Eight.

It was cold. Suddenly, she was alone, surrounded by tendrils of clammy fog, sounds muffled and everything contracted to the little pocket of gloom around her body. There was an unseen ground under her feet, uneven and slick as she slowly rotated to look around.

"Hello?" Her voice was muffled, sucked away by the fog. It intensified the feeling of isolation, of loneliness. "Master Luke? Master Yoda?"

Silence.

She frowned, peering into the fog and seeing nothing. So she chose a direction at random, one that felt right and started walking. But as she took her very first step, the voices began. Echoey representations of voices she knew and many she had never heard swirled around her, confusing the environment further.

"Rey."

Her voice leapt at her in a hundred voices. Finn. Poe. Leia. Luke. Han. Ben. Snoke. Palpatine.

She stopped and looked ahead.

"Ben?" she murmured.

The voices silenced.

"I can hear you," she tried again. "Can you hear me?"

"Rey?"

"I hear you," she said, relieved that she could finally hear his voice. "Are you alright?"

"Rey?"

She walked forward, towards the sound of his voice, her brow lightly furrowed.

"Ben?"

She reached out for him, trying to catch the edge of their Bond, to feel the familiar mind once more...but there was just dark and cold and disappointment. She paused and balled her fists, closing her eyes and stretching out her mind once more.

"Ben? Are you there?" she whispered.

Abruptly, the grey fog grew pitch black and the temperature dropped to freezing. Rey's breath coalesced in freeing lungfuls, billowing around her face. Her eyes widened as a shadowy shape loomed towards her...not the familiar shape of Ben but…

"SNOKE!"

-o0o-

"Take them to the holding cells!"

The stormtroopers were taken by surprise as the door to the interrogation cell hissed open and the dark shape of Kylo Ren erupted through, already walking fast and not sparing a single glance for the men he was addressing.

"Yes, sir," one offered, not expecting an acknowledgement and receiving none. Looking at his fellow, the pair entered the cell once more to collect the prisoners for their transfer.

Force, I really was an ass. Ben had to concentrate on keeping his expression looking pissed off-which was the closest he could approximate to the constant roiling rage, exasperation, pain and hatred that had pretty much been his entire mental state as Kylo Ren. He had been granted plenty of time during his imprisonment to analyse his previous behaviour-among other things-during his imprisonment on the Resistance Base and images had flashed through his memory, too numerous to ignore, of him treating others as nothing. And, he realised, to Kylo Ren, there were nothing. All his concentration and value had been invested in his personal quest to become even stronger in the Dark Side of the Force, to crush all weakness within himself-including any personal attachments. But would it have killed me to acknowledge those men?

Kylo wouldn't have. So I can't.

He slowed slightly, evening out his pace from his usual angry stalk to a slower rate to allow himself to consider his next step. Finn and Poe had been suspicious and neither had played along with the 'interrogation' to any great degree, though he had assured them that he had located the missing parts for the Falcon. If anyone watched the tapes of the interrogation, they would see that he certainly hadn't reamed their memories using the Force and definitely hadn't reduced them to the slumped, trembling state his victims ended up in. He was sure that they would have been happy to see literally anyone else in the same circumstances but neither man trusted him and was prepared to listen to any explanation.

They could have betrayed you to your enemies.

He stopped, the voice seductively echoing through his mind. He recognised it: Snoke, his former Master, the former Supreme Leader. But Snoke was dead-Kylo Ren had killed the creature himself, carving him in half using Anarkin's lightsaber and then offering his hand to Rey to be his co-ruler. She had rejected him-but now he understood there had been no way she could stand by him. He was a creature of evil and had disappointed her when she had hoped that he would join her in escaping to the Resistance and turning to the Light. It had been impossible then, for the time was not right and the man he had been was still too mired in darkness and hatred and the inexorable rightness of his vision. But the final irony was...that she had won. She did turn him-through persistence, through bravery and ultimately, through her compassion.

And then it hit him, a sudden surge of power that slammed him sideways against the wall. He staggered and steadied himself, a hand resting against the smooth metal of the corridor wall. His head snapped up.

"Rey?" he breathed.

Her voice floated through his mind, almost beyond perception but not quite.

"Ben? Are you there?" she whispered.

"REY!" he shouted, battering at the walls in his mind that severed him from the Force. "REY!" His head snapped up and he felt a sudden surge of relief. He had heard her: just for a moment, just for an instant, but she had heard him as well.

Then he was up, striding forward towards the Bridge. He could remain as 'Kylo Ren' for a little longer to order Captain Peavey to supply him with the ship he needed to head to Dathomir and try to reach Rey. And he could leave Finn and Poe behind because they didn't trust him, because they would rather stun him than listen to his anguish at losing Rey and his complete determination to get her back...but he wasn't going to. He couldn't. These two men were Rey's friends, people she cared for deeply and he owed it to her to ensure they got away to safety. No matter how little they trusted him-or what he risked to achieve it.

Captain Edrison Peavey was standing staring at the planet below through the forward viewing port, his hands clasped behind his back in standard military form. The bridge was quiet, the officers working efficiently and occasionally announcing important information to the Captain. He always acknowledged with a nod of the head, his controlled face impassive. Below, the roiling grey and green and purple marble of Andaku, the world that hosted the port of Alendo Tai, glowed in the light of the greenish sun, flashes of lightning marking the upper clouds. A small rim skimmer emerged from the dense cloud layer and jumped straight to lightspeed before the hulking Resurgent Class Destroyer could scan its cargo bays. Nodding at the confirmation of another smuggler, Peavey turned to spy the tall saturnine shape of Kylo Ren.

"Supreme Commander," he greeted the man neutrally. Walking forward to stare at the planet, Ben took a couple of deep breaths.

"The Resistance fighters were helpful," he commented.

"Should I dispose of them now?" Peavey asked him dryly. Ben grimaced.

"I still have use for them," he said after a pause-as if considering. "I need them for a quest I am undertaking."

"Oh?" Peavey's voice was politely disinterested, his eyes inspecting the 'Supreme Commander' suspiciously. The older Generals had been covertly suspicious of Snoke and Ren, not trusting the sorcery of the Force over the familiar military assets of Star Destroyers, blasters and stormtroopers. All had acquiesced to his demands because Snoke had created the First Order and overseen the rise of their forces from a rumour to the ruling power in the Galaxy. "Are you certain that leaving at such a time is wise, sir?"

He stiffened, his lips pressing together in what could have been interpreted as anger. His eyes flashed.

"What time?" he growled.

"The Galaxy is in open rebellion, sir," Peavey pointed out. "Most of your Senior command are lost. Numerous vessels have been lost or taken down by Resistance attacks. The integrity of the First Order is wavering. You are the Supreme Leader and this ship is loyal." Curtly, Ben nodded.

"How many other vessels remain?" he asked. Peavey glanced over at the bridge crew.

"Is this the correct place for a briefing?" he asked.

"How many?" There was a creak of leather as Ben balled his fists.

"Seven other destroyers in various states of disrepair," Peavey reported. "At least two are only fit to be cannibalised for parts. The crews can be redistributed across the remaining fleet to bring numbers up to establishment and all materiel utilised to ensure the remaining five are at maximum efficiency."

Ben nodded curtly, his gaze still fixated on the planet below-though he was focussed on his reflection in the port, watching the movement of the staff behind him. There were stormtroopers on the bridge.

"The Resistance are still in a state of disarray," he said. "There were losses on all sides-though a hundred worlds sent reinforcements to the battle of Exegol." Peavey frowned.

"How did you escape, sir?" he asked directly. Ben forced his hands to relax.

"I was injured during the battle that finally slew Emperor Palpatine," he revealed slowly. "When I recovered, I was in the custody of the Resistance. It took me a few days to persuade one of them to help me escape. I was looking for remnants of the First Order." Peavey's glance lingered on him for a long moment.

"There was a rumour that your com dropped out some time before the battle and that you weren't on the Steadfast when she jumped for the Emperor's world," the Captain commented.

"I was intercepting the Scavenger girl," Ben said slowly. "Are you inferring something, Captain?" Peavey smiled slightly.

"Where is your lightsaber, Supreme Commander?" he asked.

Ben stiffened and his fists clenched tighter. The stormtroopers had closed to within a few yards.

"The First Order was formed from the ashes of the Empire to bring order back to the Galaxy-and was subverted by spoilt children and petulant adolescents," the Captain commented. "Supreme Leader Snoke allowed himself to be slain by the Scavenger Girl instead of killing her the moment she was brought aboard his ship. Hux was a fool, too enamoured of his technology and his machinations against you that he was unable to act as a proper military leader. You allow yourself to be distracted by arcane concerns such as killing the old Jedi, Skywalker, or chasing the probably-dead Palpatine rather than pressing the military advantage and pacifying rebellious heworlds."

Ben glanced over at the Captain and his face fell into a mask of anger. Peavey was smiling.

"Are you challenging my authority?" he growled. The Captain turned to fully face him.

"Whatever injuries you suffered, Ren, seem to have taken your powers," the Captain said. "Anyone speaking to you as I have just done would expect his throat crushed by your arcane sorcerer's powers. Or you would have wrecked half of my Bridge with your sorcerer's sword in one of your infantile temper tantrums. Yet I am here am unharmed and frankly unimpressed. And your 'interrogation' was less than stellar. So yes, I believe that you have betrayed the First Order by leading us to defeat and consorting with the Resistance." He gave the smallest smile. "You are relieved of duty, Kylo Ren."

The stormtroopers had fired their stunners before he could even turn and as he collapsed to the floor, the Captain turned back to the viewing port, uninterested, his hands clasped behind his back once more.

"Petulant children," he condemned.

-o0o-

"Anything?" Rose glared at the communications officer as he scanned his board and checked the log of recent communications.

"Nothing," the young man replied, looking unhappy. "I've tried all frequencies but there's no response from the Millennium Falcon." Shaking her head, Rose sighed.

"Keep trying," she said, her shoulders slumping. She was fond of Finn and Poe, though she had a little less to do with the latter except on a purely professional level. But Finn was one of her close friends, someone who she knew she could rely on. The fact that he and Poe had vanished when Kylo Ren escaped gave her serious cause for concern that somehow, the former Supreme Leader had mesmerised them and forced them to cooperate. Rose was very definite in her views that as the overall leader of the First Order, he should answer for his crimes and those of the Order. Too many had died for the Supreme Commander to pay with anything other than his life for the millions of deaths that had ensued in the conflict-include Paige.

The absence of the two Generals-their highest ranking officers and leaders-had caused deep alarm in the Resistance since the pair had vanished with the dangerous former leader of the First Order. There were mutterings that they should have hanged Ren or shot him as soon as he first arrived but Rose didn't agree: Finn and Poe had brought him back for a reason and whatever happened to Ren should have a transparent process. If it was just a summary execution, they would be no better than the First order-than Ren himself. She stared up at the blue sky and the invisible stars above and chewed her lip thoughtfully. They had a leadership group that had organically come together, the people who ran things and who always came to the fore in debates and discussions and those closest to Leia. Rose had been asked to be de facto leader until they returned, which she saw as motivation to get her friends back as soon as possible.

She folded her arms and sighed. Somewhere, Kylo Ren was out there with her friends, manipulating them to his own ends. The Resistance ships had failed to intercept the Falcon-not that she had expected them to, for the Millennium Falcon was astonishingly fast. For now, Poe and Finn were on their own and in danger because there was no chance that he wouldn't head back to the remnants of the First Order.

-o0o-

Finn and Poe stiffened when the door to their cell opened and two stormtroopers marched in, covering them with their blasters-before a large, black-clad shape was tossed in. Kylo Ren sprawled on the floor, barely conscious as the guards withdrew and the door locked. The two men stared at him.

"Why wasn't he this easy to capture when we were fighting him?" Finn asked ironically as Ben slid his hands under his chest and lifted his head, his eyes bleary.

"I was evil, I commanded the Force and I would have cut you in half with my lightsaber," he growled then closed his eyes and grimaced. Pushing his body off the floor, he felt in his cloak and finally fished out a squat white box with buttons on two sides. "Your VR-1W97." Finn stared at him.

"What?"

"You know, the part the Falcon needs since you broke it," Ben commented as he painfully got to his knees. He rubbed his head.

"So I guess he doesn't think you're Kylo Ren?" Poe asked him snarkily.

"No-he just doesn't care," Ben admitted, rubbing his forehead. "That and the fact that someone was completely unconvincing in the interrogation. Can't think who. And I didn't try to choke him." Finn stared.

"You do that a lot?" he asked incredulously. Ben shrugged.

"I didn't tolerate setbacks well," he admitted. "As Kylo Ren, I was furious and bitter the entire time. Abandoned by my parents, with a master who tries to kill me, alone and swathed in darkness...I had some anger management issues."

"Wait… wait…. Hold up. Snoke tried to kill you?" Poe asked and then his expression changed. "You know that really doesn't surprise me."

"Not Snoke…. Luke," Ben muttered. "Don't you know? He never told anyone? I thought it would be top resistance gossip."

"The first time I saw Luke Skywalker was on Crait!" Poe's brows shot up as he edged back slightly. "In fact, the only time I saw him. And he wasn't real chatty!"

"Luke Skywalker was a legend! A Legend!" Finn snapped. "He ended the Empire by stopping Vader and the Emperor!"

"It didn't make him a very good teacher though," Ben grumbled. "And a worse Uncle. Vader was the one that we thought had killed the Emperor just so you know." Finn sputtered in outrage at the implication.

"Much as I would love to join the club and try to kill you as well," Poe said dryly, "we have to find a way out of here. As you're here, I'm guessing the Captain will either try to interrogate us properly or just have us executed."

"Or both," Ben added grimly. "Peavey is an older Captain. Served in the Empire. And he hated Ren. They all did."

"Hey, we hate you as well," Poe told him. "Just so you don't feel left out."

"Not your kind of hate," Ben said. "It's the Vader-was-better-than-you-and-we-want-you-to-die-painfully kind of hate."

"Nope-he's got us beat," Finn put in. "All yours."

"And as we're at his mercy, he may get his wish," Ben continued, sitting back against the wall and resting his head back against the metal wall. "If I had my powers, I could do something but someone gave me ten times the dose of the drug…"

"Stop bitching," Poe said, inspecting the part. "All we need is to get off here, contact Chewie, get this into the Falcon and skip out of here."

"Last time you went Lightspeed skipping, the Millennium Falcon ended up on fire," Finn reminded him. Poe have a brash smile.

"Worked though," he pointed out. There was a clunk and then a grinding noise. Then the door slid open and a little beep sounded. Poe grinned broadly as BB8 rolled into the cell. "There you are, BB8. Boy, am I glad to see you!"

Then Poe blinked as behind BB8 another BB unit peeked in. This one was black with silver ridges. "Who's your friend?" This however was the wrong thing to say as both droids began to vehemently beep and whirr agitatedly.

"Not friends then," Finn guessed.

"9E." Ben recognized the droid that sometimes used to accompany him on missions. The droid wasn't sociable to say the least so it was a surprise to see it. The black droid rolled in quickly, bumped against Ben's leg twice before rolling out just as quickly.

"That was weird….." Finn muttered as he also recognized the droid.

"I think it missed you," Poe chuckled before BB8 beeped once more then gave a selection of irritated whistles. Slowly levering himself up, Ben stared in the direction it had vanished.

"Just as long as it doesn't betray us," he muttered and vanished into the corridor. "Pretty much everyone else has." Poe chuckled and crouched by his droid.

"Well done, buddy," he murmured. "Now have you got that spare com so we can call Chewie and get our ride out of here?"