Chapter 3: Balance of the Force Made Flesh
Beaumont Kin, the most scholarly authority on Jedi and Sith history in the present galaxy, tried to study Kira Skywalker Solo without looking like he was gawking at an Ewok in a space zoo. He first took a sample of her blood, if only to make final confirmation that she was the daughter of Ben Solo and Rey. Beside him, Maz Kanata was peering at Kira through her large goggles, a knowing smile on her face, as if the blood test was just getting the men to catch up with what she already knew. And it probably was. The Force sensitive alien was over a thousand years old.
Beaumont studied the blood results as they came back through a portable machine he had wheeled in. On the couch, Finn and Poe watched the whiskered man's every move grimly.
"Well?"
Beaumont turned at Poe's voice. "It's a girl!" he cracked. Finn buried his face in his hands. Poe's jaw dropped. Up until now, they had been slowly accepting what Kira had laid before them, but a lingering part of each man hadn't wanted to fully believe it. Beaumont and Maz appeared unfazed.
"If you live long enough, you see the same eyes in different people..." It was Maz's adage, her philosophy of life.
Beaumont was more tight-lipped as he beamed a holographic rendering of the most legendary family tree in the galaxy. The tree wound down on the right from one Sheev Palpatine, down to Rey... whose name was attached to Ben Solo's. Kira Skywalker Solo's name rested below them both. Above Ben, his name wound up through Han Solo and Leia Organa, sidewinded by Luke Skywalker and up to Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala. The name Shmi Skywalker topped off the tree, a level above Anakin and Palpatine.
"Kira is more than just the great-grandchild of the two most notorious Sith Lords of all time, who ran the most authoritative regime this galaxy's ever seen," Beaumont intoned with dramatic gravitas (Poe rolled his eyes at the theatrics). "She is the direct product of what is known as a Force Dyad - a profound phenomenon seen maybe once each millennia, if that. Not much is known about Dyads, but what is known is that they typically grow out of a Force Bond - an extremely rare occurrence in Force sensitive nature in and of itself. Most Force Bonds that have been recorded throughout galactic history describe the pair bonded as being able to see, speak and sometimes even touch each other across lightyears."
He went on: "A Force Dyad is viewed as sacred - precious as life itself. Two that are one. Essentially, the Force takes two of its users and marries them, makes them man and wife." Beaumont ignored how Finn noticeably stiffened at this.
Poe cleared his throat. "And do these Force... marriages... always produce a child?"
"Oh, yes. Generally speaking," Beaumont quipped. "Before Ben and Rey, the last known Force Dyad case was in the Old Republic era, between Jedi Knight Bastila Shan and Darth Revan - Dark Lord of the Sith. They, of course, married and had children - at least three, that we know of."
Poe ran a hand over his face. "Fuck."
"Now, wait just a power-converting minute!" Finn snapped up a finger. "Is it always the case, in every Force Dyad or Bond or what have you, for there to be one... parent who serves the Light and the other who serves the Dark?"
"That has been the most common trend, yes," Beaumont affirmed. "But even in this, Ben and Rey are very special. Rey Skywalker, neé Palpatine, was born in the Dark, but served the Light. Ben Solo was born in the Light, yet served the Dark. Through their union, their offspring, they have fulfilled an ancient Jedi prophecy and created the perfect Force user - the Balance of the Force Made Flesh."
"The Balance of the Force Made Flesh," Poe echoed. "And Maz and Finn have to train her..."
"Not necessarily, General," Beaumont chided. "The girl very well could have had lessons from her mother. And Rey may yet arrive."
"How? We don't even know if Rey is alive or dead!" Poe huffed. He turned to his friends. "Can any of you feel her?"
Finn shook his head. Kira followed. Maz also expressed denial, though her expression was far more mysterious.
"A lack of presence in the Force does not always mean death..."
Poe breathed long and low, trying not to let Maz's words bolster him up with false hope. He stood, dusting his hands on his pants. "Well, I have a meeting tonight. Black tie function. Need to head back over to my place to get ready..."
"Wait - what about her?" Finn jerked his head towards Kira.
"Have her stay here with you. She'll be quiet while Jannah's asleep, if that's what you're worried about."
"I can't leave her here; I have a strategy meeting in the Situation Room across town. Mon Mothma called for it."
Poe groaned. "Fine. I'll take Kira with me, then. She can't do much trouble at a dinner, can she?"
On this point, however, Poe Dameron was sadly very wrong. The black-tie function was exceedingly boring for a ten-year-old - especially one who was still suffering the lingering effects of emotional trauma and a future that remained far from certain.
At least, that was what Poe secretly hoped was the explanation for Kira's sordid and surly behavior all evening. She clammed up whenever Poe tried introducing her as his niece (which she pretty much was, by all rights). She failed to hide her disdain for the socialites clamoring for the General's attention, and how Poe seemed to pay them more heed than he was paying to her. More than once during the courses of the meal, Kira would dissolve into tears over emotional torment left unexplained but that uneased the rest of the guests. Nothing Poe could say calmed her.
And by the end of the night, Poe was so over it.
If he wasn't so frazzled, he would have passed the girl off to Finn and Jannah for the night, until he remembered that the Calrissians would need these evenings of rest - of which there would be short supply once the baby came. So it was that Poe and Kira dragged themselves into the Damerons' quiet penthouse.
"Bed. Now." Poe clipped shortly and coolly.
"But I'm not even tired," Kira huffed, stomping towards the door that Poe tiredly pointed to, indicating the guestroom.
"Well, I am. Go to bed."
"To think you and Uncle Finn walked out on my mom just to hang around the sorry likes of that..."
At least, that was what Poe thought he heard the girl mutter under her breath. "What did you just say?"
Turning to face him, Kira amazingly had the juevos to repeat herself. "To think you and Uncle Finn walked out on my mom just to hang around..."
"We didn't walk out on your mom, ok - she walked out on us!" Poe snapped angrily.
Kira's eyes narrowed as she gawked at him. "Oh, really? Because she said you were self-centered! And selfish! And that everything always had to be about you!" she pointed at him. "She said your head was so swollen, she was surprised they found an X-Wing helmet big enough to fit!"
Poe blinked, his face collapsing into hurt. In the brief time they had known each other, he was aware that he and Rey had not often gotten along. Still... "She said that?"
"And more," Kira scowled.
"You know what... it's all coming back to me now... yeah... All the arguing! And the complaining! And the squabbles over who could fly the Falcon better or look after BB8! And you know what?... You're just like her!" Poe gaped at Kira. "You think you're right about... everything! Just like her!"
"What else?" Kira sneered.
"You scrunch your nose up when you get mad, and... well, actually, I like that, it's... kinda cute," Poe faltered. In the next second, though, he had recovered quickly. "But it doesn't matter, cause it's just like her!"
"Keep it coming!"
"You fall into all these emotional funks at the weirdest moments - just like her!"
Kira let out a scoffing laugh. "Is that all you got?"
"And then you get inside people's minds and you drive them crazy - just like her!"
"Well, at least I've got a mind, because if I didn't, I'd be just - like - you!"
"Well, thank the Force you're not my daughter, then! Because as far as I'm concerned, you could never be anything like me!" Poe screamed.
"Great, because I am already sick of it here! I don't know why Mom ever thought I would be OK here!"
"Well, what do you want from me?" Poe cried.
"GAHHHH!" Kira screamed. For just the briefest instant, the lights flickered in and out, roaring through a power surge. Poe dwelled on it for just a moment, suspecting it was Kira's anger rearing its head through the Force, as the little girl stomped for the guest room.
"Don't turn your back on me, little lady - tell me what you want!"
And when Kira spun back to him, Poe didn't see flickers of Rey there. Instead, he saw flickers of a man he had been taught to hate, as well as echoes of the mother of that man - the general and princess he had come to revere and respect. "My mom!" Kira whimpered, before fleeing in tears into the guest room and slamming the door behind her.
Poe stared at the shut door for a moment. Then, in a fit of rage, he hurled his blaster into a corner, so hard that it broke. The sound slightly overlapped with that of the front door opening and closing, followed by the clack of heels announcing Zorri's arrival home, from her reconnaissance mission.
"Hey," she said tiredly, kissing Poe squarely on the mouth, and continuing her rambling against his lips in a mumble. "No word on the street about Little Miss Jedi..." She trailed off and drew away, frowning in concern when her husband didn't respond to her kiss the way she thought he would. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Poe sank heavily onto a nearby couch, burying his head in his hands. "I was on Kira Duty tonight. I had to tow her to our black-tie function fundraising for the new Senate. It was awful. She was emotionally all over the place. You just missed our knock-down, drag-out fight."
He waited for Zorri to berate him for losing his temper so easily, to smack him upside the head for being a stubborn, nerfherding idiot. Neither came. Instead, she lay a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Let me talk to her."
Poe glanced up at his wife, shocked. He knew well her aversion to parenting, to ever having children. They had argued over starting a family several times during the course of their marriage. To have Zorri put herself outside her comfort zone for him, especially when he probably - no, definitely - didn't deserve it meant a lot. He watched in awe, almost transfixed, as Zorri crossed to the guest room door and knocked on it.
"Go away, Uncle Poe!"
"Kira? Honey, it's Auntie Zorri. Can I come in?"
Poe didn't hear Kira's assent. But Zorri must have, for after casting her husband a Here-It-Goes look, she pushed the door in and slipped inside...