"Absolutely not."

"There isn't another way," Rey said.

"There's always another way," Finn said, shaking his head vehemently. He hadn't been the only one to react negatively to Rey's suggestion of using Ben as a way to recover the hostages, but he was the most outspoken. "He's manipulating you, Rey. You're crazy if you think he isn't going to turn on us the second he's back with his First Order buddies."

"He wouldn't be going alone," Rey shot back. "We can both go with him."

"He could easily overpower us."

"He's barely strong enough to stand!" Rey said. She could not hide her rising frustration. "Even if he wanted to, he couldn't touch us. And I'm more than a match for him even at full strength, but I guess that's no comfort to you, since you don't seem to trust me anymore."

Finn's jaw worked up and down as he searched for a response, but Poe cut in first. "That's enough. It's not your call, Finn. Yours either," he added to Rey, quashing any feelings of satisfaction before they could fully form. "We're going to discuss our options calmly before we make any kind of decision. That being said, I would like to consider Rey's proposal as a serious possibility."

"It's very risky," Commander D'Acy, "but I'm not necessarily opposed to it under the strictest supervision. Who else has an idea of how to handle this?"

"Why don't we just tell them we're going to exchange prisoners, and then not actually do it?" Rose said.

"Ben doesn't think they'll even bring the hostages," Rey said. "He thinks it's a feint."

"He's probably right," Finn said grudgingly. "On that point."

"My plan would work either way," Rey said. "If they do bring the hostages, we just take out the escorts and rescue our people. If they don't, we can carry out the rest of the plan."

"I hate to say it, but she's right," Lieutenant Connix chimed in. Rey didn't know the young woman as well as she should, considering both of them had been close to General Organa. It seemed that Poe valued her opinion, too; he leaned forward and listened carefully as she spoke. "I don't see a viable alternative. We could send an attack force, but they'll just execute the hostages when they see us coming."

Poe nodded gravely. "I think our only real options are the bait and switch. We set up an exchange like Rey described-but the question remains whether we send Kylo Ren with our team or not."

"Don't we have to?" Jannah said. All heads turned towards her. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I mean, if we show up without him and they don't have the hostages, everything goes south. I don't think we'll get a second chance after this one."

Poe and Commander D'Acy exchanged a look. The woman nodded almost invisibly. Poe sighed and stood up, hands on his hips. "Fine," he said. "Patch me through to that First Order bastard."

The so-called First Order bastard responded immediately, agreeing to the terms Poe set out: they would meet in neutral space, a predetermined distance away from both the Resistance base and the Star Destroyer, and exchange prisoners. If the officer suspected something, he didn't show it. As soon as they received the confirmation, the Resistance sprang into action. Poe and Commander D'Acy hand-picked the team, which included Rey, Finn, Jannah, and Rose, as well as three pilots who would man the transport while the other four infiltrated the Destroyer, if it came to it.

Rey felt certain it would come to it. She hurried back to Ben's cave to tell him in person.

"The ship leaves in two hours," Rey said. "Are you sure you'll be up to it?"

"I'm sure," Ben said. He kicked off his covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed, grimacing as he did. Rey moved to offer him her hand. At first it looked like he was going to reject her help, but then he put his hand in hers. She grasped his elbow with her other hand and helped him to stand. He wobbled on his feet for a second, then nodded, and reluctantly Rey let him go. She looked up into his face, still paler than moonlight, but the least haunted Rey had ever seen it. He met her gaze and chuckled. "You look so worried."

"I am," she said indignantly. "And for good reason."

Ben touched his thumb to her chin, quiet affection in his eyes, but his smile slipped. "I'm sorry," he said, and she saw the shadow grow upon his face once more. "For everything I ever did to hurt you. I know nothing I say or do could ever make it better-"

Rey took his face in her hands, startling him into silence. "Thank you," she said. "And I'm sorry, too. For everything that happened to you that hurt you." She wanted to chase that shadow away from him forever, to banish the darkness to a place so distant even memory couldn't touch it. "We may not be able to change what we have or haven't done," she said. "But we can change what we do now, and what we do tomorrow."

He bent forward, tipping his forehead against hers.

"Let the past die," Rey said softly.

The sound of his responding laugh filled her with the sensation of starlight. "That's right," he said, and kissed the tip of her nose. "Kill it if you have to."