Leaving her friends behind for the second time, the only semblance of a family she had known, was harder than the first. She had ten days to send out information on her next movements to the rebellion or they would return to their bases and continue their resistance, likely getting them killed.
Leia remained skeptical, but the look in her eyes when she spoke to Rey made her feel like she could do anything. Finn escorted Rey to the First Order ship and gave her a tight hug before she re-entered the vessel.
Had she been right to join the First Order? There was seemingly no other option. Ben asking her to join him was the first glimmer of hope in this endless fight she had seen since leaving Tatooine, or even before. Her whole life had been fight after fight since her parents disappeared.
Her parents. Maybe her newfound resources could help her discover more about her parents. Dead in a pauper's grave. But still people. People worth knowing. Worth loving for what they were.
In this position Rey could finally make a change to the world around her, have the influence and power to do so. A junk trader, ruling the galaxy. No. A Jedi. A Jedi to balance out the Sith. If they didn't kill each other maybe this could work.
As Rey approached the ramp, Ben came down to meet her, him throwing a quick look Finn's way. They had fought some time previously, she remembered. That would be a hard sell, but she turned to look at her companion, her friend, and he looked at Ben with new eyes. Eyes open to possibility. One down, a hundred thousand to go.
"I assume that went well." Ben asked.
Rey looked up at him, towering over her. "As well as could be expected."
Her peripherals caught Hex watching them. "Maybe we could discuss this in private."
"Supreme Leader," Hux started, "As your general, I have your best interests and the interests of this–"
Ben held up a hand, "We will discuss the details in private and I will fill you in on that which you need to know."
Hux nodded, jaw clenched. They all returned to the hold until they reached the Imperial Star Destroyer.
"Follow me." Ben said softly as he led Rey through groups of storm troopers.
She hadn't gotten quite used to relaxing around such a company considering that not an hour ago they would have opened fire at the sight of her. But they walked without being disturbed until they reached Ben's old quarters.
"I remain here until they have cleaned out the Supreme Leader quarters." It was nothing fit for an emperor, but it was still rather large. It held a console for food and drink along with a bed up against the wall and a chest of drawers. There was also a small table for games and gambling she could presume. It was comfortable.
"You may sit," Ben explained as he took a seat on his cot, gesturing to the single seat at the table.
Rey looked at the seat as she slowly lowered into it. In private she had asked to talk, but now she was beginning to regret her decision. He looked at her with expectation, but Rey hadn't fully formed her thoughts to share.
"Well, the meeting with the resistance leaders went rather well, all things considered. They have agreed to disband temporarily."
"Temporarily will not work. They must obey–"
"-Their trust has to be earned, not commanded. As you may not remember, many of them do not have homes to truly return to. They will have to start new lives on strange planets."
"That is a problem they will have to rectify on their own."
"As their leader it is your responsibility to care for those in need." Rey looked at him, and saw nothing but a boy with too much power and a cruel world that had left him to wield it alone.
"What would you know about leading?" His words cut like a knife.
Rey sat for but a moment, not holding his gaze. "I may not have led many people in my life, but I have seen what it is to not lead well. And from that, I have some understanding of what it is to lead, with kindness and compassion."
Ben did not acknowledge her statement, but his lack of a rebuff communicated his acceptance. "Then what was their terms? You said temporarily. What are their terms for permanence?"
Rey relaxed a bit as she continued. "They want to know that they will not be hunted down and killed. They want to know that the New Order will be just that, new. That we will truly allow democracy to occur and help the galaxy. To reestablish the Jedi– "
"The Jedi? Rey? Surely you're not that short sighted." Ben scoffed.
"What do you mean? The Jedi were the protectors of the people. They kept the balance–"
Ben stood up, the energy of his anger seeking an outlet. "Oh, is that what they did? REY. The Jedi caused the imbalance."
Rey stopped and stared at him. He truly believed this to be true.
"Luke himself knows the Jedi were ruled by hubris. The universe does not thrive under solely good, the thing that the Jedi 'pursued.' They sought to control the darkness within the galaxy. Within themselves. But without darkness, there can be no light. They denied themselves of their personhood, emotion: anger, fear, love." Ben hung on that last word, holding her gaze as he sat back down on his cot.
"Their obsession with the rooting out of evil rather than coming to peace with its existence, even in themselves, is what has thrown the galaxy into an age of Chaos."
Rey sat with his words for a long moment. Ben was right. Luke had even told her of the Jedi's faults. The grand temples they had built with hierarchy and politics. It surely had begun with peace and good intentions, but had developed into something completely pompous and imbalanced.
"Okay, not reestablish the Jedi. But give some semblance of order. Not oppressing those less fortunate, but taking care of them."
"I have every intention of doing what is best for the galaxy."
"Yes but you have to give them a voice, Ben."
At the use of his name, he looked up at her. "Fine."