They woke a few hours later to the soft hum of the Falcon's ion engines speeding through hyperspace. Rey dressed in her typical all white garb, twisting her hair back into a low braid that trailed down the length of her back. She wore longer arm wraps in preparation for the hot desert sun and shimmied into a pair of tall brown boots to keep out the sand. Ben dressed in a tan tunic and brown pants, a brown cowl over his shoulders and back, and a thick brown belt fastened around his waist. He slipped on a pair of dark brown boots and gloves. Lastly, he tied the top half of his hair up to keep it out of his face. Rey loved the way it showed off more of his beautiful features.

Rikk was already dressed and waiting in the central cabin of the Falcon as Ben and Rey emerged from their room. C-3PO was the first to greet them, joyous as ever. "Miss Rey, Master Solo, I do hope you had a good rest."

Rey blushed to herself as she thought of what they had done a few hours ago. Ben was stoic beside her as he stared at the droid, but she sensed the quiver in his heartbeat.

"Yes, 3PO thank you. How far are we from Pasaana?" She asked.

"We are very close, only about one hour left in our journey." 3PO replied obediently.

"And Chewie and Lando? They're still on course?"

"Just ahead of us. Right on course."

"Good." Rey said. "Get them on the comms. I want to find out where we're landing."

"Oh yes, right away." C-3PO shuffled off.

Rey shifted her focus to Rikk. He wore the most practical outfit she had ever seen him in, a simple quarter length sleeve tunic tucked into black pants and tall leather boots. His blaster was secured low around his hips on a belt, which sported a few other utilities - binoculars, a canteen, and a long bladed knife.

There was a distinct, underlying tension between Rikk and Ben that rippled through the force, as if in a standoff. Rey ignored it. She didn't have time to entertain their little feud - there were far more pressing matters at hand.

"So-" Rikk rose to his full height and crossed his arms, "what do you know about this planet?"

Rey shrugged, "I don't know much about it, we didn't spend much time there. Their people are called the Aki-Aki. We were there during their festival of ancestors, it was incredible. As if the war didn't even exist."

Rikk nodded, "So I've heard. And these Aki-Aki, did they seem...peaceful?"

"Of course. In fact, they welcome offworlders." Rey smiled to herself as she remembered the necklace Nambi Ghima gave her. Then her thoughts turned dark and her fists balled at her sides, "I hate the idea of bad people taking advantage of them."

"Hmmm..." Rikk agreed. "And they're so isolated out here."

"The Sith, First Order, Empire, whatever you want to call it...they're notorious for hiding in the shadows of these remote systems." Ben commented, "They're easier to control, manipulate. Pasaana is pre-starflight too, so not a lot of options for their people to escape the planet."

Rey nodded, "No space junk and parts lying around like on Jakku."

"I can think of some." Ben remarked as he nudged Rey and winked down at her.

The sound of frantic mechanical footsteps made its way back into the main cabin. Their heads turned to the droid. "Miss Rey, General Calrissian has identified our landing site. Just outside the Aki-Ktura farming community."

"Thanks 3PO." Rey looked to Ben and tilted her head towards the cockpit.


Towering buttes of tan, red, and orange granite and sandstone filled the window of the Falcon's cockpit as they sped through the Pasaana atmosphere. Lando and Chewie's ship soared just ahead of them as they followed their lead. Ben angled the Falcon deftly as he lowered towards the ground, kicking up clouds of sand - so much sand. Despite the desert terrain, Rey thought Pasaana was nothing like Jakku. Pasaana was bursting with life and culture, where Jakku was a graveyard. And people actually wanted to come to the isolated planet. Pasaana drew in thousands of visitors during their festival season, all manner of species from surrounding sectors came to experience the explosion of culture and color that she had witnessed just weeks ago.

"R2, stay with the ship." Rey called over her shoulder as they exited down the Falcon's bay door. R2 beeped in disappointment, but turned back obediently. Ben and Rikk flanked her with 3PO trailing close behind.

They had landed just on the outskirts of Aki-Ktura, in the farmlands. Metal electro-sifters used for dustgrain farming stood tall and dotted the landscape all the way to the horizon. Rey wondered how it was possible to farm anything out here where there was nothing but sand.

As they approached, she heard Chewie grumble and Lando slapped his furry shoulder "...was good flying with you again too, bud."

Lando turned to address them as they stood just outside their ship. "Welcome to Aki-Ktura!" He spread his arms out ceremoniously. "Well, the farmlands anyways."

"Why have we landed so far out?" Rey asked. She squinted against the sun as she looked off towards the horizon. The air was distorted by the heat but Rey could spot the gathering of sand-colored buildings just a few hundred yards away.

"Yeah, about that...I don't want them to know we're here cause I'm not totally sure what's going on." Lando nodded towards the community. "Jesba-Be Issa and Fadda-Rarb Arda are the ones who contacted me, they live here. But something was off about their transmission...they were acting like..." Lando drifted off as he searched for the words.

"Like what?" Rikk asked.

"Like somebody was watching them."

Rikk stiffened. 3PO let out an "Oh dear." Rey frowned and looked back towards the community. A sense of something malevolent seemed to radiate from Aki-Ktura. Her eyes floated up to Ben. He looked down to her and nodded slightly. He felt it too.

"Ok. Who are Jesba and Fadda?" Rey asked.

"They're the tribal guardians of the children here. The Aki-Aki raise them communally. " Rey saw her worry reflected in Lando's eyes as he spoke.

"How can we be sure this isn't some sort of trap?" Ben questioned.

"We can't, kid. But that's why I brought you." Lando gestured towards them and glanced at the lightsabers at their hips.

She was suddenly overcome with the urgency of just getting there already. Knowing there were children involved, who were potentially in danger, seared her chest with a burning worry. She couldn't wait anymore. "So, how do we get to them?"


The walk across the farmlands to Aki-Ktura felt impossibly long, as if Rey couldn't move her boots fast enough through the sand. They ordered 3PO to stay on Lando's ship and the droid gleefully agreed, turning at once and mumbling the whole time about how he had experienced enough action for a millenia during his last trip to Pasaana.

The rest of them split up, Rey, Ben, and Chewie as one unit and Rikk and Lando as the other. Their plan was simple: enter the town as casual visitors whose ship broke down in their farmlands while Rey, Ben, and Chewie snuck in to flank them in case things went south. She didn't like it, especially because they were sending Lando and Rikk in there unarmed. Ben had strapped both their blasters to his utility belt, just in case, and Lando donned his helmet to seal his identity. The plan was just unstructured enough to know that Lando and a Solo had been involved in its design, but they didn't have much of a choice.

The details of the small community slowly came into view as they approached. Aki-Ktura was sandwiched in between two towering rock formations, protecting it from the wind and sand. Tan huts and small buildings of fabric and hand-made stone made up a peaceful and quaint community. Rey thought it looked like what Mos Eisley would have looked like, based on Luke's descriptions. But the darkside of the force was pulsing against Rey's mind as if coming from the town itself. It grew stronger and louder, like hundreds of voices screaming in her head as they drew closer.

Her mind quieted when Ben grabbed her hand. "Your mind is stirring. Breathe, Rey. You have to relax. Take control of your thoughts, don't let them control you."

She sighed with relief at his touch. "It's so difficult. I'm just so...angry that anyone would bother this world and the people here."

"I know, I am too and I sense Lando feels protective over these people. He must have grown close to them while he was here."

Rey nodded in agreement and he squeezed her hand tighter as they kept walking, as if he feared she would ignite her saber right there and bolt towards the town. "I won't let you lose control, Rey. Let me help you." She felt a calming reassurance press against her mind, and wrap like a warm ribbon through her thoughts. The anger she felt began to subside slightly and the air seemed more clear.

Focus...

Ben's thumb rubbed against the side of her hand, a silent affirmation. Chewie grumbled softly in encouragement.

At last, they reached the entrance of the city. They made eye contact with Lando and Rikk, who signaled the ready. Rey nodded and she took off with Ben and Chewie, weaving their way through the small tan buildings.

Lando had said the population of the town was somewhere around 3,000, so the pit in Rey's stomach grew when they hadn't spotted any life upon entering the city. After a while, the trio stopped at the side of a building, hunched low behind a stack of woven baskets. Rey peaked her head around the side and spotted Lando and Rikk still walking slowly down the main street of Aki-Ktura.

She turned back to Ben and Chewie, all pressing their backs against the stone. "Something isn't right. This place is a bloody ghost town, no one's here!" She whispered.

Ben's eyebrows raised as he looked up. "These buildings are close enough together for us to get from one to the other." He nodded to a nearby ladder up against the next building over. "Let's get a bird's eye view. Chewie, you move with us on the ground. We need eyes here."

Chewie grumbled his disapproval but they quickly climbed up the ladder and began to hop from one building to the next. The alley ways in between the buildings were covered with decorative cloths to shield from the sun, so if they kept quiet, they would be undetected from anyone on the ground.

Heat was building in Rey's legs as they ran and Ben deftly kept up with her. The desert sun was unforgiving as it beat down on them, but nothing she wasn't used to. She sensed Ben was glad he now wore a loose, tan tunic instead of the stifling all-black gear. They continued on, heading for the center of town where Lando had said the tribal guardian's communal home would be. It was the largest structure in Aki-Ktura, a domed, sand colored building dedicated to raising the children of the community and the worship of life, which the Aki-Aki so heavily valued. There, they would find Jesba and Fadda.

Suddenly, Rey heard unfamiliar voices coming from the main street. They skidded to a halt, chests heaving, and Ben signaled for Chewie to hold. They ducked low and pivoted, making their way towards the street. As they got closer, Rey could hear a distorted voice through the vocoder of a helmet speaking with authority.

"...nothing for you here. Now turn around and go back where you came from."

Ben and Rey dropped down to their stomachs, the sun-soaked stone roof warming the front of their bodies as they inched closer to the side overlooking the street. Chewie was just below them, ducked behind a stack of supply crates. Rey's eyes narrowed as she saw two figures in stormtrooper's armor, both unpolished and tarnished from weeks of neglect. One wore his helmet and the other looked almost comical without it, but they both carried blasters which were aimed at her friends. She felt that urgency bubble up again in her chest.

Lando stepped forward and began to speak but was immediately cut off by both of the ragged stormtroopers.

"I said get back!" The helmeted one said as they both raised their blasters directly at her friend's heads. Her stomach dropped and she looked at Ben with wide eyes. His black hair stuck to his neck which pilled with sweat and the muscles under his shirt looked as though he was ready to pounce at any moment.

Time to go. Ben shot into her head. She nodded at once and together they bolted to their feet, Ben simultaneously shouting down to Chewie.

"What the-?" The troopers whirled, searching for the source of the noise. Chewie roared and fired a fatal blow with his bow caster to one of the troopers, sending them flying backwards into the adjacent building. Rey and Ben leapt down to the street, kicking up tiny sand clouds around their boots. Ben shot out a hand, viciously grabbing the other remaining stormtrooper with the force and yanked him backwards until he slammed into the hard ground, completely unconscious.

Ben nodded to Rikk and Lando, tossing their blasters to them.

"Well that didn't last long." Rikk mumbled, catching the blaster.

"We've lost the element of surprise, they'll know we're here." Lando said. Chewie groaned in response. "I know, Chewie, we don't know who they are yet. We've got to keep moving - fast." Lando primed his blaster in hand.

"Stay alert!" Rey warned as they hustled forward.


The first thing Rey's eyes locked on were the children. She guessed there were nearly 20 of the tiny, adorable creatures who all wore the same fearful and confused expression on their swollen faces. It was a stark contrast from the joy she had seen, and felt, beaming from them at the festival just weeks prior. They shivered behind two tall adult Aki-Aki, who Rey guessed were Jesba and Fadda, their tiny eyes shifting frantically between their protectors and the surrounding stormtroopers.

Then, she noticed how outnumbered they were - by a lot. Where had they all come from? How the hell had they survived the Battle of Exegol? A woman in the center of the room stood out from the others, clearly their leader. She wore a First Order officer's uniform, though it was barely recognizable now from all the dust and torn fabric. Her blonde hair was cropped short to the nape of her neck, matching the stern and cruel features of her face. She stood in the center of the room, almost as if she was at attention, waiting for them to burst through the front door.

When her eyes landed on Ben, her stoic facade nearly cracked for a half a second, but she composed herself.

"You." She spat, eyes dark and narrowed at Ben.

"General Engell?" He sounded just as surprised as Rey felt.

"Well then. I see the rumors were true. Word traveled fast that our own Supreme Leader had betrayed us just when we were on the verge of invincibility. I must admit I'm surprised to see that you lived." She snarled at him. Then her eyes floated to Rey, then Lando, Rikk, and Chewie who stood close behind. "Or that these fools let you live."

Rey pressed into Ben's mind for answers, and found images of this woman leading the First Order's stormtrooper program. It made Rey sick how cruel and unforgiving she was, seeing each new world to fall under the First Order banner as a bountiful source of children to brainwash into loyal stormtroopers.

Children like Finn. And Jannah.

Anger boiled inside Rey. Even now, these troopers surrounding her were still under the extinct First Order's spell.

Engell continued. "Now, aren't you curious how we survived?" Her head cocked to the side sarcastically. "Once we witnessed the disastrous failure of that fleet on Exegol, several of us decided to take a page out of your book-" she motioned to Ben "-and abandon the hopeless fight. We only had enough fuel in the escape pods to get us to Pasaana, but it was enough to get us here and find these deeply hospitable creatures." She gestured to the frightened Aki-Aki behind her. "Most of them ran off, many we had to unfortunately eliminate due to their treachery. Someone must continue our great work, even if we must start from the ashes."

It was infuriating to Rey the way she spoke, with false authority and condescension. "You're holding them against their will for a cause that is dead." Rey sneered as she grew more impatient.

"It lives." Engell snapped back with finality, her eyes burning into Reys. "Obedience and order will always persevere and we are the seeds of that jurisdiction."

What the hell is wrong with this woman? Rey sent the thought to Ben.

Though she could sense his heightened annoyance, she would never stop being amazed at how maddeningly calm Ben could keep his voice. "You really believe you can start a new order with this?" Ben motioned to her entourage. "Don't be a fool. You'd be crushed before you even left this planet."

General Engell stuck her chin out and raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really?" She motioned to the stormtroopers surrounding them and they all raised their blasters in their direction. Rikk, Lando, and Chewie raised theirs in return. Chewie let out a low growl. Rey stiffened, ready to wield her saber or the force, whichever was needed first.

Ben, unafraid, took a careful step forward. "You're not getting out of here alive, Engell."

Engell smiled wickedly, "Wrong again." She quickly turned on her heel, snatching up one of the children by their colorful cloak. Jesba and Fadda flailed and cried out, desperately reaching for the child, but two stormtroopers held them back. The child squealed and whimpered as Engell dangled it in front of her, unclipped her blaster, and held the barrel to the child's head.

Ben stepped forward and gasped, holding his hand out towards the child. "No!" His voice boomed as he yelled.

A fury like Rey had never felt before ignited inside her. The darkness surged through her veins in thick, electric waves and she welcomed it. Her vision was blood orange and the force exploded inside her as she shot her hand out, wrapping the invisible power around the General's throat. Engell barely had time to blink before Rey screamed and closed her hand into a tight fist, shattering her neck.