Ben and Rey come out of hyperspace above the planet Iilum Rey's eyes widening.
"Starkiller?" Rey recognizes the planet for what it will become.
"A large chunk of the planet was removed by the empire, and eventually that was turned into Starkiller base." Ben explains, the plannet feeling more alive than it had the last time he was there.
"There's a cave on the planet the Jedi use to find their kyber crystals, but there are smaller caves littered along the planet, we'll be going to one of those to avoid the jedi."
"Yea, that's probably a good idea Ben." she agrees and she selects a random section of the planet the two of them taking the ship down and leaving their stolen sabres behind on the ship as they follow the pull of the force leading them to a opening in the ground the two of them sharing a look before jumping into the pit landing at the bottom of the hundred foot drop rey pulling out a flashlight shining it towards a long passage the two of them heading towards it, walking down the passage rey in front of Ben, not enough room for them to be side by side.
Ben feels a shift in the force and then he's alone in the dark, he knew that the caves would test them.
He spins around quickly when he hears the sound of a lightsaber ignition behind him finding himself facing down a familiar figure, kylo ren, adorned in his helm.
"You're not real." Ben tells the figure.
"I will always be real, I am the strongest part of you, you've just let yourself fall to the light's seduction." he advances on ben swinging his sabre ben raising his hand and catching it with the force bringing it to bear on his enemy, the walls exploding out revealing ben on a metal bridge a familiar weight in his hand, he looks down to see his old lightsaber before looking back up and seeing him, his father han sabre blade through his chest Ben's eyes widen as he deactivates the sabre trying to catch han.
"No!" He screams, lunging for Han but finding him gone, the bridge now a wooden hut, watching his uncle standing over him, a moment that haunted his dreams for a decade. Luke Skywalker, the man who would spare even Darth Vader looking into his nephew's mind and deciding him beyond his mercy, igniting his lightsaber and raising it above his head, and then he sees something he had never seen in his uncle's eyes, shame. But it's too late, ben wakes full of fear as he brings the hut in on them
"No Ben!" He hears his uncle yell, what he thought for years, a warning, now a plea for Ben to understand that he regrets everything leading up to this that he had failed him. The hut vanishes leaving Ben alone on a stone floor, the only light from glowing crystals on the roof.
"You think i don't know what i've done, Dont regret every moment of it? why are you showing me this!" Ben roars at the ceiling.
"To remind you what you've risen above Ben." a familiar voice says from behind him and he shuts his eyes tight.
"You're not real."
"After everything,now you question the force?" she asks amusement coloring his tone and Ben gives in turning around.
"Mom." It had been nearly fifteen years since he had last seen her, but she looks exactly as he remembers her.
"You've gotten so big." she says and he has to restrain himself from having to hug her ghost as he wipes a line of tears from his face.
"I'm so sorry mom."
"I know you are Ben, and I'm sorry we don't have more time together."
"How are you here?"
"The force isn't bound to time like you and me, I'm here to tell you to trust in yourself ben, and to trust in the force."
"I will mom.'' She takes his hands in hers, and he can feel her throughout the force, a sob escaping as she vanishes leaving a crystal singing out in the force in his palm.
Rey continues down the cave feeling the force so strongly that she can barely sense Ben right behind her….. She pinches her brow suppressing a sigh, knowing Ben is gone.
"Great, bens gone. Let's just continue on." she sighs walking on, the room falls away and she finds herself in a very familiar place standing in front of a glass tube, a man with bright orange hair floating inside.
"I can't do this anymore." A woman with brown hair dressed in imperial garb mutters to herself pressing a few buttons and the liquid draining out the glass tank retracting into the floor and the redhead falling to the floor, the scientist rushing over and pulling a breathing tube from his throat, the man coughing violently.
"There's not much time, we need to get you out before they destroy you."
"Destroy me? Why?" he asks, confused.
"Because you're defective, but you don't deserve this." She all but drags the man to his feet heading for the door, sneaking through the sparsely manned exigol installation and dragging him to the sparsely staffed shipyard, alarms blaring as they exit the door.
"Kriff!" the woman curses pulling a small blaster from her hip and firing into the chest of the trooper by the door grabbing it and shoving it against the mans chest and grabbing his arm forcing him to run towards the closest ship and up the ramp, moving to the cockpit and activating the pilot droid shoving a data stick into the port on his neck.
"The second the door closes, follow the pre-programmed path." she shoves the panting clone into the passenger seat grabbing his gun and rushing to shut the ramp. Finding a battalion of troopers rushing to stop them, she pulls a cobbled together detonator pressing the button the lab she had left exploding, she presses the button falling into one of the seats as the ship takes off. The man forces himself to shakey feet, his new body unused to movement as he walks to the back sitting across from the woman.
"Who am i?" is the first thing he asks her
"you are The 23rd attempt on creating a force sensitive clone of Emperor Palpatine."
"I don't know who that is." he says and she rubs her temples,"
"Of course we don't, we grew you in a week, look we're going to find a planet to hide out on and you're going to live a long life in hiding."
"Thank you." he tells her, and it's the most sincere thanks she has heard in her entire life.
rey's view shifts, and she sees the same man, years later worn clothes and red
scruff on his face, he drags a bag full of ship pieces opening the boarding ramp
and carrying it up a the woman who had helped him escape walking up to him, now heavily pregnant pulling him into a kiss as he drops the bag smiling when she pulls away.
"You're back early."
"You were right again, those parts were exactly where you said they would I got a feeling it was time to come back"
"Unkar pluut said he'd pay triple for those parts. We'll be set for months."
"It'll be nice to have you here during the day."
"She can be here any day now, I don't want you going into labor alone." she
smiles.
"I'll fly us back to Nima outpost, you go take a shower and get all that dust off of you." he snorts.
"There's no way to get the dust off." he snarks as she walks towards the fresher when he hears a gasp. Turning to see his love holding her stomach, a pudel on the floor.
"My water just broke." she tells him and he looks panicked as the vision fades away Rey finding herself at nima outpost, her parents talking in hushed tones.
"We need to leave her Red. She's strong in the force. We've seen it, we'll lead him away from here and come back from her when it's safe.
"I know red, well talk to unkar, he always honors a deal."
"Lets wake her, i want to make sure she knows that we will come back for her." The vision fades and Rey knows what will happen next, her parents leave her under Unkar plutt protection and she works for him for years and her parents die along with the sobs, thankful that the force has shown her sees her father in front of her placing something in her palm and placing his hand on her shoulder before vanishing rey finding herself in a cavern with ben who pulls her to him both of them comforting the other.
They spend a long time in each other's embrace before they pull away from each other.
"I saw my parents, Ben. The force showed me their lives, it was beautiful."
"I'm so happy for you, Rey, The force showed me my mother."
"That's great ben." Rey hears footsteps and Ben turns around seeing a gaggle of padawans.
"Are you masters?" A young togruta, around thirteen years old asks.
"Yes." Ben lies nodding.
"We're trying to find our way out, will you help us masters?" Ben goes to say no but Rey pushes past him.
"Of course we will, wont we Ben."
"She's the boss." he says with a grin as Rey walks over to the group.
"Do they usually bring so many of you to gather kyber crystals at the same time?"
"No, but many jedi are worried about the state of the galaxy and are allowing us to begin constructing our saberes, why are you here masters?" A red Togruta asks.
"Our lightsabers have been lost to us, so we are reconstructing new ones."
"Oh, were you on Geonosis?" the togruta asks curiously.
"We where, we fought alongside Grandmaster Yoda." Ben tells them and the kids look at him in awe.
"Truly?" they ask in wonder.
"Truly." Rey nods and they share looks.
"What kind of sabres are you planning on constructing?" Rey asks curiously and the padawans start describing the sabres they were planning on making when they return to the temple, the group reaches the cave Ben and Rey had entered through the two sharing a look.
"Alright, we're going to lift you out with the force. Try not to move too much." Rey tells them and they move to the center of the cavern Ben and Rey holding out their hands carefully lifting them up to the rim and setting them softly Ben and Rey jumping with them.
"Where a ways from the entrance you went in at, we'll fly you over." Ben tells them leading them onto the ship, Rey starting the take off process as he makes sure they will stay in the storage room before joining Rey in the cockpit.
"Well need to be quick, we wouldn't want to traumatize any padawans." he jokes, marking the main kyber collecting area making the quick flight before landing the ship, Ben and Rey walking down finding the students beginning to poke around on the ship.
"We're here." They tell them to lower the gang plank leading the students out to be met with four jedis holding unlit lightsabers in their hands.
"Were returning your padawans." Ben says the padawans moving behind the jedi, unsure of the situation, Ben recognizes one of the Jedi from Geonosis.
"Catch." he tells her tossing the lightsaber he had stolen from the fallen jedi over to her and she catches it holding it carefully.
"Rey, I think it's time to go, goodbye padawans."
"Bye Master Rey, master Ben." the togruta waves from besides the masters.
"Bye Ashoka." Rey returns as they close the plank moving to the cockpit and taking off an hour later they come out of hyperspace, letting the ship coast through the stars and gathering all of the parts they had gathered for their lightsabers sitting at a table in the galley constructing their sabre in companionable silence finishing their construction.
"The next part cant be interrupted rey, we should go to Ach-to." and she smiled, having imagined the two of them together on Ach-to many times.
"That sounds amazing Ben."