The First Order.
Just these three words brought pain to any member of the Resistance. The thought that the Empire had been defeated in the glory days of Luke Skywalker vanished in the harsh reality of the recreation of the Dark Side's reign.
The Dark Side was especially noticeable of overcoming the Skywalker bloodline as Anakin Skywalker, former Jedi apprentice and member of the Council, was forcefully seduced to the Dark Side by Emperor Palpatine, committing acts of slaughter and taking the name of Darth Vader, who young Ben Solo idolized with all of his life. While Emperor Palpatine's whereabouts had seemed to be unknown, Anakin Skywalker had died in front of the eyes of his own son, in which Luke had successfully converted to the Light Side to defeat Emperor Palpatine once and for all, and shared a victory on Endor with his sister Leia Organa and his friend Han Solo, the latter and former joining in marriage and giving birth to Ben. Ben had grown a curiosity with the Darth lords who reigned when the Empire was in full force, and no matter how hard his mother and father tried to hide it, his grandfather had ruled the Empire under the control of Emperor Palpatine.
At first, before his encounters with Supreme Leader Snoke, this completely confused him. My mother, father and uncle were the fighters of hope and peace… how could they have been in relation to one of the Galaxy's most famous evil overlords? But then it had occurred to him: after reading more about how the Empire had fallen, Ben searched his feelings with the Force for the answer and had found it: Luke Skywalker had tried constantly to convert Anakin back to the light, and had succeeded. Of course, at this moment Ben left unaffected; he hadn't encountered any means to convert him to the Dark Side, and Han and Leia were very dear to him. It wasn't until Luke Skywalker requested Ben to join him to train to become a Jedi under the protection of the Force ghosts and himself. Ben's mind was clear at that point: despite his fascination for his grandfather, he didn't want to fall under the same trap that he had, therefore he decided to join Luke Skywalker to train as a Jedi so that they could continue to maintain peace across the galaxy.
"Skywalker wants to outsmart me again, does he?" Emperor Palpatine had mysteriously survived the attacks from Luke and Anakin and created a life form that would soon become Supreme Leader Snoke on the desert planet Exegol, in the hopes of successfully converting another member of the Skywalker bloodline to the Dark Side. It was a long process for Palpatine himself to be appointed the title of Emperor; he had to be elected by Queen Padme Amidala as well as successfully converting Anakin to kill the rest of the Jedi Council as well as to get him to overtake the rest of his peers having known the pain he had experienced. When he was creating Snoke, however, he knew exactly how to get the Dark Side back into power: he'd create a new version of the Empire, the First Order. Under Snoke's rule, the First Order quickly rose to power in an effort to overshadow the newly-formed Resistance, and many innocent civilians had been taken into exile to join the imperial fleet.
Taking notice of this, Leia and Han continued to try to keep young Ben safe from the First Order and the Dark Side until being summoned by Snoke, who, under Palpatine's command, tried to convince him to go against his mother and father and join the Dark Side, where Palpatine felt he would have true power and superiority above all else as well as to get complete revenge on the Skywalker family.
"It is in your blood," Supreme Leader Snoke spoke as Ben had entered the throne room. "You want to follow Darth Vader's footsteps just as he walked across his fate to create them… power and control is your greatest desire." Ben, at first being confused as to how he got into the throne room (due to Palpatine's control, Snoke was indeed powerful with the Force) had his mind raced. He didn't want his uncle to figure out where he was and who he talked to, but he also wanted to deny Snoke's offer.
"My grandfather may have been inspirational to me," Ben started, "but I would go against everyone who loves me if I were to join you. I don't want anyone to feel unsafe around me."
"Your mind is at the same place as Anakin Skywalker when he was seduced to the Dark Side by Emperor Palpatine," Snoke snickered. "You would give up complete control and power for your weak, pathetic, disgraceful family?" Ben felt conflicted and personally attacked by this statement. He glared at the Supreme Leader with an intimidating look, one would assume comes from the feeling of true anger and hatred. Ben had always felt conflicted in the past, but he stood there in the middle of the sides of the Force, knowing very little about how to decide his outcome: he would either join the light and stay protected by the defensive Jedi, or he would join the Dark Side and become a Sith Lord, following the person he so idolized and wished to become, only without realizing it was Anakin's emotions that got the best of him. The Dark Side was far more seductive than the light and could easily turn even the most kindhearted individual into a ruthless terrorist, so Ben felt that either way he'd be forced to join the Dark Side.
"It is in my blood, I know," Ben started, "but Uncle Luke is part of my blood too. So is my father; his soul would be crushed if he saw my heart turn cold." Ben felt scared to talk to Snoke from this point on, worried that he'll betray everything he ever loved just to sell his soul to the Dark Side. Snoke knew very well of the boy's fear, but knowing of his intentions, he presented not a single hint of concern towards Ben, who had looked absolutely horrified.
"You idolize Anakin," Snoke replied. "You constantly want to be just like him. And now, when you have the opportunity, you turn it away? If you feel so concerned over protecting the light side of the Force, then why do you idolize Anakin in the first place?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" Ben exclaimed, breaking down into tears in fear and not knowing what to say. The red-armored guards surrounding Snoke had raised their weapons at young Ben, suspecting that he would attack, though Ben was facing far too much turmoil to even consider attacking anyone. Snoke went up from the throne towards Ben, holding out his hand and choking Ben using the Force. The look on his face was demanding and forceful, and Ben couldn't escape for the life of him. While Ben continued to struggle, Snoke's grasp became gradually tighter, continuing to make Ben feel more pressured than he has ever felt before.
"Ben Solo..." Snoke started. "You will join the Dark Side. You will avenge your grandfather, one who you so idolize, and you will kill Luke Skywalker, for he is the reason your uncle betrayed the Dark Side. After all… you do want to be just like him." Snoke dropped the boy, who abruptly fell on the ground body-first. He struggled for an entire minute trying to breathe, and when he was able to talk, his voice sounded very faint, but still audible.
"D-Darth Vader betrayed the Jedi…"
Ben was pushed directly in front of Snoke.
"AND YOU WILL DO THE SAME!"
Ben thought carefully for a moment. He knew by doing this, he would betray his family, but he would also live up to his idol. Ben had never been good at deciding what to prioritize, but he knew if he denied Snoke's offer, he would be sentenced to death or just be forced to anyway. Snoke let go of Ben (gently this time) and decided to let him have his moment. After 5 minutes of crying and heavily breathing, Ben finally made up his mind.
"I… I will fulfill my legacy…"
A sinister, intimidating smile formed on Snoke's face. He tilted his head downward to Ben, completely satisfied in his decision.
"Good… I am confident you will become the next Darth Vader. Forget about your uncle's Jedi training; I will be your master from now on."
Ben stared at Snoke, both fear and anger on his face. He knew he would be betraying his family, but in the eyes of authority, he knew he made the right decision.