Disclaimer:

The main characters in this fic belong to Lucasfilm and Disney. I'm not a specialist on the "Star Wars" universe so apologies in advance if fans of the saga find inconsistencies or mistakes in my work. I want to thank Sonia and Elopez7228 very much for their support and valuable advices. Girls, you're brilliant

And of course the amazing EPNE who translates this story from French to English. She's doing a wonderful job and I just want to say: thank you, thank you, thank you ! YOU ARE THE BEST!

This fic was originally written in French by Moongrim and has been translated to English by epne. If you're interested in checking out the original French text it can be found here on ffnet.

If you like my fic, don't hesitate to leave us a comment, they're always a pleasure to read

OoooooooO

PROLOGUE

17 days after the battle of Crait:

Rey watched on in awe as thousands of blue beams fired around the cockpit through the Millennium Falcon's windows. Cross-galaxy jumps through light speed were fascinating.

Stuck on Jakku, she had never experienced anything remotely close to this kind of travel. Wearing her old pilot's helmet at night, eyes fixed on the endless dunes, she had imagined herself hundreds of times at the controls of an X-wing fighter or better yet, a J-type Naboo Star Skiff. But flying at light speed was so cool. In the span of just a few months, she had travelled further than she ever could have imagined in all of her fifteen years on the desert planet.

Chewie and R2-D2 were very quiet and Rey was able to lose herself in old memories.

Today, they were taking risks. They had all known that when they embarked on the ship, but the danger seemed palpable now, undeniable.

"I double checked the cooling system, it looks fine. I think it should hold despite the rattling."

Finn broke the silence as he joined them in the cockpit. "I still can't believe we're flying around in the most wanted ship in the galaxy heading straight for an ancient rebel base that's probably crawling with First Order soldiers." He muttered as he took a seat in the back. "I'm sure they'll be thrilled we're just throwing ourselves right to the wolves."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ship exited hyperspace with a lurch. Facing them was an ivory planet flanked by three moons the colour of ash.

Rey huffed out a breath as she programed the descent through the planet's atmosphere. "We don't have the choice, and you know it. Besides, according to Leia's informant, the site's deserted."

The Wookie growled while R2-D2's stridulations confirmed what the young woman had just said. Finn suddenly felt claustrophobic in his seat, cramped, and uncomfortable.

Why hadn't he stayed safely back at their new shelter?

After the confrontation with First Order troops on Crait, and the unexpected rescue of what remained of the Resistance, the Millennium Falcon had taken refuge on Arbra. The planet was situated in the confines of the Outer Rim and housed an ancient abandoned rebel base. The northern hemisphere was populated entirely by Hoojibs, small, but very smart quadruped mammals that were conveniently allied with the Resistance. Arbra didn't interest the First Order in any way since it was poor in resources and consisted mostly of archipelagos that disallowed for the construction of the types of large buildings that Snoke was fond of.

It was the perfect place to rebuild the Rebellion.

Old A-wings and a few transport shuttles were parked in the hangars and the command post still had everything they needed to continue broadcasting encrypted distress signals across the galaxy. The base drew its energy from the telluric force of the crystals lining the mouth of an immense cave on the side of a mountain located on the largest island on the planet. Unfortunately, the rebels had quickly discovered that the batteries used to store that energy were failing. Procuring the necessary parts to get them back into working order was imperative so General Organa had been forced to send teams out to recover the material from other abandoned rebel bases. Rey had volunteered and Finn, of course, had followed her.

"Echo Base has been abandoned for years! Do you honestly think that imperial troops didn't bother to search the place from top to bottom after they drove the rebels out?" Finn demanded.

"Leia said that each resistance base has an annex a kilometer away from the main site. The rebellion didn't have the time to take everything out with them when they left Hoth and I don't think that the Empire or the First Order ever could have found the annex. So, I choose to believe that everything is still there and still intact after all this time."

The Millennium Falcon drew closer to the surface and they could finally see the ice planet's impressive landscape. Before they'd left, C-3PO had told them about the Rebellion's short stay on Hoth in the time of the Empire and about the snow storms. Today the Force had to be on their side though because the snow-covered peaks of the planet glittered in the sunlight. In spite of the breathtaking spectacle, Rey felt her throat tighten. The first time she'd ever seen snow had been on Starkiller, grey under the moonlight and so cold against her skin… Just like Ben's gaze…

She closed her eyes for a moment and let out an extended breath. The heart wrenching truth was something that she still had trouble admitting to herself. Kylo Ren. It was Kylo Ren now. He had chosen his side, and so had she.

It had been almost three weeks since the last thirty members of the Resistance had landed on Arbra. They had tended to their wounds, wept over their dead, comforted each other and shared in the unwavering desire to keep fighting. All together, like a family. And Rey had never felt so supported in her life. But the gazes of the survivors, full of hope, had unsettled her more than she could explain. Even now, people looked at her like she was someone special, unique, and she was disconcerted by it.

Because what was she anyways?

Just a scavenger who had discovered an ability to manipulate the Force, that's all...

She could understand why they were so curious about her. She would be too. They knew she had spent time with Luke Skywalker on Ahch-To. Maybe they thought that she'd become a true Jedi in that time… But no, she hadn't.

You come from nothing… You are nothing… But not to me.

The deep, unsettling, voice of Han Solo's son echoed endlessly inside her head…

But the bond that had brought them together for a time had finally been broken. Maybe Snoke had ultimately told them the truth; he was responsible for the connection they had shared. The last time she had seen the Knight of Ren through their force bond, he had been kneeling in the middle of the abandoned command post on Crait. Sure, Snoke had been killed at the Knight's own hands hours earlier, but the connection had to have been due to something like telepathic residue… Kylo had stared, pleaded silently with her again.

Don't go. Join me.

Her heart had broken. She had believed that she could bring him back. Back to the Resistance, back to his loved ones, back to the Light… She had closed the ramp on his dark silhouette with an air of finality, and since then… Nothing.

"Launch the surface scan, Chewie." Rey ordered, attempting to chase the painful memories away.

A loud beep filled the cockpit followed by an exasperated groan from the Wookie.

"What is it?" Finn leaned forward to fit his head between the two pilot seats.

"DWARRGHHHH," Chewie grumbled before punching the radar screen. One bright spot appeared followed by more and more until a dozen sat ominously in the middle of the area they were heading towards. Suddenly, the screen went completely black before lighting up again, empty.

"No signs of life detected." The scanner's artificial voice announced.

Finn rolled his eyes. "This thing is completely broken! How this old ship even stays in the air, I'll never know."

"It's worth remembering that THIS SHIP saved us all on Crait. Stop worrying Finn, the First Order would never bother monitoring an old base like this, I'm sure of it."

"You're not sure of anything! They could've left lookout droids."

"DWARGHHARGHH!"

"Oh, it's fine Chewie! I'm not bringing us bad luck! The decision to come here was just really, really, bad in the first place!"

"RWOOOGHARGHH!"

"What was that? An insult?" Finn pointed a finger at the nose of the Wookie, daring him to reply. Rey settled a gentle hand on the young man's arm, pulling it down and away from Chewie.

"I'm sure that Poe is looking after Rose, don't worry." She said, perfectly aware that Finn's nervousness had nothing to do with the radar failure. "Their meeting with the emissary of Naboo will go well."

The former stormtrooper pulled away from her and settled back against his seat. "Why are you talking about Rose? I'm not worried about her; I'm worried about us!" He spluttered. "Rose knows how to take care of herself, she's very, very, capable, and brave, and reckless… Yeah maybe too reckless… And hot headed sometimes, that's her problem, it'll get her in trouble one of these days because most of the time she-"

"Okay Finn!" The young woman interrupts. "Breathe…"

Rey exchanged a knowing look with Chewie and smiled. She noticed that, in just a few weeks, Rose had become someone who mattered deeply to Finn. The mission that Dameron and Rose were on in Endor ran the risk of taking a turn for the worse too. The First Order had sympathisers and spies everywhere; even amongst the people of Naboo. And just like them, Poe and Rose weren't immune to traps and set ups.

For several long moments the cockpit was filled only by the soft purr of the engine, until Finn spoke again when a giant cave came into view on the flank of a mountain along the horizon.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"That's Echo Base," Rey announced. "The main hangar."

"So, where's the annex?"

Rey pushed the throttle.

"I plugged the coordinates into the nav system before leaving. It's further north. Let's see if we can't find everything we need to rebuild a big beautiful rebel base on Arbra."

"Once a scavenger…"

Finn shook his head fondly and Rey flashed him a grin.

"Always scavenger. It's in my blood…"

OoooooO

The heat from the full-body fleece suit that Rey was decked out in felt like a blessing against the frigid Hoth air. She made a mental note to thank Chewie profusely when she got back to the ship for his foresight. Finn and Rey worked as quickly as they could in the cold and eventually succeeded in prising open the armoured airlock with some effort, blasters at the ready. Rey would've much preferred to have Luke's saber in hand, but the thing was well and truly broken. With no idea how to even begin fixing it, the blaster had to do for now. With the Millennium Falcon not far behind them, out of the way on a rocky outcropping, they entered the annex.

The two of them managed to start a small emergency generator they found at the entrance of the underground complex and it flooded the tunnel with light. With careful steps they made their way through the corridor. The walls and ceiling was covered in a layer of frost.

Who could've ever predicted that one day the sand dweller would find herself on a planet like this?

Before becoming a scavenger, Rey worked at the tavern in Niima. Some nights, she sat in a quiet corner, out of sight, and listened for stories of time's past. Adventures told of Rebellion heroes and their struggles against Palpatine's Empire, stories about Leia Organa, Han Solo, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, the Jedi, the battle of Endor, and the Death Star. Stuck on the desert planet, her imagination had allowed her to time travel. It took her back years and years to a time when she could be a pilot for the Rebellion, fighting for freedom and justice alongside the main characters of the stories. And now, regardless of what Ben had said, she didn't have to imagine, she really was a part of it all. Everything was real, the only difference was that in reality the name of the Empire was the First Order.

"Down there!" Finn's voice gave Rey a start as it pulled her from her thoughts.

Once he had her attention, he nodded towards the tunnel to their left. They made their through the doorway only to emerge in a vast storage space.

"It's really here!" Rey exclaimed, delighted.

The room was piled high with various devices: generators, communicators, spare parts, everything they'd hoped for. In the back, dozens of new blasters lined shelves upon shelves and Finn eyed them appreciatively. Rey's head spun as she calculated the number of portions all of this could get her on Jakku.

Finn and Rey looked at each other with wide eyes and equally wide smiles.

"Take everything you can carry," Rey said with fervour.

By the end of the fifth round trip from the annex to the Millennium Falcon, the storage room was almost completely bare. The only things left were outdated devices. There were other rooms but all they ended up finding was furniture and defective equipment.

After a final sweep of the complex, Rey found herself standing in the main corridor once again, this time stopped in front of an evacuation plan hanging on the wall.

"I think we're all good here," Finn said, coming up next to her. "We should head out, no need to tempt fate."

"Look," Rey pointed to the evacuation plan, "there's a tunnel that connects the annex to the main hangar."

"And?" the young man asked, eyebrows raised.

"Can't we just take a look? There could be more stuff worth salvaging from there too."

"Or there could be First Order droids waiting for us!"

"Let's go Finn, look, we just take this tunnel and then we're at the old command post."

"This isn't a good idea, Rey."

"Finn…"

"Rey…"

"Well I'm going."

Finn threw his arms up. "Why don't we just take the Falcon to the main hangar then if you're so intent on throwing yourself into the arms of the First Order! At least then we'd have real guns to protect ourselves with instead of these puny little blasters! Oh right, I forgot," he banged his forehead with the flat of his hand dramatically. "I'm talking to a real live Jedi to whom the secrets of the Force aren't secrets anymore !"

It was cruel to play that particular card, but Rey deserved it. Her morbid curiosity was going to get them killed! He was her best friend. He would do anything for her, even stupid, dangerous things, but now Rey was just abusing the hold she had over him; seeking out trouble deliberately.

The young woman rolled her eyes and took a wilful step towards the corridor in response.

"You are as stubborn as a Gortal*!" Finn sulked before following his friend down the hallway towards the main base.

OoooooO

"If you keep sticking to me like this, I'm going to end up with a blaster shot between the shoulder blades!" Rey hissed through her teeth.

"I'm covering your back!"

"I need space, go, shoo!" Rey whispered waving him away with a hand until Finn reluctantly took a couple of steps back.

After a good ten minutes of walking through icy corridor after icy corridor they finally made it to a heavily armoured door.

"Ta da! There is it! Good game! I knew it would be loc…"

Rey turned towards her friend and pointed at him with one finger to cut him and his whining off. Then, she turned back towards the door and took a deep breath.

If I can lift rocks surely I can open doors too.

The young woman raised her arm and held out her open palm in front of the metal handle. Finn watched on without saying a word. He had to admit that seeing her on Crait, surrounded by hundreds of massive floating rocks, had certainly made an impression on him. His best friend was a Jedi, and he could scarcely believe it. Even though she had told them—him, Poe, and Rose—that Luke hadn't had time to teach her how to really use her powers, she had still managed to get the upper hand on Kylo Ren in a duel, could move all sorts of things with her mind alone, and bend the will of others to her own… If she wasn't a full-blown Jedi, at the very least she was the best of the best in terms of rookie one.

The door in front of them started to quiver under Rey's steady concentration. Finn held his breath in anticipation as Rey waved her fingers at it as if ordering the invisible lock to yield to her mental injunctions. After only a few seconds of this, the door rattled loudly before sliding open and into the partition.

Finn placed a steadying hand on Rey's shaking arm. "Are you all good?" He asked gently.

The young woman heaved out a few heavy breathes before reassuring Finn with a nod.

The pair then advanced on the open door backup generator's power evidently didn't extend to this part of the base and the room in front of them was as black as pitch. Their flashlights cut through the darkness, highlighting the ravaged state of the command post. Every single screen in the room was broken, completely unsalvageable.

"There's no way we can keep going in the dark like this!"

Finn was right. The base did look empty but everything seemed completely ransacked and trashed by Empire soldiers.

"The infirmary!" Rey exclaimed suddenly. "We might be able to find some bacta or other medical supplies to take with us."

Finn nodded in response and Rey was grateful that he didn't complain this time. They moved a little further into the command post, and after inspecting several corridors, they finally found the treatment room. A bacta tank sat next to the entrance, but the glass at the bottom was broken and it was completely empty; not a single drop of the precious liquid remained.

All of a sudden, Rey clutched Finn's arm. Her flashlight lit the ground and the young man looked down to see what had caught her attention. Blood smeared the layer of frost at their feet and drew two thin red streaks that led to the back of the room.

The two young rebels then noticed the pile of black clothes lying on the table in front of them.

They were not alone.

Everything happened very quickly after that.

The unmistakable sound of a crackling energy source tore through the silence and a scarlet glow suddenly came to life in the dark. The light from the saber came from their left, near the room's second exit. At the sound, Rey seemed to come to life. Both her and Finn pivoted with synchronized movements to face the intruder.

Acting on pure instinct, they pointed their blasters towards the infernal light.

Impossible. It was impossible.

Kylo Ren stood a few meters behind what was once an operating table.

Finn felt his mouth go dry and his brain was suddenly sent spinning into overdrive. In a split second, he detailed and analyzed the enemy, and came up with the best possible plan of attack. His stormtrooper training, ingrained in him from before he could remember, kicked in.

Kylo Ren was in bad shape. With one hand pressed up against his ribs, he couldn't seem to staunch whatever wound he had there, the red spot soaking through the pilot suit he was wearing in place of his usual black garb growing larger and larger. His right cheekbone was swollen and purple, his lower lip was split harshly, and the arm holding his saber trembled, just lightly, but enough for Finn to take stock of it. Several empty bacta patches littered the ground at his feet and he stood hunched in a way that made it look like he was having a hard time even staying upright. He looked like a cornered animal, surprised, but ready for anything.

Rey stared at Kylo. And Kylo stared back at her with an indescribable gleam in his eye. For a moment Finn almost had the unpleasant feeling he was intruding on something private, something he was not meant to see.

Time stopped in the small infirmary. The only sounds in the room came from their three laboured breaths and the sizzling of Kylo's lightsaber. The air became so thick that filling their oxygen-hungry lungs required a considerable amount of effort. Even Finn could feel it… The sudden intensification… A sort of tangible flow of energy that invaded the room and throbbed like the living entity between Rey and the monster in front of them.

"Ben…"

Rey's voice acted like a trigger, kickstarting Finn into action. He fired several blaster rounds at Kylo Ren while grabbing the young woman by the back of her suit and pulling her behind him.

The Knight of Ren raised his sword to deflect the shots and they ricocheted off of his blade before hitting the ceiling and dislodging fragments of it. Blocks of ice and rock fell between him and his attackers, shrouding him in a protective cloud of white dust. Then, without giving Finn any time to stop him, Kylo waved a hand to open the door next to him, he rushed through the exit before closing it in the same way.

The bastard was getting away.

Finn stumbled over the scattered debris and threw himself at the now locked door.

"Rey!" he shouted for her help.

But Rey was motionless, a blank look on her face, as if she had just seen a ghost.

OoooooO

*Gortal: an animal straight from my imagination that looks like a mule.