The blanket scratched Kira's cheek, but even aside from the roughness of her swaddling, Kira couldn't find sleep.

Bones under tight stretched skin groaned with fatigue. Her thoughts, on the other hand, trudged through a blurry cycle, only half-coherent. Mind reeling, thoughts too hot, then spinning into cold and dizzying depths. The only thing that kept her mind from snapping was the silky glide of the Naboo pearl on her fingertips.

She'd forgotten the pearl's journey from when he'd given it to her on her sixteenth birthday, back at Luke's Academy on Alaris Prime. It was a miracle that after everything, it had come back to her - that Ben had come back to her, when she claimed it from his possessions after intake aboard the Finalizer. It was the remnant of a past life, a memento of a lost childhood. If she was who she'd claimed to be just a few weeks ago, she should have thrown it away. Instead, it was the only thing keeping her from running into the woods screaming until her legs and voice gave out.

"By rest I assumed you meant taking a nap. Not worrying yourself to death."

Kira stiffened, then rolled over and sat up, knowing that no matter how deliberately her movements, the rumpled hair and messy blankets made her look like a child. Silyana stood in the doorway, the rage in her eyes only slightly subdued. Kira relaxed. Not that she had any dignity left, but the humiliation was thorough enough without the former stormtrooper seeing pillow creases on her face.

"You still have that thing?" Silyana indicated the trinket.

Her fingers were shaking from exhaustion,fumbling it. The pearl hit the floor with a click and rolled towards a grate before Silyana lifted it with a thought and sent it floating back into Kira's palm.

"You should be more careful with it," she chided, quirking an eyebrow.

Kira stuffed it into an inner pocket. "It's been a while. I assume none of your friends are going to assassinate me."

"Okay, two criticisms on that last statement. One, you can only assassinate people for political purposes, not personal revenge. That's just good old-fashioned murder. Second, they're not my friends. I don't have friends."

There was a long pause in which the two women barely dared to breath, until Kira sighed.

"I see."

"So. We need whatever information you have on the First Order's communications. I've already given them what I know."

"I don't know much more than you."

"You say that like we were tight when Hux decided to act out like the whiny daddy's boy he is," then quieter, "There's a lot you were keeping from me."

Kira grunted.

"You have no idea where they took him? No inkling? Nothing?" Her voice grew shrill, accusing.

Jaw tightening, she glared at the opposite wall, wiping a wisp of dark hair behind an ear. "He's still not awake. He's alive, but otherwise the bond is silent." A pause. "He did tell you about the bond, yes?"

"Mmm hmm." Silyana tapped her foot impatiently.

"If I focus on it, I should sense his emotions on the other side, maybe even scraps of thought. But there's a fog between us." An idea struck her, and she met Silyana's eyes. "They're drugging him."

"Huh. Well, Hux has finally gained an inkling of intelligence." Silyana flipped her braid over her shoulder. "Which, admittedly, is a bit disappointing for purposes of obliterating his pasty ass."

"I won't be able to glean anything of his location if he is sedated. I'd only have a better sense of him if our proximity was closer."

"That's not helpful."

Kira's gaze dropped to the floor. "Hux must have learned of Ben's significance to me."

Silyana face twisted. "Ah, is that what the kids are calling it these days? Significant."

"Why else would the First Order pick him up, rather than leave him for dead?"

She let out an amused scoff. "On death's door, was he?"

"I thought he was already dead."

Silyana crossed her arms, hip cocked. "What do you mean you 'thought'? You should know, yes or no."

"The bond was... empty. Even before we learned to recognize it, it never ever felt like that." She shuddered it, remembering the gaping vacuum where he once existed. "I felt him slip away."

"What happened?"

Kira ground her teeth. If this is what humility was, it never seemed to end. "I... let him kill me."

Silyana's eyebrows shot up, sucking in a breath.

"I gave up and let him strike me in our duel."

"Of course, you were dueling," she muttered, scowling and rolling her eyes.

"I was dying, bleeding out, and instead of letting me go," she shuddered, "he healed me."

"And how exactly did you not see that coming?"

"I was as good as dead. Instead, he poured all his energy into me until there was nothing left."

"Or," Silyana said, a pensive divot forming between her brows, "he just transferred it. Temporarily. Through this bond thing."

Kira's eyes went wide.

"Yeah. So he wasn't dead. He was probably just – regenerating, or something, while his life force was healing you. I don't know. I'm just guessing because honestly I don't know what the hell that bond thing is."

Kira let out a bitter laugh. "Neither do I."

"If anyone had to be bonded, though, it would be you two. And full offense, I don't envy you for it."

Her head dropped into her hands. "I don't know what you want me to say."

Silence stretched out between them. When Kira looked up, Silyana's stare was a thousand miles away. Her voice was low and hoarse. "When I figure it out, I'll let you know." She turned away.

"I expect a ransom demand."

Silyana looked over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Yes. Hux wants me, not Ben. He'll use him as bait."

"Just know I've called dibs on wringing Hux's scrawny neck."

Kira didn't argue. "All you'll need is my private comm channel. It shouldn't take Hux long."

Silyana sighed. "Sure, we'll monitor it." She began to walk out. "Also, take a shower. You reek."


Rose had had plenty of time to sort through her thoughts by the time the Resistance supply ship landed at Black Spire Outpost. Still, it wasn't enough.

"You might want to strap yourself in," Beau called from the cockpit. "The entry on Batuu can be a bit rough."

Beau was being generous, so she buckled into a jump seat behind the bulkhead. The system's three suns created some unusual and conflicting weather patterns. As soon as they hit the stratosphere, gusting winds batting the ship around like it was nothing, rattling the teeth in her skull.

When the ship made it to earth, settling into the bay with a creak and a groan, Rose took a few seconds to breathe through her mouth, trying not to vomit. Beau left the cockpit and walked over with shaky legs.

"You alright?"

Rose took one more calming breath and rested her head against the seat back. "You do this every week?"

"Pretty much." He shrugged. "The Resistance needs a lot of supplies to keep running. You build up a tolerance to being thrown about."

"No, thank you. Once was enough." Even bracing with a hand couldn't prevent the embarrassing woozy stumbling up out of the seat. "Let's just say I'm glad I skipped breakfast."

"You know where you're going?"

"Yeah. Thanks for the lift."

"Sure thing."

"Will I be picking you up?"

Rose shook her head. "Good luck, stay safe."

"Same to you. May the Force be with you."

She shouldered her pack and disembarked, leaving Beau to finish his work and head back to Ajan Kloss. Finn - it had been so good to hear his voice - had given her the designation of a docking bay across Black Spire Outpost. Wrapping a scarf around her face, she set out through the crowds. The clamoring streets were dusty, the smell of foods and spices and other pungent wares ripe in the air, vendors shouting their goods and denizens and foreigners conversing in the street. Rose hunched in and plowed ahead, eager to find her friends and see for herself that they were alright.

"Finn!"

Leaning against a doorway, he looked up as she approached and pushed off to meet halfway. "Rose!" He wrapped her in a tight hug. "You didn't have to come."

She loosened the embrace, pulling back far enough to punch him hard in the shoulder - the good shoulder. Still, he winced.

"Ow. I take it Kaydel told you about the situation."

"That's why I'm here. You promised, and then I find out you're hiding out with -" She glanced around and lowered her voice. "And on a planet overrun with criminals and spies, of course."

"It's neutral territory."

Rose shook her head and put up a hand. "You know what? I don't want to talk about it. I'm here, you're here, and everything is a mess like usual. Let's just start there."

Glancing up and down the street, Finn drew her inside and sealed the door. He exhaled. "I'm ok with that. Trust me, I'm almost as freaked out about all of this as you."

"Do," she swallowed, "do you really have Kira Ren?"

Finn ran a hand over his hair. "She's here, yes. But thank the Force you're here now, Rose. I feel like I'm screaming inside and everyone's just…"

"I honestly can't believe it. I don't know if I'd believe it even if I saw her."

"Well." He gave a breathless laugh. "She's promised to stay out of our way as much as possible, if you can believe it."

Rose raised one eyebrow. "I've been on the Falcon. There's only one fresher."

"Yeah. It's a little tight." He studied her. "You're taking this pretty well, actually."

She gave him a wry grin. "Don't worry. I'm screaming on the inside too."

"Good to know."

"But I'll need to speak with her. That's the whole point of me coming out here, right? To intercept the First Order signals and find Ben?"

"Well, yes…"

"Then I don't think it'd be practical to have someone passing messages. No, I thought about it on the way here."

"Rose."

"I'm okay, Finn. I know I haven't been at my best for a while now, but I'm not fragile. And… I don't think I'm broken. Not anymore. I had to decide to pick up the pieces at some point and it doesn't really make sense to keep blaming those who broke it. That's not getting me anywhere."

"You're definitely not broken. You're exceptionally strong, Rose."

She laughed. "I don't know about all that. But I'm trying."

"Alright. Well, the Falcon is this way." He guided her through a few corridors and storage bays before they found the old Corellian freighter, the wide hatch above sealed shut.

"Oh, one more thing." Finn paused under the ship. "I don't know if Connix knows, so you probably don't either, but Poe and Silyana Ren are kind of a thing."

Adjusting her pack, Rose blinked."A thing?"

"Yeah. Like, not officially, but they're involved."

"Poe. Poe is with a Knight of Ren. Poe Dameron?"

"It makes no sense to me either, but there it is. It's really new, though, but they're definitely attached."

Rose grimaced. "That's not what I expected but honestly the more I think about it, it's the most Poe thing I've ever heard."

"You're not wrong," Finn sighed. "It's weird but it works."

They boarded the Falcon and Chewie greeted her with an enthusiastic rumble and ruffled her hair. Her answering grin faded slightly when Poe came up.

"Hi, Rose. Thank you for coming out here. You didn't have to do that."

"I know. I didn't do it for you - it's for Ben."

He nodded,looking down.

"I'd stun you for breaking your promise, but I feel like this was all Ben."

Poe grimaced. "I did try. I'm sorry." He met her eyes and she nodded.

"I believe you."

His shoulders slumped.

"Anyway, I think I have some more people to meet. Especially your girlfriend."

If Rose was more comfortable with Poe, she would have laughed at the brilliant shade of vermilion he turned. He choked.

"Not my girlfriend," he managed and fled into the main hold.

"You couldn't resist, huh?" Finn said.

"He'll be fine." She shifted the pack on her back "Assuming that we're all fine at the end of this."

The woman that stood to meet her was not what Rose expected. Average height, white-blonde hair, cavalier stance. She quickly scanned and extended a hand.

"You're the master codebreaker." When Rose didn't take the proffered hand, she added, "Silyana, former Knight of Ren."

Rose still didn't reach for her.

"Fair enough."

She retracted her arm, crossing them over her chest, seeming to take her in again. "Oh, this is her, by the way."

The former knight jerked a thumb, and that's when Rose noticed her. She sat in the corner, watching the proceedings with a weary but wary eye. She was small and sickly, and if it had been anywhere else, Rose wouldn't have given her a second glance, in her ill-fitting obviously borrowed jumpsuit. But here and now, with such a flippant introduction, it was like her stomach had dropped into her boots. Never in a million years would she imagine meeting Kira Ren like this. Or that the fearsome monster that haunted them all across the stars such common features; lank brown hair, green eyes. This was the object of Ben's obsession? It seemed incredible when Connix briefed her, and it seemed more incredible now.

Turning to Poe, Rose said, "I'd like to stow my pack before we start."

He startled but after a second he gestured towards the captain's quarters, where they tossed her bag with the others in the oversized closet.

"You okay?"

"Ha, yeah. I think so. It's just - was that not weird?"

"Oh, it's weird, alright." He ran a hand through rumpled curls. "Sorry, Silyana's not one for shying away from confrontation."

"He's right, I'm not."

Rose jerked around in surprise to find Silyana had followed them. Silyana noticed her move to the electro stunner at her side and held up a conciliatory hand.

"That doesn't mean I want to start a fight. And if I do, it's not with you."

"...Thanks?"

"I'll be with you and Kira while you debrief her and set the comms systems up."

Rose balked. "Why not Finn, or Poe? I'm sorry but I don't know you, just your reputation."

"The Falcon's comms array is a bit..." Poe trailed off.

"It's tight quarters," Silyana said. "Neither of them are ready for that."

Rose glanced at Poe, and he gave her a weak smile that faded into worry. "Oh," she said. "Right."

"She won't try anything," Silyana continued, "but if she did, I'd be able to neutralize her."

Looking back at a thoroughly miserable Poe, she hesitated before saying, "Alright, well, let's do this."

It was crammed, but Rose was able to lose herself in the complex work of decoding and slicing the First Order secured networks. She almost, but not quite, forgot that Kira Ren sat at her elbow, feeding her data with a disconcertingly soft voice as she needed. While having the keys to the castle handed to her took some of the fun and challenge out of it, she still had to use skill to avoid detection on the Order's end, especially with the Falcon's unfamiliar equipment. The first thing they did was connect a high-powered receiver on Kira's personal comm, using the unlocked protocols on the device to access the First Order's system remotely. From there it was all too easy. The longer they worked, the more absorbed Rose became in the scrolling code and the crackling static and the clacking keys.

"Did it work?" Kira's accented and lifeless tone broke Rose's concentration, reminding her where she was. Silyana, crammed against the wall on the other side of the comms station, raised her eyebrows.

"Hold on, let me relay this one." Rose completed the series of commands that would forward the decrypted channel to the Resistance's headquarters. She'd already done so with several of the more consequential ones, including from the Security Bureau and the First Order Command.

"What about my channel? Have you checked it?"

Rose looked at her fully, the first time she'd done so since they started.

"Hux will not delay to contact me when he knows who he has. We cannot miss his message," Kira said.

Rose huffed. "This," she pointed, "is recording everything coming through your channel. And this," her finger shifted, "will alert us if anyone starts transmitting." She sat back. "I'm not just a master codebreaker. I would also be a top certified communications specialist if I had the time and wasn't wanted in every First Order-aligned territory. Not that you need to be certified to know how to set up a buzzer to announce an incoming call."

Kira's stare didn't waver.

Rose scowled. "I want Ben back. I'm not going to lose him over something stupid like that."

"I don't know you," Kira stated in a low voice. "You say you want Ben returned, but I need him."

Rose turned away, unfocused gaze settling on a screen filled with aurebesh code. "I don't know you either. I know Ben, though. He saved my life, me and my sister's." Silyana shifted against the wall and caught her eye again. Rising to the occasion, Rose's spine straightened and she pressed on. "My sister died on the Supremacy, shot by a First Order trooper, right before the cataclysm. It's been over a year now. I've learned that not any one person is to blame, but you'll understand if I don't harbor any love for those affiliated with the First Order, past or present." She looked to Kira. "You don't know me and you have no reason to trust me. In fact, you probably shouldn't. But Ben - I'm going to do my best to bring him back. Trust that."

Kira's lips pressed together, bloodless, and Rose waited for either woman to attack her with words or blows, but that didn't happen.

Instead, the alert buzzed, jolting them from the moment.

The message was brief.

You are alone. Come to the Citadel and surrender.

"That karking bastard," Silyana snarled, startlingRose and causing her to reach for her electrostunner. "The Citadel? The Citadel? There's only about, I don't know, a billion of those in the galaxy?"

"We'll keep monitoring, maybe there'll be more," Rose said. "Or he might be waiting for an acknowledgement before sending more details."

Kira stayed silent during the outburst, her eyes shut.

"Ha!" Silyana barked. "I'll acknowledge that shitstain when I'm good and ready."

"We should tell the others -"

Kira stood. "Someone's here."

"Hey, ladies." Poe's head poked tentatively into the crowded room. "Someone's here. Says they need to talk to… to Rey." He swallowed. "Says they know how to get Ben back."


"Ben. Wake up."

"Why?" he muttered, turning away from the voice.

"Because I'm here to talk to you. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Ben cracked his eyes open at that. He didn't remember wanting to talk to anyone in particular, not when he'd been sleeping so deeply, especially to someone with a voice he didn't recognize.

"Where are we?"

"Starting off with the tough questions then."

He sat up and rubbed his face before looking at the person who had greeted him. A young man in his twenties, tousled brown locks framing a bashful smirk, stood at the foot of a bed. Ben scanned his face, taking the scar, the Jedi robes, the distinctive lightsaber hilt.

"Grandfather."

The smirk widened. "Grandson."

"I'm not really awake then."

"No, not in the way you're thinking."

He took in the fine sheets on the bed, the decadent decor, the lavish suite beyond the door, the nighttime cityscape outside the tall windows. "Is this a dream?"

"This is real, if a bit non-traditional. An in-between place."

"I don't recognize it."

"These were the apartments of Senator Amidala on Coruscant, or my memory of them."

Ben looked around with fresh eyes. "Padme?"

Anakin nodded. "Your grandmother, yes."

He grunted and pulled back the bedding, getting to his feet. "Why are we here? Why am I here?" He froze. "Am I dead?"

"In-between place, remember? So, no, not dead. You gave it a good try though."

"And why," Ben waved a hand, "why are you here?"

"You've wanted to talk to me for a while now. I think it's about time."

Bits and pieces started to come back to him, and he groaned. "You're about ten years too late."

Anakin raised his chin, clasped a wrist in the opposite hand. "Bitter, are we?"

Snorting, he stood and paced to the bank of windows. "You've avoided me."

"Yes, I did. And for good reason."

"Am I supposed to know what that means?"

"It means, anything I could have said or done would've only made things worse."

His fists clenched. "What happened to me?"

"Do you not remember?"

He grasped at the recent memories. "I remember." His heart wrenched, stuttering his breath. Rey - was she alive? He'd poured himself into her, but had it been enough. Where was he now? How was he here? "I just don't understand."

Anakin came and stood next to him. "I don't quite understand it either." He caught Ben's incredulous glance. "I'm dead, not omniscient. My consciousness is one with the Force, sure, but it never spans the entire thing, thank the stars."

His heart began to race. He shouldn't be here, he had to find Rey. Through gritted teeth, he spat, "I can see why you never bothered to show up. You're extremely unhelpful."

"Patience, Ben. I may not have the answers you seek, but I do have the insight of my experience and observations. Together we can work out what happened."

"Well, then, what did you say to Rey? Did you answer her at the pyre? What did you say to change her mind?"

Grimacing, Anakin turned away from the view. "Let's go to the other room, where we can sit."

"That bad, huh?" Ben muttered to himself, but followed.

They settled into seats facing off in the lounge. City traffic was a faint hum beyond the thick transparisteel encasing the room as the men studied each other.

"You would not have wanted to hear what I had to say."

Ben crossed his arms and sat back. "So you told it to Rey, instead."

Anakin sighed. "She's exceptionally persistent. I tried to dissuade her as best I could, but she came to a conclusion that I didn't predict."

"What. Did. You. Say?"

Resting elbows on his knees, he spread his hands. "I warned her of the consequences of the Dark Side. How it strips you to the bone, requires everything you hold." He slumped, running a palm over the sofa cushion. "Especially the things most dear to you."

Ben swallowed, hard.

"Yes, Ben." His gaze was hard, passionate. "You are precious to her, loved, in fact. The sooner you accept that, the easier what follows will be."

He knew it, had known it for years. Hearing it aloud, from his deceased grandfather of all things, was like a punch to the gut. His mouth parted in a shallow gasp and he covered it with a fist, tears welling in his eyes. A sob tried to break free, but he wrestled it down with a shudder. "Why?"

"You are a dyad. Two halves of one soul. Your bond is a manifestation of that fundamental connection."

"She tried to die," he cried, voice breaking over the words. "I almost killed her. How could that be, if we're truly a dyad?"

Anakin dropped his gaze. "I showed her how I lost it all, piece by piece. Although none of it was really mine to begin with. But it didn't matter. The Dark Side took anyway. I meant," he gave a deprecating laugh, "I meant for her to give up the Darkness, not to give up completely."

"You frightened her."

"Reasoning had not dissuaded her, no matter how many times you'd tried to talk her down. It was time for a different tactic."

"I was getting through to her!"

"I may have gone too far," Anakin conceded.

Ben stood, stalking over to him. "I watched the light fade from her eyes."

Glowering from under his brows, he said, "And yet she's still alive. Not everyone is so fortunate."

"What? How?"

"Two halves of one soul. If one lives, so does the other."

Ben took a moment to absorb these revelations. "Then why am I here?"

"It will take time for your body to recover. And also, you're drugged."

"I'm - what?"

"The First Order has you sedated."

A disbelieving titter escaped Ben. "So what? You unload a bunch of your shit on me and then we have to stay in this make-believe memory place together until, what?"

"No, I'm free to go whenever. It's you who's stuck. Although I'll stay here to keep you company, however long it takes."

"That's great." The tears came back and his mouth twisted. He moved back and collapsed in his seat. "I'm trapped."

Anakin draped an arm on the back of the seat. "I said stuck, not helpless."

Ben looked up.

"I've reached out to someone. The best of the best, actually. I thought it was the least I could do after everything."

"What does that mean?"

"If everything works out, you'll see soon enough."

His half-grin was back. "Now, tell me about Rey."


A/N: Any guesses as to who Anakin sent? I think we're getting a new POV next chapter, because this story didn't have enough already lol. Leave a review and favorite to follow! I love to hear from you all!

Next chapter February 21 CST