A/N: Sorry for the name change, I'm terrible at them so a better one occurred to me like three hours after I uploaded. I'm just borrowing the universe, I don't own it. 3 (returners, this is one I fixed a good bit)

"Wow," Rey's eyes didn't know what to focus on. She and Leia had found themselves in what was best described as an underground hanger. Most of it was cleared out, but the structure itself remained mostly intact. It clearly hadn't been inhabited in quite a few years. "How did you know this was here?"

"A… friend of mine came here once before," Leia responded, with just a hint of sadness to her voice.

"What used to be here?" Rey asked, noting Leia's reluctance to call the mystery person a friend.

"This was an Axamite training ground."

"Wait, really? I didn't think they were real," Rey said, with genuine surprise in her voice.

Leia chuckled, "Neither did I. But they were. At least until I took most of them out."

"Hang on a minute…" Rey turned to face the General. "What do you mean 'took them out'?"

Leia was all but grinning, "Back when I was still a Senator, I was doing a little research on a potential threat to the Republic. I might have gotten caught up in a bit of a skirmish. I had some help."

"And was that typical in the life of a Senator?" Rey asked. She was almost certain it wasn't. Rey had never learned much about Galactic Politics. Jakku wasn't exactly important compared to many of the core planets and the "government" she was familiar with was not much more than the swift justice of those lucky or rich enough to have weapons.

"No." Leia's response was clipped, but not unfriendly. It was however clear she would not be saying much more on the subject. "We need to contact Poe to have him bring a few to recover what we can now that we know it is still here."

"It looks like there are a few land cruisers, and a few crates of blasters. That's definitely better than nothing." Rey began to explore a little further into the hanger. Her adrenaline was already a bit high from the experience, she didn't even notice the gentle tug of the bond.

The tall dark figure in the corner made her audibly gasp, "Is everything alright?" Leia shouted from around the corner.

Kylo Ren was staring her down, his gaze intense, but not threatening. "Uh yeah, just bumped into a box. I'm fine." Rey shouted back. She said nothing else, just met his gaze with uncertainty.

She took a step towards him, her head tilted to the side as she studied his face. The scar she gave him looked even more haunting in the low light. His expression was stoic, but the tightness in his jaw gave a hint to the pain he was feeling. She wouldn't let herself feel for him. He was the one that caused it, for himself, and for so many others. Herself included. She felt the scowl forming on her face and watched as his softened in response. What was it? Pity? Remorse?

"Rey…" He said softly, almost in sync with Leia, "Rey…"

She nearly missed the panicked look on his face when she turned around to respond to Leia, "Yeah I'm here." When she turned back around to face Kylo once more, he was gone.

Rey was trying desperately to remove any signs from her face or body language that she had just been through more than running into a box.

"Poe is on his way with Finn and Joph to help us clean out what's left." If Leia noticed anything suspicious, she did not give any indication of it. "I also think it will be time to move on once we do."

Rey nodded, not trusting her voice to hold it together.

Kylo did not miss his mask very often, but moments like that made him long for the safety of it. As much as he tried to remain expressionless, he knew by the reflection of the emotions she so willingly showed that his own face had betrayed him. He had intended to remain angry, to scare her, but it just wasn't possible. Not anymore. Not since she had forced her way into his mind that first encounter.

He had been observing training when he felt it. Without a word, he turned and left Hux and Phasma standing watch over the massive room where Stormtroopers were running drills. Kylo knew if he saw Rey, he would not be able to keep his composure, and to show anything other than emotionless authority in front of Hux and the other generals would be detrimental.

Kylo had spent the past month and a half trying to convince himself that the void he felt had nothing to do with her. That it was because he had turned on his master or hell, he even tried to convince himself it was because he had killed his father. The thought that she was the reason for this void was enough to drive him mad, but the confirmation that she was the thing left him struggling to breathe.

Before he had recovered his wits, he heard the tell tale sounds of the hangar bay doors opening and TIE fighters taking off. Alarms were blaring as the canons began to prime. He did not authorize any sort of attack, and there was no way it was the Resistance attacking. Rey didn't look like she was in the middle of prepping for war, and not to mention their fleet was essentially demolished. There wasn't another force in the Galaxy stupid enough to take on a fleet of Super Star Destroyers.

Rushing towards the bridge, he nearly ran into a marching platoon of Stormtroopers. Normally they would move around him, even if they were in formation, but it was almost as if they could see right through him. He reached the Bridge to find General Hux at the con with a sly grin on his face.

"HUX." Kylo barked.

"Ah, glad to see you back from your sudden departure, Supreme Leader." He didn't budge from his spot.

"What are you doing?" He put as much malice into his words as possible.

Hux stared at him, almost as though he was daring him to do more than yell. Kylo happily obliged. With a flick of his wrist, Hux's windpipe felt the unmistakable Force of being choked.

"We are sending a message to the settlements of Naboo." Hux managed to squeak out. Kylo lifted him just far enough off the ground that he would collapse rather than land on his feet. Hux, who was on all fours, coughing, continued, "You see, we suspected that they have provided aid to the Resistance, and we must make it clear to the Galaxy that that sort of behaviour is not to be tolerated."

"I did not authorise any such attack." Kylo growled. Especially on Naboo.

"Oh did you not, sir? I assumed when you said 'that is the plan' that meant yes we should attack when we believe there to be a Resistance base." Hux had gotten to his feet, and held his head up high, stretching his neck in an almost unnatural fashion.

Kylo wanted to fling the stupid ginger man across the room, but for some reason, many of the men on the bridge genuinely respected him. He knew that hurting Hux only got him so far. "And what led you to believe Naboo assisted the Resistance?" He settled for an inquisition.

"Do we really need evidence, Supreme Leader? The People of Naboo were given ample time to give up information about the Resistance and they did not deliver." Hux was back to his sly smile. Kylo wasn't sure if the man was brave or stupid. Probably both. "The First Order must rule supreme. And we will ensure the obedience of the galaxy with friendly reminders of our power."

Kylo contemplated his options. He could demand to call off the attack, but this would displease the leaders who wanted to rule with power the way the Hux did. He could also continue to berate and beat Hux, but that would only temporarily make him feel better and would create a bigger headache when he has to explain why Hux is in a bacta tank for weeks. A moment of complacency was all he had. "Very well. See to it that message is sent to the Galaxy so that this display of power is not wasted."

"Very well." Hux responded.

It took everything Kylo had not to slam him to the ground before he left, just for good measure.

The Resistance had packed up what they could from the abandoned Axamite base. They had even managed to find an abandoned transport ship that they can add to their fleet. In less than a month, they had acquired four light fighters and two bombers. With the addition of the larger transport, they could now more easily get the fighters and the bombers where they were needed. The extra ships also meant not everyone had to stay on the Falcon. Rey was very thankful for the breathing room.

Rey was sitting at the small table, fiddling with the game that it supposedly contained. Leia told her the other day that she hadn't seen it work in several years. She had been focused on the knobs just underneath the table, she didn't even notice Leia slide into the seats beside her.

"If you ever get that working again, never play Chewie. He's a sore loser."

Rey laughed, "Why am I not surprised by that."

"Trouble sleeping?"

"Pretty much always. I was hoping it would be easier now that there are less of us on here, but if anything the silence is getting too me." Rey confessed.

"Being alone with your thoughts is a challenge." Leia agreed.

Rey turned towards the General, "I was wondering if I could ask you a couple questions. Don't feel obligated to answer, I guess I'm just curious."

"About Ben?" Leia offered.

"I.. uhh… no," Rey was almost stunned to silence. Why would Leia assume Rey wanted to ask about Ben? She didn't know of the bond…."I, uh, was curious about the First Order. So I guess it might be about B...Kylo Ren." It didn't feel right calling him Ben in front of Leia.

Leia nodded, "Sure. I'll see what I can answer."

"So… Sorry, I only sort of know the history. It's all stories and lore on Jakku. the Empire fell after Luke defeated Darth Vader and the Chancellor. Right?"

"Depends on how you define defeat, but yes." her tone suggested that she wouldn't expand her meaning."

"And then we had the New Republic, and you were a Senator." She asked somewhat cautiously, as she wasn't sure how much Leia wanted to talk about her own part in all of this. But Rey really wanted to understand. She had joined the Resistance without a second thought because she was the downtrodden, and that's what the downtrodden do. Resist. At least, that's what she thought.

"Yes, I was a Senator for many years, following in the footsteps of my father."

"Vader was a senator?" Rey asked perhaps too quickly, as Leia winced ever so slightly at the question. Rey wouldn't have noticed it if she hadn't already been trying to read as much as she could from the woman.

"No, my father Bail Organa." Leia stressed the word father, a detail Rey did not miss. "I spent my tenure trying to do right by him, my party, and the galaxy."

"What went wrong?"

Leia laughed harder than she had in a long time, "What didn't? How long do you have?" Rey raised an eyebrow. Leia continued, "In short, the Senate frequently found itself divided, stuck debating the minutia. At first, so many were happy to be free from the terror that was the Chancellor, but as time went on, as we tried to restore power to the planets, it wasn't always the most favourable of characters that ended up leading."

"I don't think Jakku had a government. It was just run by who ever had the most weapons and desire to use them." Rey thought back to her time on the desert planet.

"This was a flaw many of my fellow Populists tried to turn a blind eye to. Which is how Ransolm and I began investigating Daxam IV. And how we discovered evidence of an army being raised."

Rey risked the question, "Was he your… friend?" She tried to put the same pause that Leia had earlier.

Leia sighed heavily, "I hope that we parted as friends."

Rey could tell that she was reliving memories, so she let the silence between them grow long. After some time, she had one more question. "Why did you stop being a Senator?"

"I wasn't left with much of a choice." Leia continued, her voice heavy and sad, "I believe it was already too late to help from within the Senate anyway."

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes longer when a message came over the comms. "General Organa, do you copy?" The disembodied voice spoke.

"Yes, Organa here. What do you have?"

"We've just got word that the First Order has fired on a settled area in Naboo. Reports are suggesting that the Order thought they were hiding us."

"Thank you Joph. Keep course towards Pamarthe." Leia sighed as she got up and left Rey alone once more.

Rey leaned back in her seat. While she took to both Leia quite quickly, she still couldn't help but be in awe of the woman any time they spoke. Only recently had she started to think about the politics of the war she found of which she was now in the center. Leia had been a part of this all her life. Rey's own life, while not exactly a luxurious one, was a life nonetheless. The Empire and the Rebels were once just stories to her, legends and now she walked among them.

"Reeeyyy!" Finn dragged out her name playfully as he plopped down beside her, his arm draped around her shoulders.

"Oof" Rey was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her friend. Before she could even greet Finn, Poe came in just as suddenly to sit to her left.

"Whatcha thinkin bout?" Poe nudged her side.

"Oh, um. Nothing really I guess." Rey looked down at her hands.

Finn raised an eyebrow, "Nothing? Your face sure was scrunched up for nothing."

"Is it worth it?" Rey asked suddenly.

"Is what worth it?" Finn and Poe spoke in unison. They caught each other's eyes, sharing a brief smirk before turning their attention to their friend.

Rey sighed. She wasn't entirely sure this was a conversation she wanted to be having, but her inability to not blurt out things started it, "This, the war, the fighting."

"Hell yeah it's worth it!" Finn nearly shouted.

Poe took a calmer route, "Yea, I think so. Look at what they did to Hosian, to us on Crait."

"To those that didn't have a choice." Finn said.

Rey considered their responses for a moment, "When I was a kid, on Jakku, I found an X-Wing crashed near the Star Destroyer wreckage. I would feel this hope, this sense of defeating impossible odds, taking down something so much larger than yourself. But as I got older, I realised they BOTH went down. We lose so much when we fight."

A pained expression formed on Poe's face, "Rey, I know better than just about anyone how much we lose. I have to live with the fact that my choices left us with numbers so small, almost all of us fit on the Falcon."

"I'm… I didn't mean… It's just that…" Rey started to apologize. She didn't blame Poe for what happened, even after she heard the whole story. People make choices and sometimes they are wrong.

He interrupted her to continue, "I'm not saying I would do that exact thing again, knowing what I know now. But I would still fight. The First Order will never stop taking from people unless we stop it. They will never stop taking people." His last sentence was not directed at Rey, but rather the man beside her.

"I just wanted to survive. I escaped. I could do whatever I wanted for the first time in my life. And all I could think about was getting away. But that wasn't really what I wanted either. Running just meant I would still be living for the Order by trying to stay ahead of them." Finn offered his own story.

"I know that I picked the right side," She thought of Kylo, holding out his hand. She thought about how much she wanted to take Ben's hand. She chose her side in the moment. But here she was, wondering what would happen if she had chosen the other? Could she have put an end to the atrocities her friends spoke of from inside? "I just wish so many people didn't have to die."

The trio sat in a heavy, but comfortable silence. Finn pulled Rey a little bit closer as she scooted down to better fit her shoulder under his arm. She swung her legs up and rested them across Poe's lap. He sighed and rolled his eyes at becoming a footstool for Rey, but after a light kick with her heel to his side, he acquiesced to the position with a smirk.

This time Finn broke the silence, "Do you think I'm the only one?"

"No." Poe answered before Rey could figure his meaning.

"You really think? I've never heard of anyone else leaving the First Order before."

"Maybe, maybe not. But there were definitely defectors in the Empire."

"But this is the First Order, not the Empire."

"What if you were the first?"

"I guess, maybe."

"Maybe you have inspired others." Poe said with a hint of admiration in his voice.

Rey had just been glancing back and forth trying to keep up with their rapid conversation. "Wait, you think there are other Stormtroopers who left like you did out there?"

"I don't know. I had the thought once, but I pushed it aside. But now it's been nagging at me, in the back of my mind."

Rey sat up, "Well, let's find them."

"How?" said Poe as he leaned forward. The shimmer in his eyes though said he didn't care about the details. He was in.

"I don't know. But we can talk to Leia. I'm sure she will have some ideas." Rey stood up too quickly and knocked her head on the slight overhang above the seating. "Ow."

"Some great force user you are." Poe teased.

Rey scowled as she rubbed her forehead. Inside though, she was smiling. These were her friends. And they were worth fighting for.