Hello all!

So, I personally love The Rise of Skywalker to death and that has made me even more excited to continue this story. It's going to be CRAZY!

Thanks so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows!

Onward!


Chapter One

Two Weeks Earlier
The Unknown Regions

DV-7892 did not necessarily prefer space. When she was given an order, she followed it as any good soldier should, but there was no denying the little spark of personal expectation that found its way into her chest. Dry environments were better than wet, warm was better than cold. If all their targets could be found on systems with agreeable climates, missions would go that much easier, but that was not the way of things.

But space, she found, was always agreeable to her.

The general feeling she got from the other troopers was that space was a terrifying beast. It was cold, dark, empty, and lifeless. Some had admitted a sort of terror at the idea of being confronted with such a void, especially in a small fighter like the one she occupied. One crack in the hull, and that could be it. There was no chance for recovery in the throes of space.

But within the darkness, she found a calm that she could not quite connect with in the barracks. Perhaps it was merely the emptiness, the quiet that she was not afforded anywhere else, but sometimes, some part of her wondered if there wasn't more to it. The thought was brief and quickly snuffed out by more important tasks at hand, yet it always lingered somewhere in the back of her mind, an idea discarded yet still within sight.

Sometimes she found herself staring at a distant star and wondering what was there.

A series of taps returned her mind to the present.

'You're doing it again,' the code spelled out.

DV-7892 sighed, reaching down to the metal bar beneath her seat and producing her own series of taps.

'You don't know what I'm doing.'

It was a First Order code, used by all troopers when a mission required radio silence. DV-7892 and her TIE gunner, DV-7896, used it frequently to pass the time. Alone in their TIE, many assumed they would simply speak with one another, given they sat back to back, but both preferred the silence and the concentration required to communicate with the code. They had started using it with one another when they were young, and the method had stuck.

'Staring into space wistefully at the stars.'

'Wistfully,' she corrected. 'Only you would make a spelling error in code.'

'That wasn't disagreement, Demo.'

Demo. Short for demonstration. To save on time, all troopers gave each other nicknames, though they never spoke them in front of their superior officers.

Her unit, Knight Squadron, was an experiment of General Hux's. He took the best of the stormtroopers and subjected them to harsher training, grueling environments, and unthinkable tests in order to form the perfect elite unit. Only four had passed the first class. Many had been transferred to other units; others had died.

DV-7892 was the stormtrooper he used to show off his accomplishments, to demonstrate them as it were, and that was how Demo came to be.

DV-7896 was simpler. He was her gunner, and so that was what he would always be. Gunner was the best shot that the First Order had ever seen. If he missed anything, it was because he meant to.

For the past fifteen years, they had been watching one another's backs, an unstoppable force amongst the other troopers. Whenever they set their mind to something, it was only a matter of when it would be accomplished, not if.

Demo shook her head at Gunner's remark, choosing to let silence fall again.

They had been drifting in space for the better part of six hours, watching a derelict ship that rested just outside a local asteroid belt. She hadn't consumed any food or water during that time, and her legs had been utterly still since they began their watch, but Demo knew the instant it was necessary, her body would perform exactly as she wanted it to. They had trained for this as well, but for far longer. Six hours was nothing.

'Still want to be in there?' Demo tapped, there being the ship. Currently on the bridge of the old freighter they were watching, their other squad mates, DVs-7956 and 7977, were transmitting a distress signal. If everything went to plan, a local band of pirates would pick up on the signal and investigate. The group had grown confident as of late and had the audacity to attack a First Order cruiser.

A message needed to be sent.

'I would like to see their faces before we space them.'

Demo's reply was cut short by the arrival of a ship dropping from hyperspace. It was an ugly thing, once a Corellian freighter, but over the years, the pirates had crudely retrofitted various ship parts to the outside, making it more of a junk heap than any of the ships they pillaged. Several living pods had been haphazardly welded onto the frame at various points and two plasma cannons had been attached to either side. They were made for a ship far larger than the one the pirates were currently occupying, and Demo briefly wondered if they had ever actually been fired. The electrical output alone would be enough to cripple the ship.

Another ship arrived soon after. It was a smaller fighter, an old A-Wing from the Imperial age. Though nothing had been added to it, the ship sported an unappealing array of colors.

'Ships aren't big enough,' Gunner tapped.

He was right. The freighter was unlikely to ever fly in atmosphere, its awkward fittings making the ship's balance highly unstable. There had to be another ship that the crew returned to, but they were smart enough not to send it after a simple distress signal.

Demo considered her expectations defied.

'Breaking radio silence.'

She reached forward, flipping a small switch on her console. Demo listened to the static briefly, waiting for any indication that something was off, before communicating with their squad mates via the same code.

'Parameters changed. Clear out crew, board freighter. Await further instruction.'

Demo did not wait for a reply as she switched the comms back off.

Quietly, she watched as the freighter docked with their decoy transport, the smaller thrusters awkwardly shifting the bulky ship into place as its top hatch attempted to connect to the external dock. There was no sound in space, but she could still hear metal grinding against metal, a teeth-clenching sensation. The pilot was a novice, or drunk. Either way, the boarding party did not appear to have any concerns about potential danger.

'This is what's been attacking us? Someone needs a demotion.'

Demo tapped twice against the bar, effectively ending their silent conversation. They did not have time for distraction now. She had to wait for the signal. Their squad never said what the signals would be, but they always knew what they were when they appeared. The group had a talent for intuitive communication in that way, which had made them an effective force in the past.

She leaned forward in her seat, keeping an eye on the A-Wing that circled their ship in a lazy orbit. Its turns were slow, at ease, the pilot was clearly not keeping an eye out for anything. They would never notice the lone TIE resting in the shadow of an asteroid.

So, they waited.

The bridge of their decoy ship lit up momentarily, before the glass of the viewports burst, sending thousands of shrapnel fragments shooting into space, as well as several bodies.

They never had been subtle.

Without her gaze ever leaving the A-Wing, Demo brought the TIE to life, shooting into open space from their hiding position within seconds of the explosion. Despite the relaxed flight patterns of the pilot, they were quick to notice their ship converging on their position, kicking their thrusters to life and rapidly fleeing the scene.

"Round him up, Gunner," Demo finally spoke, tongue feeling dry in her mouth. The A-Wing may have been an older model, but it still had a speed advantage against them. DV-7896 took quick, calculated shots on the ship's starboard side, easing the panicked pilot toward the asteroid field. It would make pursuit more difficult, but keep the ship from hitting lightspeed and warning the others.

Once amongst the asteroids, the TIE's maneuverability took center stage. The A-Wing was still in a panic, attempting dangerous turns that nearly rammed the ship's frame into the closest asteroid, but they never managed to lose Demo. She piloted the ship around the debris with practiced ease, capable of keeping her eyes focused on the ship ahead while completely avoiding the dangers to their left and right.

They hit a brief straightaway. Many pilots would have taken the time to center their shots, and missed as the A-Wing rounded another asteroid, but the mere seconds were all Gunner needed to fire. The ship took a hit on its back thruster, careening into another asteroid and exploding in a brief ball of fire before the vacuum of space wiped the evidence away.

Demo pulled the TIE out of the field, twisting around and returning to the decoy ship.

"You're getting slow," she said, flipping the comms back online.

"I just pull the trigger," Gunner replied, his deep voice muffled by his helmet. "You were the one taking your time."

"Fuse, Seven," Demo called out over comms, for DVs-7956 and 7977, respectfully. "Are we in the clear?"

"One moment, Commander!" was the reply from Seven, interrupted by static and grunting. "Ship's clear. You may board when ready."

Demo landed the fighter in the ship's docking bay, noting the other fighter that was already there. Had the pirates had a single functioning cell in their brains, they might have thought to check around before heading straight to the bridge, but apparently nothing was too good to be true for them.

Despite the all clear, Demo and Gunner kept their blasters at the ready, waiting for the potential missed target, but the hallways were quiet as they made their way to the Corellian freighter. Unsubtle they may have been, but their squad mates hadn't let them down yet. They were Knight Squadron through and through.

"This place smells like a garbage chute," Gunner noted as they entered the ship.

Seven and Fuse awaited them inside, standing side by side in the black uniforms that identified the squadron. On each of their right shoulders was a clearly marked saber in red, the patch of their unit. For the time being, only four soldiers had attained the patch, yet every member of the First Order knew it when they saw it, and made certain to steer clear.

At the feet of her squad mates was a bloodied human, more than likely the pilot of the ship. He stared up at them with wide, terrified eyes. He was young, younger than them at any rate.

"Are there coordinates for the main ship in the nav computer?" Demo asked.

Seven nodded, his helmet jiggling slightly. "Yes, Commander. The pilot was ready to break out as we came on board."

"Then why is he here?"

"Kid insists he can help us get on board," Fuse replied, picking at his blaster. "We thought to leave the decision with you."

Her blaster fired once, and his body crumpled to the floor.

"If we needed help, we wouldn't be here," Demo said, sliding into the pilot's seat while Seven grabbed the co-pilot's. Gunner dragged the pilot away while Fuse tended to the hole in his right shoulder. "You injured, Fuse?"

"Shrapnel caught my uniform. No physical damage."

"That was quite the explosion you rigged," Gunner said, bumping Fuse on the shoulder. "The general probably saw it back at base."

Seven shook his head. "My ears are still ringing."

The jump to lightspeed lasted no more than ten minutes, bringing them to a halt before a heavy freighter that orbited a large, unnamed gas planet; the dark colors of the freighter stood stark against the bright orange of the planet beside them. Like the other ships they had encountered, the large freighter was a jumble of various parts welded onto the ship, making its silhouette grotesque in appearance. The size had nearly doubled from the patchwork.

"Fuse, tell me about our guns," Demo said, observing the ship. She half expected it to disappear at any moment. They were missing an A-Wing after all.

"They're more for show than anything else, Commander," Fuse's voice crackled over the comms. He'd disappeared into engineering after they had jumped to lightspeed. "These things haven't been fired since they were welded onto the hull. The connections are all there, but I don't know what kind of damage these things have seen."

"What are our odds?"

"Forty-sixty if I'm being optimistic, but the force alone might sheer the ship in two."

"So we should fire from inside the freighter."

Gunner sighed. "Strap in, everyone. Commander's got an idea."


There were no docking codes requested as the ship approached the bay, no cannons fired up in warning. A single Toydarian was smoking a death stick in the back corner as he sorted through scrap on the floor. It was only after all four members of Knight Squadron had stepped onto the platform that he decided to acknowledge any presence in the room.

"Abandon your escort again, Jeso? Next time, why don't you-"

He paused as his gaze landed on them.

Gunner fired one shot.

The squad crossed over the bay, heading to the blaster doors on the far end. Seven jammed the doors shut, and the four troopers proceeded to jog down the empty hallway, taking a quick turn down another before halting.

"Do it, Fuse," Demo ordered.

"Fire in the hole," Fuse replied, pressing a button on his transmitter.

There were two explosions, one as the plasma cannons fired straight back toward the main thrusters, and another as the transport itself imploded, the cannons, as Fuse surmised, having taken too much damage over time. Unable to contain the blast fully, they backfired. As a result, the squad watched as the blast door flew down the hallway before jamming itself in the bulkhead.

"That'll do it," Gunner said.

From there, everything fell into place. Two by two, Knight Squadron moved through the hallways, Demo and Gunner in the lead while Fuse and Seven brought up the rear, clearing the ship of enemy targets. This was the unit's element, what they had trained for since before they could remember. Synchronous movement unimpeded by mediocrity, ignorance, or pride. Every part had its place in the whole. The DV troopers trusted one another completely, able to focus on their tasks without worry of exposure from a different angle.

The explosion had put the ship into chaos. Most of the pirates they shot were simply running in panic, shouting in various languages about what was going on. What few armed individuals they found never got a shot off. No one was expecting an incursion.

The bridge doors had been sealed by the time they arrived. It seemed some sense had returned to the remaining crew, and communication had been reestablished.

"Seven. Fuse. You're up," Demo said. The two troopers ran up to the door, as Demo and Gunner took a knee, each leaning against one side of the hall. They kept their blasters trained ahead, waiting. Every target that made its way into their line of sight was dropped from a blaster bolt before they got the chance to take cover.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Demo moved forward around the corner, taking cover as another small explosion tore the door off the bridge.

As one, the unit moved into the bridge, firing rounds at those who attempted to fight back. It left two targets untouched: a human and a Gran. Demo surged forward, holding her blaster in one hand as she grabbed the human with the other.

"Are there any more ships?" she demanded.

"I…I don't…"

Demo thrust her blaster into his chest and fired before grabbing the Gran.

"Are there any more ships?" she repeated.

"Two!" the Gran shouted, arms raised, his trio of eyes wide and panicked. "There are two, but they aren't in the sector!"

She shoved him against the console, moving to the comms panel. A single shot fired off. Gunner joined her soon after, having left Seven and Fuse covering the door.

"Check the logs," Demo ordered, fingers dancing on the keyboard as she entered a familiar code. "Get me those ships."

"Yes, Commander."

Demo stepped back from the console, releasing her blaster to leave it hanging from a strap attached to her hip as she fell into a parade rest. The small transmitter fired up, revealing a hologram of a young officer, rigid and stern, with an air of superiority that managed to travel across the light years.

General Armitage Hux.

"DV-7892, my system indicates you are outside your sector of engagement. Explain your deviation," the hologram demanded.

"General, Knight Squadron engaged the enemy at our previous coordinates, but intel indicated that the two ships baited were part of a larger sum. On my orders, we traced the ships back to their origin point and have since taken control of what appears to be the main base of operations in this region."

Hux looked thoughtful. "Casualties?"

"At least fifty hostile targets, sir. No casualties on our end," Demo replied, glancing briefly in Gunner's direction. He nodded. "Sir, with your permission, I would like to engage to ships that are not currently present. We have their coordinates."

The general waved his hand. "Leave them. Such small things aren't worth our attention. Without their main source of power, these bandit scum will turn on one another and disappear from the system."

"Yes, General."

"Return to the Finalizer. Supreme Leader Snoke has requested our presence."


The Finalizer

Armitage Hux was always hit with a swell of anticipation whenever he had an audience with the Supreme Leader. He wouldn't call the feeling nervousness – that would imply he had performed in such a poor fashion that it warranted fear – but there was always a modicum of unpredictability to the meetings that left him wary of any outcome. That unease always increased whenever Kylo Ren was present. The Supreme Leader's lap dog was always chomping at the bit. His enjoyment of the chaotic always seemed to counter the First Order's vision, but so long as he obeyed Snoke, Hux could hardly complain.

Well, he could, just not to the Supreme Leader.

Even though he was light years away, Hux could feel the Supreme Leader's power pulsating in the room. He'd once witnessed him raise Kylo Ren's lightsaber for a closer inspection, and he himself had only been a hologram projection at the time. It was that sort of power that made him confident to take on Kylo Ren's far more contained abilities in person.

He entered the chamber slowly, precision in every step, hands tucked behind his back. Behind him, Hux had no doubt DV-7892 was doing the same. He could hear her footfalls echoing his, loud, confident, a soldier on parade. She performed well.

Kylo Ren was sitting on a small bench at the base of the projection, watching them carefully, his lightsaber in hand. Surrounding the room were four of his 'knights.' They were quiet, conspicuous things that always seemed one breath away from attempting to strike him down, but they straightened at his arrival, their weapons at the ready.

Hux heard the small click of DV-7892's blaster safety.

Now that would be something to see.

They came to a halt at a respectable distance, the hologram of the Supreme Leader looming over them.

"General Hux, I have been told Knight Squadron has dealt with your little problem."

He felt that smugness rise in him, casting a glance at Ren. "Yes, Supreme Leader, the nuisance has been dispatched. There should be no more interference with construction. The base will be completed on time."

"Precisely as I foresaw. The Republic's time in the light grows ever shorter," Snoke replied, allowing himself a deep chuckle. "It seems that your little project is beginning to bear fruit."

"Knight Squadron has become an elite force of no compare," Hux said, taking a step forward. He eyed the knights against the walls, wondering if they understood the concept. They never spoke, and at times a distant part of his mind toyed with the idea that Kylo Ren had ripped their tongues out. "There is no target that they cannot eliminate; there is no system that is not within their reach. The Resistance, the Republic, all their hapless soldiers pale in comparison."

Kylo Ren had snapped his head up. He looked ready to say something, but in the presence of the Supreme Leader, he kept his mouth closed.

"We shall see," Snoke said slowly, stroking his chin. "Step forward, trooper."

Hux stepped aside, allowing DV-7892 to pass. As she had been instructed, there was no hesitance. Aside from himself, Supreme Leader Snoke was to be the only authority figure she obeyed. Kylo Ren would not get an inch from any member of Knight Squadron.

DV-7892 took a knee, swinging her blaster around so it would not make contact with the floor.

"So this is the commander of Knight Squadron. What is your designation?"

"Deevee Seven Eight Nine Two, Supreme Leader," was her reply. Clipped, quick, no wavering in her voice.

"Rise, and come closer."

The stormtrooper did as she was commanded, standing and stepping forward to the edge of the hologram. Kylo Ren was directly to her left, watching her.

The Supreme Leader did not appear satisfied.

"Closer."

Though he was not given to such strange abilities, Hux could still feel a sudden change in the room, as if all the air had rushed out. DV-7892 was suddenly dragged forward by an invisible force, before being lifted upward, leaving her to float in the air, seemingly unassisted, at eye level with the hologram.

At first, DV-7892 struggled, no doubt overcome with an urge to fight off whatever had gripped her – it was how she had been trained after all – but quickly the trooper came to terms with the inevitable and let her body go slack.

The helmet lifted from her head, falling to the ground with a shattering crack.

"Such a fascinating specimen."

"She is afraid."

Hux turned to Kylo Ren, who had since stood and was watching her form float above them, silhouetted by the lights of the projection.

He dare interfere…

"Fear is necessary in all that we do, Kylo Ren," Snoke chided, turning DV-7892 from side to side, observing. "Do not be so quick to dismiss it."

"Yes, Supreme Leader."

"Your trooper is indeed well-trained," Snoke admitted, lowering DV-7892 slowly. "But I am forced to wonder if you have denied this unit their full potential."

Halfway from the ground, the invisible force holding DV-7892 disappeared, dropping her. His trooper reacted in an instant, turning into the fall and rolling into a safe, seated position. From there, she returned to her kneeling position, breath heavier, but wordless.

"This unit is already more than capable of destroying our enemies. Any further abilities would be redundant."

"Perhaps. They will have the opportunity to prove themselves soon enough," Snoke said, glancing about the room. "Leave us."

The soldiers all knew who was being addressed. Kylo Ren's knights immediately made for the exit. DV-7892 rose from her position, moving to retrieve her helmet off the ground. When she stood, a sudden bolt of red crossed her path. Ren had activated his lightsaber and was holding it out before her, the chaotic nature of the thing sparking and hissing as it struggled to exist.

DV-7892 did not move. She did not look at Kylo Ren; she stared at the red of the saber, waiting.

He deactivated the weapon, allowing the stormtrooper to leave, her helmet tucked under her arm.

"The Resistance is growing in strength," Snoke said as the door shut. "Every day they grow more confident of their abilities. Though they are nothing in the face of our order, they must be kept in check. Skywalker must be found."

"The Knights of Ren have turned up nothing but rumor and superstition," Hux noted, watching Kylo Ren step beside him before the Supreme Leader. "Allow my squadron to locate the general."

"I may have given the barest praise to your little unit, but don't mistake that for trust, General," the Supreme Leader warned. "The Knights of Ren are tested and loyal. They will handle Luke Skywalker."

The hologram faded, bathing the room in darkness.

"You put too much faith in your child troops," Kylo Ren said as they exited the chamber. "My knights are far more powerful than your insignificant mind can imagine."

"As I seem to recall, it was troopers who eliminated the Jedi Order," Hux countered as they stepped into the hall. On one side stood the knights in their strange assortment of armor, each an individual, lacking in uniformity; on the other stood DV-7892, helmet still tucked under her arm, staring forward as she always did. "Perhaps you are the one with too much faith."

Kylo Ren stared at him, a brief moment of attempted intimidation, but the ridiculousness of his helmet reduced the affect. He'd seen the face beneath the mask; he wasn't impressed.

The knights walked away then, off to cause trouble in some distant part of the ship. Hux took the opposite route, listening as DV-7892's steps fell into sync with his.

Knight Squadron was what Kylo Ren failed at: a true representation of the First Order. Loyal, efficient, the steady presence in the chaos. His knights would fail him again, he would fail the Supreme Leader again, and Hux would be there, waiting. When Snoke finally cast him aside, he would be there to succeed, and to prove that the silly notion of the Force was as archaic and ruined as the practitioners who had died defending it.


D'Qar

There were times that Leia regretted choosing this system.

Her staff agreed it was the best choice available: isolated, but not far from friendly space, uninhabited by any sentient species putting collateral at a minimum, and was relatively unheard of by most. Not to mention the climate was more than agreeable. She couldn't imagine this group occupying a planet like Hoth.

It wasn't that they weren't capable – she trusted these men and women with her life – but many of them were young, eager, unaffected by this war for the most part. They did not know the Empire, or the kind of desperation that the Rebellion had been driven to while at the brink of annihilation. Hoth would seem cruel to them.

But when she looked across the lush landscape that served as a temporary home to the Resistance, Leia could not help but feel a pang of familiarity. There were no looming, ancient towers of a long forgotten race, yet at times, Leia felt as if she was back on Yavin 4. There were days she could have sworn she heard Chewbacca calling down the halls, or Luke chiding R2-D2.

Or Han…

Even Poe Dameron, who had been raised on Yavin 4, often spoke of the similarity between the two worlds. Sometimes, he said, he found himself looking for his old home, but only on the long days, the kind when he'd logged too many hours in the cockpit rather than his bed. They all seemed to be doing that as of late.

There was a terrifying repetition to it all. A nameless evil on the rise, a Republic too weak or unwilling to stop it, and her family caught in the middle of it all.

What was the point? she would find herself asking, late at night when the mantle of general came off and she was just Leia again. What was the purpose of losing so much just to find themselves here again?

That was when she felt the most vulnerable, a young princess again, who had just watched her world – and everyone she loved – disappear into the void of space.

But there were good times, worthwhile moments, years that warmed her, when she had a husband and a son that she loved beyond words, a brother she could rely on, a family again.

And despite the pain it caused her now, Leia would give up those moments for nothing.

The sound of someone climbing caught her attention.

A patch of curly, dark hair appeared from the hatch beside her, entering the lookout tower. It seemed she wasn't the only one who took solace in this particular spot.

"No need to tell the guard to take a break, Commander Dameron," Leia remarked as the wide-eyed pilot noticed her presence. "Seems I've already taken care of that for you."

He was still in his flight suit, a bright orange beacon against a sea of green. Black Squadron would have just come back from Lothal, chasing old rumors. No one had sent her a message regarding their return, so she assumed there was nothing more to say about it. Fruitless leads seemed to be the only thing they chased these days.

Poe smiled briefly. "So I've been found out."

"No," Leia replied with a shake of her head. "You're just not the only one who can appreciate the view."

And it was a stunning one.

The base itself – first constructed at the tail end of the Galactic Civil War – rested in the valley of a small mountain range, the peaks jutting toward the near constant cloudy atmosphere, the trees at the summits almost always covered in mist. When the sun set in the evening, the sight was always something to behold as the last light of the day refracted off the fog, giving the area an otherworldly glow. That was the view they found themselves taking in now.

A local bird flew by in the distance, casting a long shadow across the land.

"I used to love nights like this back home," Poe said, sounding wistful as he leaned against one of the tower walls and crossed his arms. "I'd sneak over to the old ruins and mess with the derelict equipment left behind, pretend I was General Dameron of the Rebellion."

He chuckled softly. "It wasn't so far off from the real thing. You were still there, telling me what to do."

Leia sighed, allowing herself a moment to relax. "When I was twelve, there was a festival being held in Aldera. I may have lost the privilege to attend the event, and I was very sour about the whole thing."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Poe watching her carefully, a small smile growing on his face. She couldn't remember the last time she had spoken about home. It certainly hadn't been to anyone outside her small family, but the young pilot reminded her of so many in her life. He was a good kid, if a little brash, though hadn't they all been that way at some point?

"The night was warm, just like this one, and I could hear the sounds of music and laughter drift all the way up to my balcony, which was actually very impressive given how high my room was. I moaned about it for hours until my friend, Winter, finally gave in.

"You see, we were the same age, and nearly identical. All it took was a well-placed headdress and I was off to the festival, while Winter pretended I had fallen ill.

"We got caught, of course, but it was an exhilarating twenty minutes."

Poe began to laugh at that, shaking his head. That was the thing about every newer generation: they never believed that the one before was capable of doing anything they did. Perhaps it was better that way, but Leia didn't mind letting a story or two slip on occasion. Sometimes, she simply needed it.

Besides, she hadn't thought of Winter in…so long.

How she missed her.

It fell silent for a time. Together, they watched the sun dip below the horizon.

"We didn't find anything, General."

Leia sighed. "I know."

"That's not to say that there isn't anything to be found. Luke Skywalker is out there, and we'll-"

"It's okay, Poe," she replied, laying a hand on his shoulder. If there was one thing Poe had plenty to spare, it was passion, and while it was good at a time like this, she also worried for him. The highest heights meant the most dangerous of falls, and she had seen many a person broken over the years. "I know we'll find him."

The pilot nodded once, returning his gaze to the landscape. It grew dark quickly, with a few lights from their distant outposts peeking through the trees. She smelled rain on the wind.

Sometimes, in the calm like this, Leia thought she could feel something. Luke had trained her as best he could with the knowledge he had been given. Even after she had left the Jedi and his teachings, the Force remained with her, guiding her. She had been acutely aware of her son's emotions as he grew up – which had been as advantageous as it was detrimental – and could always tell when Luke was nearby. Han had been a bit more difficult – a characteristic he had been immensely proud of – but sometimes, she could feel him just as well.

But not now, she thought. She would reach out, and only feel emptiness on the other side.

"Things are about to change," Leia said aloud, briefly forgetting that she wasn't alone.

"Is that the Force everyone always talks about?" Poe asked.

"No. Experience."


So these first couple chapters are just to give a feel for Demo, and what her daily life has been. We'll see her interact with others soon enough.

Thanks for reading! Until next time!