Leia knew there could be no peaceful coexistence with the First Order for anyone, but she understood their fear and the temptation to believe cooperation was possible.

Cooperation was nothing more than an illusion. The First Order would only allow autonomy while their strength still grew. Once their grip on power tightened, the systems they controlled would be strangled–

–just like what the Empire had done.

Leia went over their numbers again. The Resistance had enough supplies and credits to last a couple more months if they were lucky. She needed to try again. There had to be someone she could convince to support them discreetly. Discreet support wasn't what she wanted, but it was what they needed to keep fighting another day.

There was a loud knock on the door.

Leia sighed. It had sounded like an urgent knock – a there was a problem knock – a she didn't have time to deal with this knock. "Come in," she said, turning her chair to face the door.

She was still recovering from her near death experience.

Poe let himself in and closed the door. He was breathing heavily, like he had run over here, but he didn't say anything. Whatever the problem was, it was bad enough that Poe didn't know what to say.

Poe always had something to say.

Leia looked at him expectantly.

Poe winced and ran his hand through his hair. "We have a problem," he said, avoiding her eyes. "The First Order released some information." He grimaced.

"And based on the look on your face, I'm guessing it's safe to assume that information is bad for us."

"You especially."

Leia didn't let that deter her. "Well?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It'll be easier to show you." Poe pulled a data chip out of his pocket and handed it to her. "You need to see this."

She played it.

"Kylo Ren was one of our most powerful allies–" a male voice said.

Images of him in his horrible helmet and cowl appeared before her eyes. This was her first time seeing him like this.

"–Kylo Ren is dangerous–"

Despite her role as a general in the Resistance, she had avoided footage of Kylo Ren. Part of her had been eager to see proof that her son still lived, but her fear that he was following in the footsteps of Darth Vader overrode that desire.

"–Kylo Ren is a traitor–"

This footage was granier, but Ben's face was clearly recognizable. He was in a large hanger. Leia wondered if this was recent footage. Her hands tightened into fists.

"Kylo Ren," a woman's voice rang out, "what are you doing?"

"Helping the Resistance escape," Ben said, confirming both his identity and that this was recent footage.

The footage froze on a close-up of his face.

"–remember the face of Kylo Ren."

Leia drank in the sight of her son. Even though the circumstances weren't good, she couldn't help but be relieved to see proof that her son was alive and away from the First Order. If they had captured him, they never would have released this footage because it made them look weak.

They were afraid of him.

Poe cleared his throat.

"How many have seen this?" she asked.

"Too many to hide it," Poe answered, confirming her fears.

"Did they recognize him?"

He nodded. "Within seconds."

Leia closed her eyes.

"Is Kylo Ren really your son?" Poe asked. "Or was that a way to–"

Leia opened her eyes and looked at Poe. "Ben is my son," she confirmed.

Poe gave her a disappointed look. He had really come over here hoping for an explanation that was more palatable to him than the truth.

"This won't be easy to recover from," he warned.

"No," Leia agreed, "it won't be."

"What's your plan?"

"I don't have one," Leia admitted, looking back at the frozen image of her son. "Not yet."

…

Word of her son's previous identity spread through the Resistance like wildfire. Some Resistance members had doubted the rumours, but fewer than she had anticipated.

Everyone knew who her birth father was.

Leia had confirmed the rumours. She didn't want anyone to think she was ashamed of her son. That honesty had a cost that she paid gladly.

Whispers followed her wherever she went.

"–can't believe Kylo Ren–"

"–not surprised–"

"–think we should trust–"

She had endured this treatment before, but it had never cut so deeply. Leia had never felt the need to defend Darth Vader – to prove people's assumptions about him wrong–

–but Luke had tried. He had told her and Han about how Darth Vader had died as Anakin Skywalker. Leia hadn't believed Luke. One final act of good didn't undo years of evil–

–and that's what people were now saying about her son. None of them believed that there was more to him than Kylo Ren. They couldn't see past that mask he had once worn, and Leia knew then what she had only guessed at before; Ben had needed the mask to hide his humanity. Even when he had been at his darkest, he had never been as far gone as Darth Vader.

…

Good news was in short supply, so when Amilyn arrived, Leia was almost overcome with relief.

"Vice Admiral Holdo," Poe said politely, "I'm glad to see you."

"And I you, Captain Dameron."

"Actually," Poe said, sounding less smug than Leia would have expected – maybe he had learned the lesson he had needed to learn, "it's Commander Dameron again."

Amilyn raised her eyebrows. "I'm glad to hear it." She turned to Leia and gave her a soft smile. "General Organa, I'm relieved to see how well you look."

Leia huffed. "I look my age."

"I'd argue against that," Amilyn said, "but that's not what I meant. You are recovering from being in open space without any protective gear. That you're doing so well is remarkable–"

"Never underestimate me," Leia said, more for the benefit of their growing audience than for Amilyn.

Amilyn narrowed her eyes, picking up on the tension. "I would never be foolish enough to underestimate you."

"If only everyone was as wise as you are," Leia said, leading Amilyn and Poe away from prying eyes. "I'll show you to your quarters, and then we can catch each other up on everything that has happened."

...

The Falcon arrived unexpectedly. Leia was relieved that they were back, but some warning would have helped to prepare everyone for their arrival.

She still had enough sway that Ben wouldn't be taken prisoner as soon as they landed, but she didn't have enough sway to convince the rest of the Resistance that they didn't need to be armed. Even Poe, who had been one of her staunchest defenders, argued that it would be foolish not to be armed.

Only Amilyn had taken her side, but she had been subtle about it. They both knew that Amilyn needed to continue to be trusted. Her close association with Leia had already planted doubts in the minds of many.

Leia hoped she could control the inevitable explosion.

…

Luke and Finn were the first to disembark.

"Luke," Leia said under her breath, some of the tension leaving her body at the sight of her brother. He would help bolster the confidence of the Resistance. She walked towards Luke, and he met her halfway.

He looked old and tired. She wondered if that was how she looked to him. "You changed your hair," he said, speaking to her for the first time in years.