Halo

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A/N-thank you very much for the kind reviews on the last chapter.

Chapter Thirteen-A Very Tense Reunion

Kylo hadn't seen his mother in the flesh for nearly a decade and he certainly wasn't ready to meet her now. He stood tensely beside Han as the ramp to the Resistance transport slowly lowered revealing Leia Organa Solo in all her glory. Once a senator, a princess and leader of the Rebel Alliance, now a general in the Resistance-his mother had never lost her regal bearing. She had aged, just like Han, but her warm brown eyes remained just the same, and when she turned those same eyes directly on him, Kylo suddenly couldn't breathe.

To Kylo's surprise Han seemed to sense his distress. "Take it easy, son. Let your old man do the talking." He said in a low voice.

"Dad…" Kylo choked on the rest of his words as he looked at his father.

Han gave him a familiar half smile. "I know."

Kylo became lost in childhood memories as he watched his parents reuniting for the first time in years. His mother remained watchful, her striking eyes still lingering on him even as she greeted her errant husband.

"Same old jacket." She deadpanned.

Han was still wearing the same half smile, but now it turned wistful. "No. New Jacket." He answered gruffly.

There was a low rumble from Chewie as he stepped past Han and went to hug Leia. The former princess and the Wookie exchanged a sentimental embrace. Kylo thought how tiny she looked, so fragile against Chewbacca's imposing stature. It made him realize his mother wasn't as invulnerable as she liked to make out. The way she held onto Chewie, her eyes closing briefly as she sank into the warmth of his affection made Kylo's heart hurt. She had never held him like that, not even on the day she sent him away to train under Luke. He had to turn his head away before his reaction showed on his face. There was no way he was going to show weakness in front of her.

When Chewie finally released Leia, he spoke to her in Shyriiwook, explaining to her how they had found Ben and now needed her help. Leia nodded at him, patting his arm fondly before turning back to Han. "You found our son." She said hoarsely as her eyes filled with a glassy layer of tears.

"Yes." Han answered carefully.

"Ben?" Leia's gaze slid past her husband and landed on her only child. She had only managed to take a few steps in Kylo's direction when she felt Han's hand on her shoulder, stopping her. She hesitated, glancing at Han in confusion when he shook his head at her. "Why not?"

"He's not ready yet." Han hated seeing the light dimming in her eyes, but he had a duty of care to his son. The differences that had driven them all apart were still there, simmering just below the surface. Their reconciliation was still tenuous at best-one wrong word, one wrong move-could snap that fragile string that was holding them together. Han did not want to risk losing his son again.

"That's not fair, Han." Leia accused.

"There's a lot you don't know." Han took his hand away from her shoulder and let it drop back to his side.

"Such as?" Leia demanded forcefully.

A profound sadness washed over Han; fatigue engraved on his face. "We failed our son, Leia. We let him down. I am not going to do that again. He needs our help right now not an interrogation."

"I would never…" Leia was appalled at what he was insinuating.

"Yes, you would." Han's tone turned bitter. "For the Resistance you would."

Leia hated that he was right. She was a cause driven person. A crusader, a warrior, and a leader, focused like a cutting torch, passionate, and intelligent. She loved her son fiercely but how could one little boy's scrapes and bruises compete with the need to find a solution to the rising instability in the galaxy? How could a kid that wants for nothing that money can buy ever hope to find himself the sole focus of her attention while she was in the process of building a new government, saving the galaxy from one problem after another, and trying to keep it all from crashing and burning due to political differences among the many Senators? She had tried to be there as much as possible for Ben, but she had so many constraints on her time, and he had been such a difficult child, even more so when he reached his teenage years. He was strong with the Force from a young age and she hadn't felt able to deal with his sometimes-frightening outbursts. Sending him to Luke seemed the ideal solution. She had truly believed that her twin would be able to teach him harmony and a way to harness his powers for the greater good.

All of these thoughts ran through Leia's mind as she looked at Han's troubled face. She could see that he was regretting hurting her, but he didn't take back his inference that she was once again already putting her latest cause above her son. "We'll talk more when we get to the base." She said stiffly.

As she turned away, Han grabbed her arm to stop her. Leia scowled as he pulled her closer, their faces mere inches apart. "The time for talking is past, sweetheart. Now you need to listen."

BB-8 chose that moment to abandon his hiding place and make his grand entrance. With a frantic series of beeps and low whistles, the jittery little astromech rolled straight toward Kylo, shielding behind his leg as he frantically asked about Rey.

D'Qar was a verdant planet located in the Ileenium system of the Outer Rim Territories, the planet was the location of the headquarters of the Resistance. By the time the transport shuttle had reached the lush planet Kylo had still not spoken one word to his mother. Instead, he remained aloof, sitting alone at the back of the transport with BB-8 his only company, while his parents remained huddled together at the front, talking in low voices to each other. Chewie was following behind on the Falcon. Kylo didn't bother listening in. He knew he was the prime topic of conversation and also the same cause of tension he had always been between his parents. He didn't care what they were saying about him. His sole focus was getting to Rey.

Kylo closed his eyes as he tried to concentrate his thoughts using the old Jedi meditation techniques that Skywalker had taught him. Since his mind had bridged with Rey's on two occasions now, he had felt a growing awareness that somehow this was no accident. He was both puzzled and intrigued by the strange connection. He remembered the first time he had accidentally skimmed the edges of her consciousness, and the heady feeling he had gotten when the Force briefly bound their minds together as he experienced through her eyes the lush green landscape of Takodana. The second time hadn't been quite so glorious, her terrifying vision in the dungeons of Maz's castle still unnerved him.

Despite his reservations Kylo decided to test the waters again to see if he could reach out to Rey in the same way. He was desperate to know how she was faring; he was already regretting wasting precious time coming back to the Resistance base. He should never have let his father persuade him otherwise. Kylo steadied his breathing as he reached out to Rey with his mind. A big part of him didn't really think anything was going to happen-the last two times they had been right next to each other when their minds connected-this time he was trying to reach across a far greater distance. What he didn't expect when he reached out was such an instant reaction.

Adrenaline suddenly flooded his system; it pumped and beat as if it was trying to escape. His heart was on the verge of exploding and his eyes shot open wide with fear. Wherever she was, Rey had regained consciousness, and all her thoughts and feelings were being communicated directly to him. Including her fear. And Rey was desperately afraid. Kylo's body felt the urge to run, just like Rey, but instead he remained where he was, locked in her mind. Kylo's adrenaline continued to surge so fast he almost vomited, he could taste saliva thickening in his throat and beads of sweat trickling down his brow. Rey was formulating a plan in her head, getting ready to move, and make a last-ditch effort to fight. She was risking everything on it, uncaring what happened in the attempt, just knowing that she had to try and escape, and battle for her freedom even if she died doing it.

It was the worst thing she could do.

"NO!" Kylo yelled in his head. "DON'T! THEY'LL KILL YOU! I'M COMING TO GET YOU."

He felt her shock and awe at hearing his voice in her mind seep through the bond. This was new. Elation coursed through Kylo when he realized the connection was strong enough for them to communicate telepathically with one another. He tried to talk to her again, but their connection was abruptly severed when the transport landed.

"Dammit!" Kylo swore viciously as he sought to regain that vital connection again. He could feel her there, like some invisible shadow hovering just out of reach on the edges of his mind, but for whatever reason he couldn't bridge that gap. He wasn't willing to wait anymore and he immediately sprang into action. As soon as the ramp was down, he charged past his stunned parents, his whole focus on finding a ship.

"Oh, hell! Here we go again." Han muttered as he left an irritated Leia calling after him as he set off in hot pursuit of his son. He was nearly bowled over by BB-8, who also seemed intent on the doing the same thing. Han glared impatiently at the little droid as it overtook him.

Kylo headed for the first starfighter that he saw. It was a T-70 X-wing starfighter. Like all starfighters of the same model it was armed with four Taim and Bak KX12 laser cannons. He didn't heed the many stares and cries of surprise from the Resistance fighters that followed in his wake as he neared his target. It was only when he was a few meters away that he realized that the pilot was still in the process of climbing out of the cockpit.

"Fuck." He swore again under his breath as he slowed his pace a little when he saw the same pilot jump the last few feet to the ground and greet a darker skinned individual like they were old buddies.

Kylo narrowed his eyes as he recognized the pilot's companion as the same guy who Rey had attacked on Jakku when BB-8 told them he had stolen his master's jacket; which Rey had decided to keep for herself. Kylo had no time to ponder the latest conundrum, nor did he care. His sole focus was getting the X-wing. It was only when the pilot finally turned around and Kylo got a good look at his face that he realized who he was. It was Poe Dameron-the very same pilot who he had been pursuing over Jakku-when they had both fired on one another simualtaneously and shot each other out of the sky. Kylo didn't know whether to punch the guy or shake his hand for essentially leading him to Rey.

"Ben, wait!" Han puffed as he tried to close the gap between them.

Kylo huffed out a frustrated breath as his father's cries alerted Poe and his companion to his presence. He watched as Dameron's friend's eyes widened in recognition. "It's Kylo Ren!" He yelled.

Poe was already drawing his blaster. Kylo scowled as he reached for his lightsaber. He was about to ignite it when BB-8 shot past him right toward Poe. The little astromech let out a series of high whistles and beeps as it greeted Poe excitedly. Dameron was delighted to see his droid back safe and sound, but hid his exhilaration behind a cool mask as he trained his blaster in Kylo's direction. Confused, BB-8's dome head whirled back and forth between Poe and Kylo. He tried to get his master's attention to tell him that Kylo was a friend of the Resistance. Poe looked at BB-8 like he had lost his mind.

"Did you short circuit or something?" He accused as he motioned for him to pipe down. "That's Kylo Ren."

BB-8 burst out into another set of frantic chirps. "Ben Solo." He insisted to Poe in his binary language.

"It is Kylo Ren." Poe retorted irritably. "Tell him, Finn." He said to his companion.

"Definitely Kylo Ren." Finn agreed as he kept a wary eye on the little droid. It was BB-8 who had made the wrong assumption about him before, causing the girl that had been running around with the traitorous little astromech to knock him out in Niima Outpost. Luckily, he had been found a few hours later by Poe, who had unexpectedly wandered into the desert town looking to steal a ship after his own had been shot out of the sky by none other then the same Kylo Ren who was marching threateningly toward them right now.

Finn was trained since birth to serve the First Order as a stormtrooper, but a skirmish on Jakku awakened his conscience and drove him down a different path. He had defected from the First Order after Captain Phasma had ordered him and the other troopers to fire on some innocent villagers on Jakku. He had sneaked off, abandoning his weapon and his uniform as he headed to Niima Outpost in search of someone who could help him flee from the desert planet. Subsequently he had crossed paths with both Kylo and Rey and finally Poe. He couldn't believe that the same little droid that had caused him so much trouble on Jakku belonged to his new friend Dameron.

BB-8 was still insisting that Kylo was in fact Ben Solo and a friend of the Resistance. His interference distracted Poe and Kylo long enough for Han to catch up to his son.

"Will you stop running off?" Han complained breathlessly. "You weren't seriously going to steal that Starfighter?"

Kylo reluctantly uncurled his fingers from around his saber. Han's sudden appearance had confused Poe and he slowly lowered his blaster. In the meantime, BB-8 took the opportunity to roll toward Kylo proudly, happily beeping his true name-Ben Solo.

A/N-thanks for reading! Please review.