A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Star Wars:

Ghost of a Dream

The New REPUBLIC has been restored. Planetary systems once sympathetic to the fallen FIRST ORDER have either joined their ranks and offered their full support, or have found that joining such a new order is too difficult to bear. In the face of the new regime, a new RESISTANCE has formed, harbouring First Order fugitives and followers of the SITH.

The New Republic Senate seeks an end to the violence at all costs. They have permitted General POE DAMERON to dispatch emissaries to undecided and troublesome systems to better smooth the transition. However, few have returned to the New Republic Capitol of Naboo with good news, or at all.

Meanwhile, in the Outer Rim territories, Master Jedi REY SKYWALKER resides, carving out of the sands of Tatooine a school for young Jedi. Though she finds joy in teaching her Padawan Learners, darkness looms about her, threatening her delicate happiness…

Chapter One

Rey gasped awake, her heart slamming painfully against her chest. She moved her hand to her lips, still feeling his kiss. It was a dream! It was a dream! It had to be… She jolted from her bed, whirling around to take in her surroundings. A bed, nightstand, lightsabre, powered down BB-8. She moved her hand to her chest, feeling her heart pulse beneath her palm.

He was alive. There was only one reason for this feeling. Ben Solo was alive!

SWSWSW

Rey landed the Millennium Falcon on the surface of Exegol, her skin not the only thing chilling as she walked the crisp surface. BB-8 chirped worry, and a hesitation to roll onto the surface. One look back at him, and he understood. This was a journey she had to make alone.

She did her best to not look at the forgotten Imperial TIE fighter jet, gathering space dust as it sat without a pilot. Without losing her step, she withdrew her lightsabre and ignited it, revealing two parallel gold beams against the sinister grey rock that with a jerk of the wrist dropped into a long staff sabre. Rey inhaled, reminding herself to breathe and to ignore the butterflies growing in her stomach as she neared the platform.

The butterflies disappeared the moment the ground moved and she descended into the Sith sanctuary, the looming statues of hooded ghosts long since forgotten rising around her, giant chains creaking as the wind blew over the opening. She scanned the chamber, noting every chunk in the missing statues, every avenue of the mazes. The platform reached the floor and she stepped down from it, reaching out to the Force with her feelings searching, listening.

She knew the way by heart. Through the Dark Lab, making sure the dead remained dead and that the lab still contained the dust and broken glass as it had last year. She halted at a particular pod, one that she knew with her feelings had once contained the remains of former Supreme Leader Snoke. The fragments had been moved since last year. The mangled mess had been cleaned and some of the contents had been taken. The body, however, remained rotting, half of the bone structure now visible. Rey whirled around from the pod, looking at the others. More pieces were missing. Pieces to make another functioning pod. She stalked forward, gold lightsabre lighting her way, turning where the Force willed her to go.

There, sitting amongst the black rock and dim light, was a glass covered pod fitted with wires that hummed in an unnatural rhythm. Her breath caught in her throat, eyes taking in the pod's length and width. She remembered his kiss in the night, the sudden jolt of awakening. Could it be…? She took a step forward, and another until she was running through the black cavern, the heat of her lightsabre nearly burning her shoulder and her hip as she ran with abandon towards the pod. She skidded to a halt, still breathing hard as she peered at the pod.

It was too small. For Ben, even for Rey herself, the pod was too small.

The wires hummed with life, the pod bubbling with green fluid that suspended the body within it. Rey stared at it, feeling the tears hiss through her teeth. She lifted her lightsabre and slammed it directly into the pod, her scream louder than the glass breaking. The liquid began bubbling at the heat of her lightsabre, what life was within it twitched violently against her blade and a single blue claw scraped against the glass before dropping down. With a jerk, Rey pulled her lightsabre towards her through the pod, drenching the grey rock in a bath of green and sending sparks from the wires.

Rey inhaled, shoulders heaving, then whirled around. She marched through the caverns, a lump rising in her throat as she moved. She felt him! She knew it! She knew that feeling when he was alive in the Force! She had scoured her memory for it and now she wouldn't stop until she felt it again!

Her footsteps echoed to a stop, her gaze settling on the rubble that was once the Sith throne. This spot hadn't changed much. A rock here or there was missing, but when compared to the pods, she didn't care. Rey looked around at the throne room, at the cracked floor, and the defaced mountains that had once formed an amphitheatre of long dead Sith lords, returned at the summons of her grandfather. Now she stood alone, completely alone. She sniffed, her body shivering.

This wasn't right! She felt his kiss! She felt him come alive! For the first time in three years, he was alive! She felt it…

A shuffling sound made her whirl around, staff sabre at the ready. In the distance, almost invisible against the darkened rock and rubble, was a hooded figure dressed all in black. At once, ice tipped over Rey's body, and she crouched into a fighting position. The figure didn't move, but she knew it was watching her, waiting for her to do something.

'What do you want?' Rey breathed, her voice echoing loudly around them.

The figure didn't move. But it's voice scraped a whisper that rattled Rey's bones. 'Dance with me.'

She frowned, and readjusted her grip on her staff sabre. 'What?'

'To the girl who dances with ghosts,' The figure hissed, taking a step forward. 'Dance with me!'

It spread its arms, revealing bones instead of flesh covered limbs, jerking to the side in an attempt at a rhythmical pattern. Rey started, and lifted her sabre. This thing, whatever it was, was dark! It wasn't even alive! She huffed, and rushed forward, sliding two levers on her staff sabre causing them to break apart at the middle. She lifted her right lightsabre and swung it around the creature's head as her left jammed into it's stomach, the right cutting at the base of the neck until it fell clean off.

Rey gasped, watching the skeletal body clink to the ground, it's black robes singeing from the heat of her lightsabres.

'Kill me,' The bones hissed, making her whirl around, the humming of her lightsabres clashing with the blood rushing in her ears. 'Kill me again, and again. I'll still, be closer, to Ben Solo, than you ever will!'

'Who are you?!' Rey screamed, flinging around to the bones. 'Where is he?! I felt him!' She kicked the pile of burned robes, sending clean white femurs and ribs across the grey floor. 'Where is he?!'

Her voice echoed to the cavern's ceiling and through the avenues of mangled Dark Lab pods. 'I felt him!' She cried, tears beginning to leak down her face. 'I felt him.'

SWSWSW

One Year Later

Rey descended the elevator, the wind rustling the fur around her collar. She inhaled, her tight braid bun pulling against her scalp, but she ignored it. She lifted her lightsabres, heading first towards the Dark Lab. Two of the mangled pods were gone this year. But their presence was missing from Exegol completely, she could feel that much.

She marched down the avenue, head constantly turning, feelings searching for any dark presence. There was one that seemed to be moving away from her, but that didn't matter. She reached the throne room, her body chilling at the sight of the discarded bones and threadbare cloak. Rey stepped around it, halting only when she reached the spot where he had passed into the World Between Worlds.

Rey knelt to the rock, placing a hand where his body had faded, remembering the sheer terror she had felt when his smile had faded, and his body fell back out of her hands. She sniffed, and removed her backpack, pulling from it one of the sacred Jedi texts, flipping to the page she had bookmarked.

She skimmed the page, then set herself and the book down. 'Be with me,' She breathed, closing her eyes. 'Be with me.'

She reached deeper into the Force, beyond what she had previously dared to go. 'Show him to me,' She urged, her body levitating off the rock floor. 'Show him to me.'

She could feel the darkness of the throne room, the lingering presence of the Emperor. But then there was her light, her defeat against him. She was the only balance in this place. The only life, too.

'Show him to me.' Rey repeated. 'Please, show him to me.'

Her eyes opened, and she gasped, dropping unceremoniously to the rock as her breathing echoed loudly in the cavern. She sat up, her heart breaking as she watched. She wanted to turn away, wanted to scream, wanted to do anything but see this vision!

It was the moment after Ben had disappeared, when her hands had held his tattered clothes, and tears had streamed relentlessly down her face. She had lifted his shirt to her mouth, yearning for another kiss, another moment with the man she loved! She had received none. He hadn't come back, and no one had cared.

Besides her.

'BEN!' She had wailed, the only coherent word. 'BEN!' Her agonized screams were hardly muffled in the tattered black shirt. She had moaned his name again, her whole body twitching violently and causing her to fall onto the rock in the foetal position crying and screaming, begging him to come back.

Rey looked at herself, her heart just as sore now as it had been then. Her own voice echoed in her ears, but her tears coming slowly this time. She inhaled slowly, and pulled herself into a sitting position, turning away from the memory.

Ben was alive. She knew it; she simply had to be patient and keep looking.

SWSWSW

One Year Later

Rey descended on the Sith elevator, lightsabre drawn, and chest panting. There was more activity this time around. She had soared over the remains of the Final Order fleet, finding more pods, more unholy lives growing in Dark Labs around the sanctuary. She had destroyed them all, earning for it a cut hand, dirty white trousers, and a sweating forehead.

She stepped off the elevator and stalked down the avenue, lifting her lightsabre to each of the mangled pods, making sure that not a single ounce of green fluid pooled within them.

A noise grumbled to her left, the Force telling her of a lifeform. Rey bolted without thinking, her gold staff sabre intact as she ran, the humming encouraging her to run harder, faster!

She skidded to a halt at the figure crouched in the throne room, her eyes scanning the room for others.

'What do you think you'll find here, child?'

The voice was familiar. So familiar in fact, that Rey couldn't help but straighten and feel only a little embarrassed for having activated her lightsabre.

The figure turned, revealing the bulbous face of Maz Kanata, her thumbprint sized eyes squinting at Rey.

'Maz,' Rey gasped.

Maz ignored her. 'Why would a girl with such life as you be here among the dead?'

Rey deactivated her lightsabres, and sighed. How did she always know?

Maz lit a fire, using scraps of black clothing she had gathered from a storage table dusted with cobwebs. Rey added to it, finding bones and other flammable materials. They watched the kindling catch, the flames illuminating Rey's face, showing a woman with features haunted by both the journey to Exegol and the unchanging mission that brought her here.

'Tell me, Rey,' Maz commanded, her voice soft. 'How many times have you come here?'

Rey inhaled through her nose, staring at the fire as she answered. 'Every year,' She confessed. 'Every year on his anniversary I come. I… need to come.'

'Why?' Maz asked, plopping down beside her.

'I need to make sure the Sith aren't growing anything,' Rey said immediately. 'The first three years, I came without hope. I knew he had gone. I just… needed to be close to him. To the last place Ben Solo inhabited. Then, two years ago… I felt him. I felt him breathe. I felt him touch the gravel beneath his fingers, I felt him shiver against the frigid breeze. Then… nothing. He disappeared again, and I can't explain it.'

'Rey,' Maz cooed, but Rey continued.

'I feel him in moments. It's hard to explain, Maz. But, I know it's him. I know he's alive. I don't know why he comes and he goes, but I know that he's not dead.'

An orange hand covered hers, pulling Rey from the flames to peer at her. 'I told you once that if you live long enough you see the same eyes in different people. When I look at you, I see the eyes of a widow who has just lost the love of her life.'

Rey swallowed, and looked down at their hands. 'You don't believe me.'

'Oh but I do!' Maz implored, leaning close. 'It just hurts me to see you mourn like this. Over a man like him.'

'You weren't there,' Rey told her. 'You didn't feel what I did. It felt… like someone had sawed me in half. Like someone had taken the best part of me and left the rest to rot here.' She looked up at the cavernous ceiling, moving one of her hands across her body. 'We only had a moment together,' She continued, tears balling in her throat. 'But that moment! Waking up in his arms, seeing his smile, tasting his kiss. Each of those moments felt so unlike any relationship I've ever had! He changed, his whole life for me… He came for me…' Her whole body moved as she breathed, her mind rocketing to remember him nodding at her, begging her to trust him. Rey swallowed, 'I want him back! I want him here, with me. We could have been happy together, Ben and I.'

'No doubt,' Maz agreed, clutching Rey's hand. 'So why are you looking for the living amongst the dead, child?'

Rey looked up at her, a lightness touching her shoulders. 'What?'

'If I was Ben, then I wouldn't stay here among these ghosts,' She jerked her chin at a headless statue of a Sith lord.

Rey half smiled, but it faded quickly. 'Then why is he hiding from me?' She asked. 'Why wouldn't he let our bond come together? If he truly is alive, then he's cut himself off from the Force, trying to keep his location a secret just like Luke did. Why would he do that?'

Maz scratched her chin slowly, thinking. 'I've found that there are only two reasons to hide: out of fear, and out of love. You of all people should know that separating Ben Solo from Kylo Ren is not an easy feat, even for all the love you've had for him.'

Rey couldn't do anything but nod.

'Can you imagine the journey for one who in his life has hated both men, yet must live with them each day?'

Rey swallowed, watching a femur catch fire and break into three portions.

'Rey, if Ben truly is out there, give him some time. The Force brought you two together once before. It can do it again.'

Rey couldn't help but shudder as she inhaled. 'It took us nearly twenty years for us to meet,' She murmured. 'If it means I get to see him again, I think I can wait.'

'And stop coming here,' Maz ordered. 'There is nothing good for you among these ruins.'

'I killed them,' Rey breathed before she could stop herself. 'The pods that they made and put on the dreadnought. I killed them all.'

'Why, child?' Maz asked, digging her fingers into Rey's palm. 'Why did you kill them?'

'They were dark. They needed to be destroyed for what they were trying to do. But that's not why I did it.' She couldn't stop. She was tumbling down a hill and the only way to stop was to tell Maz about it. Her lip curled over her teeth and she hissed, 'I killed them because he wasn't there among them. I lost control…' She trailed off, the cut on her hand throbbing.

Maz took the cut hand with her other one and cradled it. 'You cannot come back here, Rey. If you do, then you risk falling to the Dark Side. And you of all people should know how difficult it is returning from that.'

SWSWSW

Anchorhead, Tatooine

Rey exited the Millennium Falcon , stretching her arms and exhaling. It was almost dawn, but she could feel the life of Anchorhead already teeming. She inhaled, the smell of charcoal and smoke a welcome along with animal fat sizzling gently in a skillet as she passed a home. It was all so inviting, but she knew that she didn't have resources in her home to make as tasty a breakfast as these inhabitants.

She did a mental calculation of what she had in her larder. Grains, some flour, protein packs that she'd managed to horde from the Resistance the last time she was in town. No bacon, no eggs, and certainly no one to make it for her. She sighed, feeling the strain of the journey weigh on her with each step. She wanted nothing more but to lie down and rest, cook later, or even see how many credits she had left to possibly buy something!

At once, in such a succession it almost seemed rehearsed, the front doors of the homes slid open and out walked children wearing crude armour and steel masks that covered their entire heads. Some of them had blasters, others rudimentary jetpacks, but they were all half of Rey's height and they all nodded to her as they passed. She sighed at the sight of them, and dropped her hands from massaging her shoulders. She hadn't thought it was this late in the day!

Among the masked children, a little boy with dark hair and tan robes instead of armour bounded through them, stopping only when he met Rey. 'Master Skywalker!' He grinned, halting in front of her to bow low. 'Welcome back!'

'Sennic,' Rey grinned, her hunger fading immediately. 'How're you?'

'I'm well, Master,' The boy replied, righting himself and rocking on his heels. 'I've meditated while you were away. The Force told me you'd be returning today.'

'Did it really?' Rey asked, her smile widening. Her eyes glanced over his frame, taking in not only the robes he wore when she was present, but the stun sabre clipped to his belt, the shoes made for running training courses, and his giddiness to begin. Yes, he had been correctly informed.

'That makes me so pleased, Sennic,' Rey beamed, her words making the boy brighten as well. 'Let's go meditate then run the training course.'

Anchorhead, Tattoine being far enough removed from the Central Systems as well as the unpredictable Mos Eisley, was considered by those in the Bounty Hunters' Guild to be the New Mandalore. Mandalorians and their adopted foundlings as well as those who left the Creed of the Mandalore to settle down and raise families more often than not settled in the outskirts of Anchorhead. So far as Rey could count, there were about one hundred Mandalorian Foundlings being actively trained. Of those one hundred, one child, Sennic Shad, was the only one to show enough of a sensitivity to the Force for her to reach out to his parents and offer to teach him to become a Jedi. Being formerly of the Creed, the Shads insisted that if their youngest son was to abandon the ways of the Mandalore (it really wasn't abandonment with his capabilities, but it was the word they knew), then he would learn in their community where he could come home each night and learn the history of his parents' people and the Mando'a language. Rey, not having a place for a school other than the old Skywalker farm, agreed. It was a better arrangement for her to take residence in one of the Mandalorian apartments than being out in the desert alone.

Sennic fell into his routine immediately. Having gone through it for the last three years it was a welcome relief to Rey to settle herself away from the events of Exegol once again. Meditation, a dedicated time to explore and depend upon the Force, then the training course which consisted of him running over the high arching bridges of the Anchorhead buildings, then dodging a training sphere with his body, then his stun sabre, then midday meal, and then lessons from the Jedi Textbooks before Mando'a and finally home. By now, though, he knew to expect a week long vacation around the time of Republic Restoration Day and that Master Skywalker would be worn out emotionally and sometimes physically for days, sometimes weeks. What made him especially wonderful to Rey was that he could feel her fatigue and would not ask her many questions or wait for her to tell him each step. He simply did it to the best of his ability, taking her corrections and applying them when they were needed. This time her fatigue took three days to overcome, a new record for one who was supposed to be infallible.

Once Sennic went home for the day (a full hour before the Mandalorian children), Rey would retire to her little apartment and fix a modest meal with what knowledge of cooking she gained from the Mandalorians and Mrs. Shad, then do as she pleased for the rest of the evening. Sometimes she would browse through the Jedi Texts, preparing for Sennic's next lesson. Other times she would walk around the community, chatting with some of the other Mandalorian Masters, or even some pilots as they found less expensive lodging near the training community. At least once a week, though, the adults would find themselves on their front steps, watching the endless games played by the masked children.

The Mandalorian foundlings had interesting games they played, all centred around their masks and the abilities they learned. They were not permitted to use their jetpacks at night, but they certainly used their night and heat seeking visions to play with homemade balls in the near pitch dark, and their games of hide and seek were excitedly interesting even for Rey and the other adults. Many nights, especially after returning from Exegol, Rey would simply sit outside and watch the foundlings play, scrutinizing each for signs of the Force flowing about them. There never was much, but the few times that the foundlings did touch upon the Force, she couldn't help but feel at ease with her place in the galaxy. Especially when they begged Sennic to join them! He usually played against his brother and their natural animosity was truly entertaining to behold!

But then there were nights like this one, when the foundlings were too exhausted to play, and the masters and pilots stayed within their own homes, and the Jedi texts held meanings too deep for Rey's mind to comprehend in one sitting. She moved outside, and leaned against the doorframe of her house, watching the moon illuminate the mudbrick buildings, the tease of rain on the horizon. The dry air echoed the sounds of the marketplace several blocks away, and if she stretched out to the Force, she could feel Mrs. Shad tuck Sennic into bed before kissing his brother's helmet before he turned in for the night. It was nights like these that Rey moved her hand to her stomach, her heart beating painfully against her chest.

Nights like these reminded her of the family she wanted. The family she had seen in dreams during the war. She couldn't remember them exactly, but she knew she wanted children. A husband… She leaned her head against the doorframe, eyes rolling to the stars and the trail of pink and navy blue they made across the night sky. Of all the things she wanted, a husband, someone whom she could trust, someone she could partner with and who could understand what she went through and felt, was what she yearned for the most. Someone to hold her hand, to kiss her forehead, to cuddle her at night. She closed her eyes, remembering Ben's kisses. He'd kissed her more than once. She'd felt the ghost of his lips at least a dozen times. It made her smile to think that he was in the beyond doing everything he could to cross over just to kiss her once.

She wanted a family with him. She wanted to spend her life with him. She opened her eyes, feeling a ball of tears threaten to choke her. She couldn't do that! No matter what she wanted, he wasn't here with her. The facts that she knew were this: he gave his life so that she could live. He gave up the life they could have had together, so that she could live. It didn't hurt any less. Her dream of a life with him wasn't any less shattered, and her longing for the feel of his hand in hers wasn't any less powerful.

'Ben,' She whispered to the stars. 'Can you hear me?'

She rubbed her arms, shifting her weight.

'I miss you. I just – I just want you to know that I miss you. And,' She sniffed, inhaling dust and the smell of charcoal. 'And I love you,' The tears spilled over, and she inhaled sharply. 'Tell Leia to hug you for me. And Han too.' She smiled to herself, only briefly, 'But don't kiss anyone on the other side. Please?'

She leaned her head against the doorframe, the annoying words this is stupid, he can't hear you floating into her mind. She closed her eyes, squeezing the last of her tears from her lids-

She sat up, standing solidly on both feet. The Force zinged around her, passing through her in ways that she hadn't felt in some time. She inhaled, feeling the breath carry through a throat, shoulders, and into a set of lungs. They weren't however, hers. She inhaled an unsteady breath, feeling it rattle through the foreign body. A hand rested over her stomach, just below her breasts, drawing in air in a pattern she hadn't invited. Rey looked down, seeing both her hands at her sides. Slowly, she lifted a hand, and poked her bottom lip.

The feel of a hand wove it's way through her fingers, pulling her hand away from her face.

'Ben,' She could only mouth the word.

Another foreign breath entered her body, a smell within the back of her throat coming to mind. Meat, perhaps even potatoes. She hadn't had meat this week! Another breath, and she felt her jaw shift, emitting a single word:

Rey.

She clamped her hands over her mouth, pulsing breath, willing him to feel her whilst willing him to let her feel him. He clutched her sides, his fingers digging into her.

'Where are you?' She moaned, placing her hands where his must have been. 'Where are you, darling?'

She turned her head, shivering as something caressed her face in a sweeping motion.

No, She mouthed. Not yet.

'Why?' She begged, 'Please tell me, Ben!'

Soon, Rey. I promise.

The caress moved to her top lip, then a solid mass pressed against her forehead. She inhaled through her nose. He smelled of burned wood, salt, and sweat with just a hint of metal. Was he hurt? Was he by the sea? It smelled like this on Ahch-To, did he go there?

'I shall wait for you,' She swore.

And I'll come.