Once back in Nexa, Sofie felt a wave of deja-vu wash over her. It had been over 10 years since she had been home. She recognized certain things, but others were completely unfamiliar.
She decided to try and find an old friend, someone she knew would probably still be in the same place. She ventured to the main town square from the port. The capital city, Ambury, was her hometown and consequently the busiest and most prosperous city on the planet. The population density was high in the city center, but it had plenty of sprawl and you could find the rural areas if you traveled far enough.
Sofie began to walk in the general direction of her friend's house and kept an eye out for anybody who looked like they might be traveling far. She asked about a dozen people if they were heading towards Estercester before she finally found someone.
It cost her a set of robes, but she knew it'd be worth it and parted with them easily.
She sat in the back of a hovercraft also carrying grain and the city slowly turned into homes, and then finally open land. She enjoyed the wind and scenery that she had missed. Large mountains stood in the distance, gently capped by white snow. The air was somewhat chilly, but she didn't mind it with her cape.
She watched as speeders went past them, she was glad to choose the cheaper and more relaxing option.
Finally, they arrived at her second path. She could see the house in the distance. She thanked the man who had taken her and started walking. Butterflies floated in her stomach as she walked. What if her friend didn't recognize her? What if she had decided that she disliked her?
Sofie had known her friend Ress for as long as her memory would let her remember. They both went to a small, private school generally chosen by people looking for a more "prestigious" setting and reputation. Ress's father was a successful Archivist and considered himself a scholar with studies done in his spare time.
Sofie finally found herself at the door and took a deep breath before knocking.
She fidgeted as sounds emitted from the house and jumped slightly when the door opened a crack.
A feminine voice interrogated her.
"What do you want?" The voice asked her. Sofie's breath caught in her throat.
"Ress…? Ress, it's me, Sofie." She said gently. Ress hesitated from behind the door but then opened it up completely. She looked at Sofie in pure shock.
"I thought you were gone forever!" Ress exclaimed. She smiled at her, half in disbelief. "Come in." She motioned towards Sofie.
Sofie gave a breath of relief. Things were still as she had left them.
The house had the feel of a cabin, cottage, and contemporary home all at once.
Sofie and Ress sat at the large wood dining table. "It's only my mom and me right now, she's working in the back. I was just making us lunch." She offered Sofie a piece of bread.
"Thank you so much, I don't think you know how much this means to me." Sofie gladly took the bread and gave Ress a huge smile.
They talked for what felt like minutes but were actually hours. Even with the periodic interruptions of her mother, father and younger sister passing through, they had too much to catch up on and easily dove back into their topics.
Sofie told her about entering the Jedi Academy and how much she had learned. She brought her up to speed on what had happened between her, Luke, the other students, and Ben. She described the scene of destruction she had just witnessed.
Ress also told her about the overthrowing of her family, the descent into danger and oppression, and the slow recovery. She told Sofie about how they were lucky to still have their house, and how everyone was afraid that their conquerors would take everything.
Sofie finally asked the question that had been nagging at her.
"Do you know where the rest of my family went?" She asked Ress. Ress's face turned dark and she shook her head.
"I don't think they told anybody. They didn't know who they could trust." Ress held her friend's hand. She continued.
"I can try to help you find them, but it might be hard." Sofie nodded.
She had to decide between that and trying to help Ben. Her subconscious told her that even if she weren't to save Ben for Ben, she should prevent the future that Luke saw. She knew she couldn't mourn the loss of the Ben she knew forever.
"Let's keep it as a side quest, there's something that's much more urgent," Sofie said to Ress.
They decided to call the night off early and determine the next steps in the morning. Ress let Sofie sleep in the spare bedroom once used by her older brother.
Sofie snuggled up under the covers, grateful to be safe and with familiar faces.
Sofie's eyes fluttered and she began to wake from a deep slumber. She was warm, and for a brief second, it felt like how she felt waking up yesterday morning. Her mind brought her back to simpler times when she wasn't worried about Ben, being kicked out of the Academy, or the entire place burning down.
Then, she fully woke. She realized where she was and felt her mood shift.
But something worse was coming.
She jerked up suddenly, a terrible feeling beginning in her stomach. Sofie put her hand over her mouth and searched the room frantically.
Once she eyed the trash can about five feet away she threw herself out of the bed and puked into the trash can. She looked at it in horror and confusion.
"Gross…" She said under her breath, holding her head. "Am I sick?"
It was still early in the morning and the sun was barely coming out. Checking that nobody else was around, Sofie quickly scuttled to the bathroom to rinse her mouth.
Then she left the bathroom and gasped when she saw Ress's mother, Marisra, standing just outside the door.
"Sorry, I was just surprised," Sofie said. Marisra smiled at her, "It's okay, did you sleep well?" Sofie nodded.
"I did, but I think I'm sick or just stressed out, my stomach is not happy... I might have puked in the trash can in my room." Sofie said, assuring herself she'd be the one to clean it up.
Marisra laughed. "No worries, as long as you're not pregnant!" She continued into the kitchen. Sofie froze, considering the possibility.
Now that she thought about it, she had missed her period, and she and Ben had been intimate at least every two weeks. She hated to admit it, but their usual method was pulling out. But what other options do you have in a place like that?
I am so fucking stupid. Sofie thought in her head.
Even if she wasn't pregnant, just the thought alone was terrifying to her. She had to know.
Without another thought, Sofie knocked on Ress's door. She heard a groggy "Come in," through the door. She quickly let herself in and shut the door behind her, Ress sat up from her bed and yawned.
"Ress... I think I need to get a pregnancy test." Sofie said slowly.
Ress, still in bed, stared at her and then fell back on her pillow. She sighed heavily.
"Ok, but just know it is way too early for this."
Under the guise of looking for information on Sofie's family, Ress and Sofie headed to the city on speeders.
They headed into a drug store. The shop was small and slightly disorganized. Ress asked the shop owner if they had any pregnancy tests. He assured them he did and took Sofie and Ress over to where they were.
Sofie picked up one and sighed. She was embarrassed to be seen in public doing this, and even more ashamed that on her second day with Ress, they were getting a pregnancy test of all things.
They bought the test and Ress took her to a small cafe. Sofie and Ress ordered food, and then Sofie excused herself to the bathroom. Ress waved at her and shot her a hopeful look.
Sofie took the test to the bathroom and inspected it. She opened the box. It had a small cup and then chemicals in a dropper.
Weird, but as long as it gets the job done. She thought as she followed the instructions best to her ability.
She watched the cup for a good minute, waiting for the results. White was pregnant, blue was not pregnant.
She closed her eyes. Do I want to know? What will I even do? How could I even support a child? Sofie knew that she could ask questions all day, but it wouldn't change her reality.
She opened her eyes.
White.
Fuck.
Sofie stood there. Not sure of what to do next. She threw the packaging into the trash and looked at herself in the mirror.
She stared at herself and sobbed lightly. Her mind replayed yesterday and she thought about a different life she could have had.
She and Ben could've had the child. They could have been supported by his parents and Luke, she and Ben could have had an excuse to live together, to build a life. Home-cooked meals. Jedi work. Missions together. Teaching.
She wiped tears from her eyes and left the bathroom.
Tess could tell the result was as soon as she saw her. She gave her a hug and thought about the absurdity of it all. An old childhood friend finding her and having to deal with a pregnancy.
They ate their food and kept the mood light despite the results.
It was a quiet journey back to Ress's place as well. Sofie excused herself to the spare bedroom as quickly as she could.
She laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Maybe it was a bad idea to continue the lineage of Darth Vader. But perhaps the child could be a reason for Ben to return to the light. Would he even care? What was he doing now? Would he look for her?
Sofie wiped more tears from her eyes. She knew what she wanted to do. The reaction of Ben would decide for her. If he didn't care, there was no reason to keep pursuing a hopeless cause. But if any part of him wanted to be involved, that was enough for her.
She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the dark side of Ben. She replayed the conversations they had together in her mind.
Then, she sat up quickly, three words appearing in her head.
Knights of Ren.
Ben had told her that they made a plea to him while he was on a mission with Luke and told him that they could see his potential and that if he ever wanted to, he could join them. At the time he laughed it off, but Sofie knew that his reaction wasn't enough to count it out.
She grabbed her backpack and ran out of the room. Tess and her entire family were having a snack in the kitchen. They looked at her, all of them confused. Tess gulped.
"Do any of you know anything about the Knights of Ren?"
After Sofie's inquiry, Tess's father advised her to be careful when researching such a topic. They were a destructive and dangerous group and any information about them would probably be found in a seedy cantina.
Concerned for her safety, Tess's father did a bit more asking around and eventually contacted a friend of a friend who was a spacer and had been in the general area where the Jedi Temple was. He knew about everything happening in that area.
That was enough information for Sofie. She decided to pursue the lead.
"Thank you for everything Tess, I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer." Sofie told Tess as she dropped her off in the city. Tess gave her a hug.
"I hope I can see you again. One day." Tess told her with a smile.
She left and Sofie waved goodbye.
Sofie went into nearby cantina where Tess's father's contact would be. He told her to look for a human spacer named Jaa Kilis.
The inside was barely lit and despite it being half full, she felt like all eyes were on her when she entered.
She grabbed a drink and began to look around. A man sitting alone at a booth to the left of her looked at her. She looked back at him and then walked towards him.
"Jaa Kilis?" Sofie asked him.
"That's me." He replied. Sofie sat down and shook his hand. She was relieved that she found him easily.
"Sofie, nice to meet you." She smiled at him.
Jaa didn't ask too many questions, but rather answered Sofie's questions. He told her that it must have been fate for him to overhear a conversation at the cantina in Varnak. He told Sofie how he had seen Ben Solo himself meeting with the Knights of Ren. Their conversation had consisted of Ben describing a violent confrontation with some students that had also attended the Jedi academy.
Sofie's ears perked up at the mention of her peers.
"Students? But I saw the Jedi Academy, there were no survivors. Did he say any names?" She asked Jaa. He shook his head.
"If he did, I don't remember. But after Ben described that scene, the Knights decided to let Ben go with them to Minemoon. They told him to wait and get a change of clothes first. He had some pretty tattered robes. From what I heard, their goal is to steal an ancient artifact " Jaa described.
"Minemoon?" Sofie said under her breath. "Could you possibly take me there in your ship?"
"I can drop you off but you'll have to find your own way back," Jaa said. Sofie bit her lip.
"Okay." She said, deciding to trust her own abilities.
Sofie and Jaa headed off to Minemoon urgently. Jaa wasn't sure if they had already left or not.
Luckily for them, their timing was perfect.
It wasn't difficult to figure out where Ben and the Knights of Ren had gone since the moon was small. Jaa and Sofie began their descent to the mine. As they got closer to the ground, Sofie saw two ships. One was unfamiliar to her, but the other one was just landing and she recognized it from the Jedi Academy.
Her heart skipped a beat. A spark of hope was lit inside her. Maybe all that Luke had worked for wasn't completely destroyed yet.
Once they landed Sofie hastily thanked Jaa and asked what she owed him. Jaa said she was covered through a favor.
"I'll always help a Hulrose. I knew your father, he was very kind to me." He waved goodbye to Sofie and she waved back sadly. She wished she could do more for him.
Staying on task, she started to approach the ship she recognized from the Jedi Academy. She activated her lightsaber as a precaution.
The ship's door began to open and Sofie watched in anticipation.
As soon as they came out of the ship, Sofie knew she couldn't be mistaken.
"Tai! Voe!" She yelled as loudly as she could across the desert terrain. They must have heard her because they turned in her direction. She ran towards them. Voe was familiar to her since they were roommates for so long. She knew Tai was close to Voe as well but regarded him as a familiar acquaintance.
"Sofie!" She heard Voe yell back. They hugged as soon as Sofie caught up to them.
"What the hell are you doing here? I thought I was never going to see you again." Voe asked Sofie.
"I guess I could ask you guys the same thing. I saw what happened to the Academy. I thought there were no survivors." Sofie explained between breaths.
Voe and Tai's faces turned dark. "Everyone except us and Hennix. We had a confrontation with Ben and unfortunately lost Hennix along the way."
Sofie frowned. "He killed him?" She asked. Voe and Tai nodded. "Ben has… become something neither of us could have imagined. But we still believe he can be saved." Tai told Sofie.
Sofie nodded in agreement. "I have hope too."
The three of them walked confidently and headed into the mine. Sofie felt reassured with them by her side.
Sofie, Tai, and Voe entered the mine and immediately saw Ben with an unknown person. They looked like they were having a tense conversation. Cries of help emitted from further down the mine.
Tai and Voe moved quickly past both of them further into the mine. The unknown man ran after them.
Sofie stood at the mouth of the mine alone with Ben. Ben turned to face her and a look of shock washed over his face.
Ben rubbed his eyes in confusion, unsure if she was real.
Sofie unactivated her lightsaber and locked eyes with Ben. She took a cautious step forward.
"It's me, Ben." Sofie said to him sadly.
"What are you doing here?" Ben asked, gripping his lightsaber tightly.
"We came to try and help you," Sofie started. "I saw what happened at the Jedi Academy. Please, don't join the Knights of Ren. Don't go down this path."
Ben just stared at her, softening his defensive stance.
"Did you really choose to leave?" Ben asked her. Sofie looked at him, puzzled.
"What? Choose to leave? Luke found us that morning and told me I had to leave." She explained, slowly taking another step towards him.
"Why didn't you put up any kind of fight?" Ben said, looking at her suspiciously. Sofie sighed.
"I understood why he was doing it, with reputations and everything. But I also knew we'd be reunited somehow, so I wasn't worried," Sofie explained to him. Maybe the situation they were currently in wasn't how she imagined they would meet again, but they were together.
Ben still said nothing, Sofie could read the nervousness on his face. Becoming more desperate, she moved as close as she could while still feeling secure.
"Ben, please. I love you. Let's just put this behind us and be together like we wanted." Sofie said, on the verge of begging.
Now about eight feet away from him, Sofie swore she saw tears forming in his eyes.
Ben closed his eyes. An unknown voice spoke to him in his head.
This is it, the voice started, this is the kill that will prove your worthiness. She knows everything you've done, it's too late.
Sofie's body became rigid and she gripped her unactivated lightsaber.
Ben opened his eyes and locked eyes with Sofie. She held her breath, activated her lightsaber and got in a defensive pose. Ben read the sadness across her face. She shook her head lightly at him as if she knew what he planning.
A split second later, Ben swung towards her. She reacted quickly, blocked his swing and pushed him back with her lightsaber.
Sofie wanted to only fight defensively but could tell she wouldn't have the option.
Ben tried to get the upper hand on her and swung at her multiple times. Sofie blocked his attempts and then Force threw him across the mine entrance. She took a deep breath, reminding herself that Ben was in turmoil and that as long as she stayed cool and collected, she could best him.
She approached him with calmness and lunged at him. He countered her moves as they delved into a full out duel.
They were equally matched and had trained together numerous times before. Sofie knew Ben's tricks and quirks, but this also meant that he knew hers as well.
They both swung at each other dozens of times, neither of them making much progress.
Then, they both lunged at once and came into a close lock. Sofie observed the sweat on Ben's forehead and felt both lightsabers warming her face as well.
She stopped, letting her guard down for a brief moment. She realized that she didn't recognize him, and it pained her to look at him.
Ben broke the closeness and Force shoved her, causing Sofie to lose her balance, fumble her lightsaber and get the wind knocked out of her. She slid backward on the dirt. Ben loomed over her and lifted his saber.
Sofie tried to catch her breath, "Ben… wait," she said weakly. She watched two lone tears roll down his cheeks. She could sense the hesitation in him.
"I'm pregnant! Ben, please!" Sofie blurted out, tears forming in her own eyes. Sofie watched Ben's expression change, but she couldn't tell what it changed into.
Stop.
Snoke echoed in Ben's head. Don't kill her, bring her to me.
Sofie felt a wave of relief wash over her as she watched Ben lower his weapon.
Her relief changed into confusion when he Force lifted her.
"What are you doing?!" She asked him, exasperated.
Ben's face now showed no emotion. "I'm taking you to Snoke," He said to her. Sofie panicked and struggled to break free.
" Ben! I know this isn't really you, don't do this!" She pleaded with him, tears rolling down her cheek now. She yelled and screamed as loudly as she could, maybe it was to get Voe and Tai's attention, or maybe it was because she felt like she had lost all control, and didn't know what else to do.
Ben tried to ignore it here and blocked out all of his emotions. It made it easier to handle, as he knew he couldn't handle it much longer.