Time was an unstoppable force for Sofie. As time marched on, the threat of the First Order increased and her concern for Lana did as well.
Sofie and Leia faced endless frustration trying to convince the New Republic that the First Order was dangerous. Every misstep from them was swept under the rug in the name of peace.
The base on D'Qar was secure and almost completely hidden from plain view, but Sofie still had nightmares about Lana. It felt like the First Order could take her away at any moment. She wanted to focus on training herself and Lana more, but experienced extreme anxiety when separated from Lana.
Leia tried to help Sofie by watching her occasionally, but Sofie knew that this was difficult for her to do in addition to her General duties.
It was easy to keep Lana ins ight when she was crawling, but once she could fully walk, it was a struggle to keep an eye on her.
At three-years-old, Lana could walk, and she could walk far if you didn't watch her.
Sofie asked Leia one day if she or any other of the fighters had time to watch Lana so that she could finally create another lightsaber for herself. The previous one that she had made while at the Jedi Academy was confiscated by Kylo Ren while she was captive.
She always felt guilty asking others to help her but reassured herself that she would make it up to them by raising Lana to also fight for the Resistance.
Once Leia found a bit of downtime she agreed to watch Lana. Sofie was ecstatic at the thought of finally having another personal lightsaber. Leia let her borrow her personal ship for her errand to the outposts.
Everything was set and before Sofie set off, she said goodbye to Leia and Lana.
"You're going to be good for Nana while I'm gone, right Lana?" Sofie said to Lana, giving her a hug and kiss before leaving. Lana was teary-eyed and hated goodbyes, like any other toddler.
"Don't worry!" Sofie wiped Lana's tears from her face. "I'll be back soon, and once you see what I got, you'll be so excited!"
The tears on Lana's face were replaced by new ones as Sofie entered the ship, they waved goodbye from afar.
Once Lana was out of sight, Sofie was relieved to have the opportunity to also let tears on her face form. She wanted to be a proper role-model for Lana, but didn't want to show her how much leaving her, even for a half-day, caused her immense anxiety.
Sofie had been putting off her errand for too long, three years of borrowing lightsabers or using other devices left an itch to have your own.
The ship lifted up from D'Qar slowly and Sofie was finally off. Her plan was to visit the Black Spire Outpost on Batuu, Leia assured her it was a good spot because they currently had a Resistance base set up, and she had seen Kyber crystals for sale in the outpost.
This made Sofie calmer, if something happened on D'Qar, she could easily run to the base, but she still had time to take her time and shop.
Sofie landed at the docking bay and wasted no time getting out and finding the outpost. Once she could see the planet, she was shocked by how much greenery covered the actual outpost itself.
The shops were laid close together, giving the area a cozy feeling. It felt like Sofie could walk forever among the various merchants inside and outside.
Admittedly, she found herself getting distracted by all the goods they were offering, and couldn't resist looking at some of the clothes being sold. Sofie had a few outfits left from the Jedi Academy, but she mainly used Leia and the other fighter's graciousness to let her borrow clothes while at the Resistance base.
Sofie picked up a slightly flowy tunic that she was drawn to. Before she knew it, she had picked out some snug pants and new boots to complement it. She paid with her new political figure slash Jedi assistant salary and happily walked away with a new set of clothing. It was a silly, but small joy to have another outfit of her own.
Satisfied with her purchase, Sofie shifted her attention to Kyber crystals, hilt pieces, and internal lightsaber pieces.
It took darting around to numerous places, but Sofie finally gathered a pool of parts needed to construct the lightsaber. She was relieved that she found one merchant with Kyber crystals not previously bonded with anybody else.
With all of her pieces and new clothing in her backpack, Sofie walked out of the main outpost area to a secluded area hidden by the lush trees that grew on the planet. She laid her pieces out and began to construct the hilt and interior first with tools she had checked out from a merchant.
She finished the entire hilt and was satisfied with her work. The metals she had chosen were duller, and she had made sure that the design she had constructed had room for a sappy idea she had gotten.
Sofie rummaged in her backpack for an item she had held onto for too long. It was the compass pendant that Ben had given her after the mission to Nexa. She removed the chain from the pendant and placed the compass pendant on the very bottom of the hilt. The overall design was simple but became complex towards the compass focal point.
Once Sofie was satisfied with the hilt, she pulled out the Kyber crystal and prepared to bond with it. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, holding it tightly in her palm.
Sofie thought back to when she had trained at the academy and bonded with her first Kyber crystal. She was initially scared to do it due to all of the rumors that were floating around. Other students had warned her that they were almost living beings, and would not hesitate to defend itself if it didn't like you.
Sofie eventually convinced herself to bond with the crystal once she realized how much she wanted her own lightsaber.
After meditating with the crystal then, it had produced a lighter blue color. Almost all of the students at the Jedi Academy had produced a blue lightsaber.
Focusing back to the present, Sofie tried to forget that experience and make a new one with the crystal she had just bought.
She focused strongly on the crystal itself while pulling the Force in. She thought of what she was passionate about, what it truly meant for her to 'do good', and also directed a bit of her bitterness towards Ben into the crystal.
When she opened her eyes, she was unsure of how many minutes had passed, but she opened her palm and saw a green crystal emerge.
"Huh," Sofie said out loud. "It's so different from last time."
She tried to not think about the color change and placed it inside the hilt.
Pressing the button, she activated the lightsaber, admiring the new green plasma that glowed in front of her face.
Sofie stood up and looked around, trying to make sure nobody else was in the area. She practiced using her new lightsaber alone.
Her technique was far from perfect, but she tried to find the muscle memory she had developed previously. Just need to dust off my skills a bit, Sofie said in her head.
Once she felt like she had found some of the muscle memory she held the lightsaber tightly in one hand and deactivated it for safety.
She laughed slightly at her idea but decided to try. She took a deep breath, lifted her arms up, and then jumped into a back handspring.
She successfully flipped backward onto her hands but fell over when trying to stand back up. She rubbed her back in slight pain, a bit embarrassed that she couldn't do her move as easily as before.
"A bit out of practice?" Sofie heard a mechanical voice behind her while she was on the ground. She activated her lightsaber immediately, stood up, and turned around. She blinked once, and the environment around her turned to nothingness with darkness.
She was bewildered by the sight. A figure in all black wearing a helmet stood about 10 feet in front of her. Sofie rubbed her eyes, trying to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
The figure took off its mask and Sofie didn't know if she should be more relieved or scared. Either way, she finally got to see Kylo Ren himself in costume, in Supreme Leader fashion.
Sofie had not engaged in any telepathy with him since she had given birth, and even then, it had been in her head and not manifested in the real world. She figured that her connection with the Kyber crystal had triggered something.
"I was surprised to be called by you, especially while the First Order is carrying out such an important task." Kylo Ren bellowed towards her.
"What?" Sofie barked. "Explain yourself, what important task?"
"Don't worry, the task is already finished," Kylo said to her calmly, too calmly. "Let's just say that I've reclaimed what's rightfully ours. But don't worry, we'll treat her well."
A haunting realization came over Sofie. If you had asked her to describe her abilities in emotional control, she would describe her abilities in high regard.
But at this moment, she was ready to throw that all out.
"You didn't…" Sofie said under her breath quietly. She ran towards him and attempted to land a hit with her lightsaber, but landed on the ground as she only went straight through where he should have been.
"You coward!" Sofie screamed at him from the ground. "She's just a CHILD!" She wiped a few stray tears from her face and stood up. Kylo turned to face her. She couldn't read any emotion on his face. He didn't care.
Sofie walked right up to him, inches away from his non-physical face. She pointed her lightsaber at him threateningly. Despite not being physical, his face lit up with a green glow.
"Mark my words, Ben. I'm going to find you and Lana, and you better not involve any of your pathetic minions so that I can settle this between you and I. You'll have to step up and fight me yourself." Finally, Sofie saw some emotion on Ben's face. It was anger and annoyance.
"And stop referring to her as belonging to the First Order and you. She's OUR fucking child, Ben! Nobody else's!" Sofie spat. She wanted nothing more at the moment than for him to actually be in front of her.
Before she could say anything else, she saw a red lightsaber whirr in front of her. She closed her eyes in anticipation, but nothing happened. When she opened her eyes again, she was in the familiar forest outside of the outpost.
Sofie wasted no time picking up her things and sprinting as quickly as possible to Leia's borrowed ship. She started up the ship quickly and also attempted to send out a call to Leia.
She crossed her fingers in anticipation but felt a bad feeling in her gut when the hologram of a pilot she barely recognized appeared.
"Is General Organa there? It's urgent." Sofie said.
"Miss Sofie, the General just responded to an emergency call from one of our allies. She went there as quickly as she could but has been uncommunicative since she went to speak with them. I think it is an extremely important meeting." The pilot told her. Sofie sighed in desperation.
"That's all you know? Where did she go?" Sofie asked.
The pilot explained in further detail that she had gone to Hosnian Prime to visit Senator Allesk, who Leia and Sofie considered to be an ally. She had been willing to help them try and get funding to help the Resistance, whose resources were minimal. She had been successful as well, so Leia and Sofie had a deep respect for her.
"Please," Sofie pleaded with the pilot, "I think something bad has happened, so please go and check on her." The pilot agreed to try and help. She also sent the ship's coordinates to Sofie so she could easily find them.
Sofie burned more fuel than she should have to get to Hosnian Prime, but that allowed her to get there quickly.
She landed in front of a building where Senator Allesk and some other Senators worked, a Resistance ship was also in front of the building.
Sofie frantically ran to the 7th floor, she relied on her memory to remind her where Senator Allesk's office was.
She got to the 7th floor and frantically knocked on the door to the office. It opened a crack to a man that eyed her suspiciously.
"Can I help you?" The man she recognized as the Senator's assistant asked Sofie. Sofie was out of breath from running.
"Leia… she's here?" Sofie managed to get out some words. She attempted to push the door open. The man relented.
"Sofie Hulrose, correct?" He asked her. "I understand that you might be a bit antsy but Senator Allesk and General Organa are having an extremely important conversation, it involves a life-or-death situation."
"Okay, look. I don't want to explain the whole situation, but Leia was watching my daughter, and I have reason to believe that she was taken by the First Order." Sofie explained, trying to not let the frustration come through her voice.
"I think you're mistaken." The man explained to her, unrelenting. Sofie noted the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
A growing pit was in her stomach, she didn't want to forcefully make her way into the office, they were allies and had the upper-hand when it came to resources for the Resistance. If she made a mistake, they could easily pull their help. She also wondered where the pilot had gone for the ship piloting Leia, weren't they heading up to the office? What was going on?
Her head filled with numerous confusing thoughts, but Sofie tried to push them aside. She had to trust something right now.
A spark ignited inside her, telling her what to do. She wasn't sure if it was her gut or something greater like the Force, but she needed to trust something.
Sofie gulped and pulled out her lightsaber. The man looked at her in shock.
"Is that a threat?" He asked. Sofie activated her saber.
"It is now. Let. Me. In." Sofie said assertively through her teeth.
The door swung open fully and the man went out of sight. Two stormtroopers appeared in front of Sofie.
They pointed their blasters at her and she jumped out of sight immediately. She hid right next to the door frame. Dear god, Sofie thought, it's been a while since I've fought people who actually want to kill me.
Sofie waited and the first stormtrooper started to carefully exit the room, blaster pointed. She held her foot out at the last second, causing the first one to fall to the ground. She inflicted a non-fatal wound and then stepped in front of the doorway in front of the second stormtrooper. They shot at her immediately, she deflected the shots and got close enough to wound the second one. She confiscated their weapons for safety.
Sofie eyed the man now in the corner. "I remember your name now, Daken, correct?" Daken nodded. "Where are they?" Sofie demanded. He pointed to the door leading to the main office.
Sofie put away her lightsaber and swung the door open. She was greeted by the petrified faces of Leia and Senator Allesk. From what Sofie could tell of the scene, Senator Allesk was trying to block Leia from going into the other room.
"Sofie!" Leia exclaimed. "Is Lana alright? What happened just now?"
Sofie panicked. Lana was supposed to be there? She turned back and started to look under the desk and behind the shelves in the room.
Then, Sofie paused. Looking towards Daken. The pieces came together in her mind. "Where is she?" Sofie asked commandingly. Daken just looked towards Senator Allesk. "You both planned this, didn't you?" Sofie said sadly to the both of them.
"Sadiana," Leia asked the Senator. "What in the world is going on? Where is my granddaughter?"
Sofie stepped towards Senator Allesk. She stared at her intently.
"They're taking her to the headquarters. Supremacy." Senator Allesk said flatly. She then turned to Leia, "Please, Leia, don't misunderstand. It was out of self-preservation." She looked like she was ready to beg Leia for forgiveness.
"Well then, now is the time for you to prove your alignment. Where is the ship now?" Leia asked the Senator seriously.
Leia and Sofie rushed to find Lana. Sofie urged Leia to stay behind for safety, she told her to check the building for the Resistance Pilot. Leia tried to apologize to Sofie and explain what exactly had happened.
Leia had received a call from Sadiana Allesk saying that she needed her to come to the Galactic Senate as quickly as possible- she said there was an unimaginable amount of money on the line for the Resistance and she needed her assistance. Leia decided that it would be safe to bring Lana. It would have normally- if Sadiana hadn't set them up.
Sofie used the coordinates given to them to take Leia's ship to Supremacy.
Meanwhile, two stormtroopers that had flown back from Hosnian Prime arrived at the Supremacy base. They docked and alerted General Hux and Kylo Ren of their arrival.
Lana waited on the ship they had used. She had been crying ever since they left Hosnian Prime and was unsure of what was happening. All she knew was that she did not like it.
Hux and Ren made their way to the docked ship.
"Do you have a plan, sir?" Hux asked him.
"A plan? It's a child." Ren answered back to him. He knew secretly what Hux was referring to, but didn't want to admit that he knew to be 'nice'.
"She's three-years-old, probably skittish and terrified. My men are not trained to deal with... children." Hux said to him.
"Do not underestimate my ability to be manipulative," Ren said to him.
They stood at the entrance of the ship. Ren instructed Hux to stay behind. He then walked up into the ship. The two stormtroopers greeted him.
"Sir, we have brought the girl. She is in the left room." One of the stormtroopers said to him.
"Good," He replied. "Wait outside."
He walked to the back of the ship and stood outside the room they were holding her in. Ren reassured himself that gaining her trust would be essential, but he needed to distance himself emotionally.
He entered the room. Lana began to cry harder upon seeing him, helmet, cape, and all. Her legs hung off the bench that the stormtroopers had put her on. She wore a child's tunic.
Ren panicked slightly, fearing he was already failing. He took off his helmet to talk to her.
"It's okay, I'm not a monster." He said to her, staying distant. She cried still. Ren tried to think of ways to gain her trust.
"Do you miss your mom? Do you want to see her?" Lana looked interested at the mention of her mother, and Ren was right, that was all she wanted currently.
Ren walked closer to her and crouched down to one knee so he could be at her level.
"I know you want your mom, but I'm your dad. I can also take care of you." He said to her.
"Where is mom…?" Lana tried to ask him.
Ren weighed his options. "She's busy with other things, she needs help. Don't worry." He said to her. Lana said nothing.
"Are you hungry? Let's go. I'm sure you'll see your mom soon." Ren said to her. Lana was calmer now, albeit confused. She knew what a dad was, but didn't know about her own. Sofie had not tried to explain it to her but previously told her that some people had only one mom or dad.
Ren picked her up and took her out of the ship.
The stormtroopers and Hux watched in interest as their boss walked out of the ship with a small child.
All Ren could think about was who he could hire to take care of her in his place.
Sofie spent the last hour navigating to the presumed location of Supremacy. The ship navigated itself to the coordinates given to her by Senator Allesk.
It stopped and stayed in place. Sofie checked the location and looked out of the windows multiple times in confusion.
There was nothing. It was empty space.
They had moved, Sofie was too late.