Rey, Poe, and Finn gathered around the central holotable in the command pavillion, looking down on the map of Ajan Kloss and the surrounding systems.

"So what's our next move?" Finn asked.

"I can't stay, I'm afraid," Rey said. "I need to return to Tatooine to learn what I can from the Jedi who have gone before."

Poe sighed "I thought you'd say that," he said. "Is there any way you can do that here?"

Rey furrowed her brows. "I was told specifically to go to Tatooine," she said.

Poe nodded. "I understand if it's not an option," he replied. "But...we need you here. Finn and I can't keep their morale up on our own. Having you here today really lifted their spirits. You inspire them, Rey."

"I think you're selling yourself short, Poe," she said. "I've seen how they look up to you. They would follow you anywhere."

Poe shook his head adamantly. "It's not the same," he replied. "Rey, we can find you somewhere off in the forest, build you a little hut where you can live and meditate and commune with whoever you need to. No one would ever bother you. But just knowing you were there, seeing you every now and again...it would do more for them than I can tell you."

The burden of her dual roles weighing down on her, Rey searched Poe's eyes.

"I understand if you say no," Poe said after a few moments. "Just...give it some thought. That's all I'm asking."

Rey dropped her eyes to the holotable and leaned on it, deep in thought. She could not escape her responsibilities. She couldn't even completely confine herself to the role of rebuilding the Jedi Order. Already, she realized that she had become more than that. She sighed heavily, feeling her shoulders slump under the weight of the galaxy's expectations. For a fleeting moment, she wanted nothing more than to run off to some desolate, isolated system until the galaxy had forgotten her.

"Are you okay?" Poe asked, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She took a deep breath in and squared her shoulders. "Yes." She nodded emphatically. I may not have chosen this, but I cannot back down now. She looked to Finn, then to Poe.

"You don't have to do this alone," Finn said, his dark brown eyes warm and sincere.

She nodded again, slower this time, and took another deep breath. The pressure on her chest eased a little. In that moment, she realized how much she had missed them. Their support and companionship had come to mean everything to her. She looked over at Poe, and her eyes rested on him.

"I'll stay," she said.

Poe grinned and pulled her into a hug, slapping her on the back. Finn hugged her from behind and squeezed her tight. A smile broke out over her face. For a moment, anything felt possible.

Ben stood there, alone, feeling as though the whole camp's eyes rested on him. He looked around for a friendly face, desperation rising in his chest, and his eyes caught on the man he had seen pull Poe and Finn aside earlier. He sat at a desk inside a small pavilion a short distance from the others, surrounded by ancient-looking tomes and loose papers curling at the edges. Stiffly, Ben approached him. Beaumont glanced up as he drew near, his eyes widening slightly as he realized who Ben was.

"My name is, uh, Ben Solo.," Ben began, just as awkwardly as last time.

Beaumont rose slowly. "Beaumont Kin, intelligence division," he replied, reaching across his desk to shake Ben's hand. Ben took it cautiously and found Beaumont's handshake to be firm and sincere.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Ben asked.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd love to interview you," Beaumont replied, a twinkle appearing in his eye. "I'm a historian by trade, and I've always been fascinated by the Sith and the Jedi. I imagine you'd have some incredible insights to share."

Taken aback, Ben replied hesitantly, "I can do that."

"Great," Beaumont replied, and pulled a stool out from under the desk for Ben to sit on. Returning to his side of the desk, he shifted a massive tome over a few inches to uncover a recorder. Ben sat on the stool, his knees approaching his chest. He shifted uncomfortably as Beaumont readied the recorder.

Beaumont set the recorder down on the desk between them, then leaned forward, his elbows on the desk.

"If you wouldn't mind stating your name for the record," he said. "It helps keep things organized."

"Ben Solo," Ben said, a little too loudly.

"And any other names you're known by."

Ben's jaw hardened, and he eyed Beaumont with hostility, but there was nothing in his expression to indicate any malice.

"Kylo Ren," he said at last, the name bitter on his lips.

"Now if you'll state your year of birth, home planet, and any family members."

"5 ABY, Chandrila. My father was Han Solo. My mother was Leia Organa. And my uncle was Luke Skywalker. My father didn't have any family, but my grandparents on my mother's side were Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker."

"An impressive lineage," Beaumont mused. "You are, of course, very strong in the Force."

"Yes," Ben replied.

"What was it like growing up? There must have been very high expectations on you."

Ben's brows drew together. His childhood was not something he liked to think about, much less something he liked to talk about. He couldn't even remember most of it. The overwhelming sense he drew from what he did remember was one of agonizing loneliness, abandonment, and anger. "Yes," he said again, his jaw tense. The silence stretched out, and Beaumont only looked at him, mildly but expectantly.

Ben sighed. "My parents were gone most of the time," he began, each word clipped and hard. "And they handed me off to my uncle as soon as they possibly could. They wanted me to become the next Luke Skywalker, but they couldn't be bothered to do any of the work themselves."

"How old were you when you began training with your uncle?"

"Ten."

"What was training like?"

Ben balked again, deeply uncomfortable with where these questions were heading. "It was great until he got scared of how strong I was in the Force and tried to kill me," he said, resentment roiling underneath every word.

"I was more asking about the logistical side of training," Beaumont replied kindly. "But I can see you're uncomfortable talking about this. If you'd like, we can postpone this for another time."

Suddenly aware of his clenched fists and his rock-hard shoulders, Ben nodded. He stood abruptly, knocking the stool over. The familiar rage boiled up in his chest, and his fists tightened as he nearly smashed the stool into Beaumont's desk. With a great effort, he restrained himself and instead righted the stool, his large frame trembling with anger.

As he stalked off, he sensed Rey reaching out to him.

Is everything all right? I can sense your anger from here.

He stopped dead in his tracks as some of the tension melted from his shoulders. Everything's fine. I didn't hurt anyone.

What happened?

I just got angry, that's all. It was nothing.

He could sense her probing. If you're certain, she said at last before withdrawing herself.

Alone once more, Ben continued on his way, painfully aware of all the eyes that followed him. He returned to the Falcon and stepped inside, the cool interior a relief after the humid warmth of outside. Gripping the back of the pilot's seat, he forced a few trembling breaths in and out. He had to keep his anger in check if he was to have any chance of gaining their trust, he knew that very well. He couldn't just fly off the handle like he had as Kylo Ren. Anger was encouraged and embraced on the Dark Side, but not here. He knew he had changed, he knew he wasn't the man he had been before, but he also knew no one would believe him until he could prove it. So after one last deep breath, he stood straight and made his way back outside.

Rey, Poe, and Finn were now in full strategy mode, poring over the holotable.

"Our biggest weakness right now is that they know exactly where we are, but we have no idea where they are," Poe said. "They could come from anywhere."

"So we'll need a new base," Finn said. "Otherwise we're sitting ducks."

"Exactly," Poe replied.

Silence fell as they each studied the map, brows furrowed, searching for another unexpected corner of the galaxy they could relocate to.

"Where would be the last place the First Order would expect us to go?" Finn mused.

"To be quite honest," Rey said. "I'm not certain it matters. They've been greatly weakened by the loss of their Supreme Leader and most of their fleet. We're not dealing with an organized force here. These are only isolated outposts of people who refuse to give up on a lost cause. It might make the most sense to split our fighters up and assign each a target. We can destroy them before they have a chance to organize themselves."

The corner of Poe's mouth lifted in a half-smile. "I like that," he said.

"First we have to find our targets," Finn replied. "This attack has to be carefully coordinated. We can't leave any loose ends."

Rey smiled. "I think I know just the man to ask."