A/N: Sorry this update took so long! Started training for a new job this month and it took up most of my usual writing time. This chapter is twice as long as my usual ones to kind of make up for it lol.

Thank you JasmineRey for another lovely review :) I think I enjoy reading your reviews as much as you seem to enjoy reading my story!

Chapter 7: My Young Apprentice

Poe confidently glided through the round archway of the Falcon, "Hey, we're com—" And reflexively threw his upper body backward. "Kriff—"

Everybody's gaze fell on him—crouching with hands defending his face—and then slid over to Rey, who, confused at his (over) reaction, held her blade steadily in place. After all, she was reviewing the form slowly enough she wouldn't have hit him… "Do you ever stop swinging that thing around?" He complained in the specific pitch he reserved for aggravation, side stepping her to stand fully in the main hold, "Why do you have to be like this?"

Rey indifferently continued her review, starting over from the step Poe interrupted. She'd already told him this hundreds of times before, but she reiterated, "Leia instructed that I train whenever I could."

Yeah and she had been. For the entirety of the mission—almost three weeks—she'd been floating, and swinging the laser-sword, and lifting crates with her mind, and inadvertently driving Poe nuts. "Yeah. I was there," Poe threw his hand in the air and let it come back to slap his side, "I don't think she meant every waking second." Seeking back-up, he tossed an expectant look at Finn. But instead of agreeing, Finn jokingly commented to the Abednedo on his left, "He's just jealous the General didn't give him special orders."

"I am not." Then, quieter but still wearily eyeing her ever-moving saber, he appealed to Rey, "To be honest, I think your Jedi stuff is a bit intimidating to the recruits."

But the recruits, at least the few who were lounging nearby, spoke for themselves. The Abednedo was first to reassure the pilot, "No, man, we're good," in his own language. Followed by a dark-skinned humanoid, "It's pretty cool actually..." and finally, a scruffy blonde man, "I think you're the only one intimidated, mate." To add insult to injury, BB8's teasing beeps were added to the mix. Whose droid was he, anyway?

Poe started his rebuttal, "I'm—" but between the sputtering laughter of Finn and the smirk Rey was trying to hide, he gave up and moved on. "I need you by the way. We're coming out of hyperspace."

The Jedi deactivated her saber with a bemused look at him, "You know, that's all you had to come in and say."

Poe let her pass, and they headed for the cockpit, "Well that was the plan and then you nearly singed my eyebrows off."

Finn rolled his eyes and got up to go with them. He didn't contribute much in the way of piloting, but they all enjoyed being together (even if it didn't currently sound like it). Plus, Finn was the self-assigned mediator. Out in the hallway, Rey's voice carried, "Don't be dramatic. It wasn't even close to you..."

Rey and Poe were becoming friends. They certainly had closer bonds with Finn, but were gradually finding a level of comfortability with each other. They bickered a lot. But that was only because, between being equally impressed and intimidated by her abilities, Poe didn't know how else to reach out and Rey just mirrored him. She was a tough one to crack and immune to his charm, which was frustrating to no end for someone who grew up as the golden flyboy of the New Republic. They were most in-sync and content in each other's company when co-piloting the Falcon, so he usually took advantage of that time to get to know her on equal ground. With coordinated flips of switches, toggles of buttons, and smooth pulls of the steering levers, the blurry starfield shrank away and gave view to a planet swaddled in an expanse of thick, atmospheric clouds. Different planet, same Resistance, ready to welcome them home.

"On the approach," Poe declared, after sending a signal from the beacon connected to the Falcon's navi-computer. "Should reach atmo in a standard twenty."

The woman nodded and switched off the manual. They wouldn't need it again for a bit. "Landing legs?"

The man pulled a lever above his head, "Priming now," then reached into a pouch wedged between his seat and the wall. "Gelfruit or crelnut bar?" One thing he'd learned about Rey…she was always hungry. Which was kind of sad, but at least it'd given the three of them a tradition of snacking on the way in.

Their new location starkly contrasted Caloria. The planet's dying red sun and its light, diffused through navy gases, cast a purple haze over what you could see of the planet's surface. The dense vapor would be able to hide an armada of large ships (eventually, Leia hoped), though it lent to a ceaseless drizzle of rain. It took a lot of careful, cohesive, piloting on Rey and Poe's part to safely navigate the upper atmosphere.

Eventually, the base was visible. It looked smaller than normal because all the space crafts were compacted together and the crevices between them were linked by tarps, as if the whole camp were huddling under cover from the rain. "Base sweet base," Finn sighed blissfully and propped his feet up on the console, to which both friends gave him such a disapproving look, that he quickly removed them. All of them were ready to spread out over a larger space than the Corellian freighter provided. Rey was especially ready to be back to the schedule she'd grown accustomed to. The length always differed, depending on other duties that needed to be fulfilled for the Resistance, but Leia made sure she and Rey worked twice a day. An early period for meditative study and force abilities. And an afternoon or evening period for lightsaber skills, combat forms, and building stamina.

One of the things Rey appreciated most was their recent morning routine. Often, Leia would get up a couple hours before Rey and squeeze in tasks from her to-do list. That way, she was able to stretch their training sessions longer. Rey woke with the sun—a habit formed on Jakku—and met Leia in the briefing area where she tended to work. Sometimes it was Han's Gatalentan tea and a nutribar, sometimes a bowl of bran-oat mush, other times, a piece of moogan fruit and a polystarch bun…but the General never failed to have an extra meal waiting by hers on the table. "Good morning, my young apprentice," said with an exaggerated tone and small snort, was the usual greeting. Leia understood the concept of being called 'Master' when teaching, that made sense. However, she found the idea of constantly addressing Rey in kind as 'my young apprentice,' both theatrical and impersonal—even if the old texts heavily encouraged the formality—and used the title mostly as a joke. Anyways, the apprentice always returned a good-humored smile and the two would head to their designated training area (on Caloria, it was the cave) and chat over breakfast while the sun climbed the sky.

Rey had really missed those mornings.

After landing, while Poe, Finn, and BB8 lingered to enter the recruits in the rank database, Rey slipped on her Resistance-issue climate jacket and set off through the camp. She passed a mismatched seating area—where Jess Pava and Nien Nub had set up a grub station—and waved to Chewie who was gulping down a fresh bowl of stew. Rey's stomach rumbled at the aroma wafting through. Down another row, Rose and Snap were running virtual flight-path scenarios with a group of pilots. No sign of Leia, so she continued.

"We're not giving them five thousand credits to deliver a message. Find me a reasonable contact," the General's voice commanded, up the way.

In reply, the voice of Lieutenant Connix chimed, "Yes, ma'am. I'll be back."

"If I may suggest—"

"No, Threepio, you may not. Go check if the Falcon has come in."

The young Jedi turned the corner, nearly avoiding a collision with outbound Connix, and found Leia, Threepio, and D'acy in the new (to Rey) briefing area. "We're in."

All three looked up in acknowledgment. D'acy cheerfully smiled, Threepio looked stunned (as always), "Oh! Mistress Rey! What a delight to see you've returned."

"Hello Threepio," she humored him sweetly.

"Rey, you made it safe," addressed The General.

She seemed as pleased to see Rey, as Rey was to see her, and that made Rey's heart warm. What Rey really wanted, was to dart over and give her Master a tight hug. She knew the older woman would've been polite and indulged her, but still held back from it. It was an ongoing (and needless) worry of Rey's not to cross the thin line of familiarity and disrespect with Leia. It was easy for Rey to be openly affectionate with Finn, BB8, and even Chewie. But for some reason, around General Organa, Rey self-complicated it. Maybe because Leia was a commander of war, royalty in more ways than one, and a monumental figure in so many lives, that Rey felt she deserved the honor of perpetual officialism. Maybe it was because Rey had never known a relationship with a parental figure, and didn't know how to express that feeling of kinship without feeling embarrassed or awkward. It could've been because her short-lived bond with Leia had become like a lightfly caught in a child's hand; it was something small but something cherished, and she was afraid that with a slip of her palm, it'd either be crushed or escape through her fingers, like it had with Han. It was probably all three.

So instead, she stepped over some tubing and crossed the cramped space to dutifully return the lightsaber, "I trained every chance I could. I think you'll be happy with my Ataru; I've been working on the shoulder placement."

"Perfect." remarked the Master, safely tucking the weapon into a nearby designated case. "I've already developed some exercises for the next form." Leia then gestured outward, "Notice anything different around the base?"

Rey furrowed her eyebrows and moved where she could see the breadth of the camp, past the spare fighter-wing that created a divider between the briefing area and everything else. She hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary on the way in. She scanned left, scanned right…then she caught it: a compact vehicle in the corner where the trooper helmets were set up for target practice. "Is that a new craft?"

"A civilian transport," Leia shrugged, joining her at the makeshift door, "Small but—"

Rey nodded earnestly, "—good for undercover operations." The amount of time Leia and Rey spent together lately was beginning to manifest in little ways. For instance, the ease in which they followed each other's train of thought.

"It was hell to get it," Leia rolled her eyes, "but I'm glad we have it." She didn't elaborate on the story and Rey didn't feel the need to ask; it would probably come up during breakfast someday soon. Off in the distance, The General spotted Finn and Poe leading a group their way. It had been a pleasant surprise when Finn sent the last update, detailing the final number of those they managed to enlist. "I'm impressed with the number of recruits." They'd come back with twelve and she'd only sent them after a particular three.

Rey modestly deflected the praise, "It was mostly Poe. He nearly inspired a rally on Brixon Prime." Him and Finn were so good with people.

Leia shook her head, "He shows so much potential sometimes…" Then arched her eyebrow at Rey, "if he could just keep his head out of his cockpit." Then they both shared a chuckle. "So, any of them stand out?"

Rey squinted, "Fadros used to be a botanist…he talked to me about the plant life on Felucia for hours…" Then a certain face popped in the crowd and Rey let out a small gasp. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten. That should've been the first thing she told the General. "And Beaumont." She turned excitedly to Leia, "He's a slicer now, but he was a history professor on Hosnian Prime before it was destroyed."

"Interesting," commented Leia, unsure of the fact's significance.

"He specializes in ancient codes and ciphers."

Oh. Leia's chin dropped, in something close to disbelief, "That's exactly what we need." One of the Jedi text journals had been too difficult for them to study. Threepio translated what was available, as he'd done the other materials. The cover page was a poem, the next ten or so pages were blank, and the rest of the translated entries made no sense. It was obvious it had to be coded. But finding a code key and deciphering it was beyond what Rey, Leia and Threepio could wrap their heads around without assistance. Facing the group, she inclined her head towards Rey, "Point him out."

Rey inclined her head too. Though the unit was several feet away, the two women kept their volume discreet as they peered at them. "To the right of Finn, three back. Dark yellow hair."

Imperceptibly, the General's eyes narrowed, "The short one in all brown?"

"Mhm."

"I'll be sure to pull him aside," Leia mentally took note, "We might could get him started on it tomorrow." To that, Rey agreed silently.

As they waited to be joined, Leia subtly observed her student. Rey had regained her confidence in spades, compared to the rut she'd been in after Crait. The recent time away had lit her fire for learning even brighter than before, and her optimism over the new members—and the subsequent upward progress—of the Resistance was infectious. It was wonderful to see the desert child so content. (Or as content as any of them could be). War kept Leia busy enough these past couple weeks, but she had to admit, she missed cramming hours she didn't have into sessions of coaching. And while she was no stranger to the notion, breakfast just wasn't the same without stories of scaling old star destroyers and babble about Finn's sleep talking.

She would've hugged her young apprentice…but Rey, while clearly wanting for connection, was funny about those sorts of things around her. Leia never took offense. She could sense Rey respected her, cared for her, maybe even looked up to her too. And she figured Rey's childhood circumstances had affected how readily she expressed attachment to certain individuals. Older ones, for sure, so she didn't want to push. As an alternative, she gave Rey's wrist an affectionate little squeeze. "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back, Master." Rey smiled and the moment faded.

"Four more sets."

Rey hurled herself backwards with knees tucked for quicker rotation. When her feet touched, she immediately dropped to catch herself parallel to the ground, hopped to bring her feet to her hands, rolled forward and stood to complete the set. Leia had upped the regular ten to twenty-five today and every muscle in Rey's body was burning.

"Use the energy around you." The Teacher was positioned facing Rey's side to evaluate her execution of movement. Since the girl was starting to sacrifice correct posture for the sake of endurance, Leia compromised, "You can slow down but don't stop."

Obediently, Rey sucked in a breath and willed her body to keep pushing. She could survive two more if she focused on her technique instead of her aching lungs. Leia shouldn't have to correct her a sixth time on breaking the line in her plank.

"You can make it," encouraged the older woman, pacing to the other side. "Get this last one higher."

Rey reached deep, mustered the force, and heaved herself into one last set. Then as soon as she was finished, she collapsed into a seated position on the ground and tried to regain a normal tempo of breathing. "Well done," Leia commended, handing Rey's canteen to her. The latter asked, "Was my plank okay?" before she started gulping the water.

"Your plank's improved. I know you can get higher though." Rey nodded in acceptance of the criticism but kept chugging. "When you run out of stamina, it's easy to concentrate only on what your body's experiencing," Leia expounded, "But it needs to be instinct to focus and fall back on the Force, like you did for the last set. Use it at your lowest to get through—excel, even—so that when you're weak, you're actually strong."

Wiping drops of escaped water from her chin, Rey promised, "I'll have it down."

"You will," Leia fixed her with a pleasantly patient smile, "These things take time. For years on Jakku, you relied solely on practical reflexes and physical instinct."

Rey stated, "That's all I thought I had," as if she needed to explain herself.

"I was the same. As soon as I understood my connection to the Force, I had to retrain some of my thought process to embrace the potential." She offered her arm to help the girl up, "And you, my young apprentice..." They shared a knowing smirk at the joke and Rey accepted Leia's help, but was sure to lift most of her own weight."...have boundless potential. Reminds me of—" Her sentence trailed off into oblivion. And suddenly, the light in Leia's eyes was dim.

It caused Rey's face to fall solemn as well. "Of Ben."

No time to dwell on grief in Leia's life. She took a deep breath and shook it off with a click of her tongue. "I wonder what they've got going for dinner," she mused, and headed for the opposite end of the base.

Rey, of course, fell into step with her. As they walked, she couldn't help but ponder how strange Leia must've felt, training a stranger from nowhere to defeat her own son. How disappointed she must've been that he never reached his true potential as a Skywalker, a Jedi, or even a person. Was she distressed that another student of light might follow his footsteps? It had to have been a concern, even in the slightest, right? Rey would've been concerned. Unsure at first, if she should drag the topic back to the surface, Rey bit the bullet. "Kylo may have failed you, Master. But I won't."

General Organa's eyebrows furrowed. Had Rey sensed something about herself, her origin, that she felt she needed to refute? Rey couldn't have suspected yet. If Leia knew her at all (and she was certainly learning a lot), Rey would be crying tears of devastation. No, Rey's comment was zealous. She was reassuring Leia of her allegiance, after the mention of Ben.

"I'll be strong and grounded." Rey abruptly stopped in her tracks, so Leia did too. Rey poured as much sincerity as she could into her gaze, her voice, because she really did mean it with everything she had. She was determined to be the light the galaxy so sorely needed. To make Master Skywalker and Master Organa proud. And she never, even for a second, wanted to give them cause to doubt that. "I won't let myself be seduced by the dark side. I promise you."

"No." Leia shook her head and took Rey's shoulders. She knew Rey couldn't understand the full meaning when she corrected, "I promise you."

"General Organa!" Officer Tico uncomfortably interrupted. "Intel on The Tantive IV came in."

Snap was obstinate, his arms crossed over his chest, "I don't like it. Smells like a trap." Raindrops beat on the tarp above their heads as the small group of need-to-knows gathered in the briefing area. Leia's eyelids were already heavy with aggravation, caused by the group's heated debate.

"Exactly," a fired-up Poe threw both hands in the air, "Who insists on a dignitary visit without allowing guards?" He answered some of Artoo's emphatic beeps with, "Yeah! Ridiculous."

D'acy was quick to come to the rescue of the opposing view. She calmly addressed everyone around the table, palms open, "Alderaan and its neighboring planets have always been non-violent and armament free. This isn't a new prerequisite."

The Tantive was currently in the possession of a noble family on Delaya, one of Alderaan's two sister planets, in their respective sector. It had been a place of solace and new beginnings for many Alderaanians who were off-world when the planet was destroyed. Rose and Kaydel tracked down and reached out to the family—avid culture collectors, who were more than thrilled to speak with representatives of Princess Organa. But the matter quickly blew out of proportion and now the planet's government was involved. Leia hadn't visited Delaya since she came to formally mourn her homeworld, years ago, after the fall of the Empire.

"Besides, these are refugees and political admirers," Kaydel shrugged. "They just want an appearance." The government was willing to return The Tantive, donate two YC-123B transport haulers, and a handful of RZ-1 A-wing interceptors, if Princess Leia would make the trade personally and spend a few days there to bolster the public. For Leia, it was a no brainer. Obviously, this was an offer she couldn't refuse. For several of her high command Resistance members, it was a risk too good to be true. She agreed, but to her, the benefits far outweighed the potential danger.

Kare's eyes rolled, "Then they should show some respect and ask. It just feels like a First Order ambush. Why else would they dangle these ships in front of our noses?"

"They wouldn't be this strict with procedure." Leia interjected assuredly, "They'd make any exceptions necessary to get me down there and wouldn't mind how many troops I brought to the slaughter. I don't think they bear any ill will."

Finn grimaced and leant forwards on the makeshift table. No one had brought up his next point, "They may not. And they probably aren't working with the First Order…but we never know when the First Order is gonna pop up out of nowhere. Especially if they regularly scan the system." Chewbacca let out a roar of accord and even those for the other end of the argument were nodding their heads.

Alderaan's sector was frequently scanned by The First Order—something that started recently, with the ascendancy of the new Supreme Leader. Any Resistance activity near the area could incite violence towards an unarmed, unprepared, planet. They sought to avoid a fate like that of Alderaan's. So, to make sure The First Order left the sector alone, Delaya requested The Princess be discreetly escorted to their moon's space port. Once she was within the DSF's care, the Resistance ships would vacate the sector, leaving a select few individuals behind for transfer of the donated ships. The Princess would spend a few days on Delaya, as a dignitary visit for the people, but also as a way to keep the traffic in the sector as slow and spread out as usual, while the ships were brought to the port and subsequently left the sector to join the fleet. At the end of her visit, the process with Leia's departure would be the same. A team of Delayan pilots would escort Leia (via the Tantive) back to the spaceport, and the last of the Resistance team waiting, would take it from there. The catch of the whole trip, again, was that Leia could not be accompanied to the planet by anyone with ties traced back to rebellion. While that was a shrewd precaution to take…it wasn't a wise plan in the event the First Order appeared anyway.

"That's true," Connix sighed. "I hadn't thought about that."

D'acy's stance started to falter too, "Maybe it is too risky."

"Are Rose and Rey the only ones who understand how vital this deal is? " lamented the General.

"I don't think it's wise either," declared Rey, who until that point had been quietly observing, thinking. She tried not to let Leia's irritated sigh bother her or alter her opinion. "Alone planetside would be one thing. Alone in the entire sector is another." If the First Order were to appear in the sector, even by sheer coincidence, their General would be stuck and the Resistance would be too far away to come to her aid quickly enough.

"I won't be alone. We'll have pilots on the spaceport."

"A few. And they won't even have vehicles to intervene." General Organa was the guiding light of The Resistance. The glue. "We can't afford to lose you, Master." The choice of title Rey used was not lost on the Princess. When together in an official Resistance capacity, Rey had always reverted to 'General'. But here, she was tactfully making a statement, reminding Leia that more was at stake. The Resistance couldn't function without their leader, true. But truer still, the Apprentice would be lost without her Master. Her training was far from complete. The General's next counterargument held a kinder tone, "This is the easiest trade offer we'll ever get. We can't afford not to take the chance."

Poe asserted, "Fine. But I say we stick to our demand of an escort." And Finn reinforced, "If your presence is really what they want, they'll concede, and we'll get the ships." Everyone in the group supported that idea.

Everyone except Rose, who shook her head and gestured with her bladed hand, "They're not going to make an exception to thousands of years of law and tradition, not even for Princess Leia. And definitely not with their entire planet at stake of attack." She had the recent communiques pulled up in front of her along with the planet's list of protocols and restrictions. "I've asked and asked. There's no way of getting around this. They refuse to grant entry to anyone who holds rank in the Resistance. And if the General doesn't show up, the deal is off."

"What, 'General' isn't a military rank?" spat Poe. The sarcasm wasn't aimed at Rose explicitly, but at the double standards Delaya's security forces were trying to impose.

Rose lifted her shoulder. "To them she's royalty. The title of Princess supersedes General."

Snap's face twisted in bewilderment, "But she's still a general."

"How do they even know who holds rank anyway?"

"Anybody with Leia is obviously involved with the Resistance."

Leia was sick of this. "Enough!" Her hand slammed the table and her voice raised two levels above everyone else's, "The fact is, I won't always be here. That's why I'm training and recruiting capable leaders to carry on after I'm gone. We can't let my safety affect every decision we make. We desperately need these ships if we're going to rebuild our Navy and survive." Then, putting an end to the dispute, she announced, "I'm going."

When many voices erupted in protest, The General held her hand up as a demand for silence. No one dared disobey. "Pava, prime Artoo. Commander, put together a team and prep the civilian craft. Connix and Tico, stay with me. Everyone else dismissed." Rey and Poe exchanged anxious expressions across the way but before the Scavenger took her leave, Leia quietly instructed, "Stay nearby."

Once the group dispersed, Leia moved to look over Rose's shoulder at the datapad while Connix stood at the ready for orders. "In theory, would they grant entry to a family member? Another Organa."

"Of course. In theory."

Connix piped up, "Are you contemplating bringing someone in as Ben?" Poe could pull it off, she thought.

"Not quite." The idea had crossed her mind but, no doubt, anyone with access to the galactic holonet could find old NR holos of Ben Organa-Solo and compare. She pointed to another tab and ordered Tico to, "Pull up Lor San Tekka. He served a term as our ambassador on Delaya, didn't he?"

"Yes General." Rose confirmed, "Two terms."

The two girls waited for further enlightenment as Leia sank deep in thought, her chin between her thumb and forefinger. "I'll bring Rey. Let's get Beaumont in here for some slicing." Since her eyes cut to Connix as she said it, Kaydel assumed the task of fetching him. "And send Rey back in, please."

"Start a new holo-thread with the DSF, confidential mark 10."

Rose's fingers hovered over the screen, "What am I telling them?"

"That I'm bringing my daughter."

Author's Note:
Thank you so much for reading this chapter! Your click on my story means a great deal to me. If you have a minute to spare, a couple seconds, please leave a review of what you thought or what you're excited might come next. Even if it's just two or three words, it really inspires me to keep on with this story and work hard to come up with more interesting chapters. Especially after my nearly-a-month lull in updating.

You guys...we're getting full Rey Solo wish fulfillment in the next couple chapters! Who's ready?