Star Wars: Division

Impulse53669: Well, it's nice to hear you've been enjoying the story! Thanks for the review. And also thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate it.

Now, I can see where some of you guys may be confused by the last chapter, and honestly, I sort of intended that. Haha. Nice of me, right? This chapter should provide some background as to how the jump was made, though. I decided to update sooner than Thursday to help clear up the confusion. I hope this helps! The briefest description I can give for the events of Chapter Eleven is: First Order scouts find a Republic ship - the Redeemer - en route to the rendezvous point with the Resistance. First Order forces board the ship and kill everyone except for one captain, who Kylo Ren tries to use as leverage against Leia, but ends up having to torture for the Resistance's location coordinates. If you're still confused just leave me a comment. I'll always address concerns, questions, and critiques.

Chapter Twelve

Then:

He knelt before the twisted up visage of Darth Vader's helmet, as he was prone to do when in need of contemplation and guidance. He could see the way forward, but problems kept him from truly pushing his plans onward, namely his lead General and said General's newly acquired crony - Carise Sindian. As if trying to maneuver around Hux was tricky enough, now he would need to sidestep the both of them. But besides his plans for the First Order, he had other things he wanted to invest his time in, and as of yet had been unable to. It was no secret to him that Snoke - like all Sith Masters - had purposefully kept things hidden from his apprentice in order to keep Kylo Ren from achieving the kind of power needed to overthrow him. Of course, Kylo Ren had been able to do it regardless because of Snoke's immeasurable arrogance, but that aside - there was so much knowledge out there on the Force, both Light and Dark, and he wanted to seek it. Like Darth Vader had done before him, building his palace on Mustafar to be close to the dark energy locus that was centered within the planet. He may have never been able to reach the heights necessary to overthrow Sidious (though, to be honest, Kylo Ren had to wonder if it wasn't because of Vader's lack of strength, but lack of confidence), but it hadn't stopped him from delving into Sith secrets.

At least, those were the rumors. He hadn't been encouraged to learn about his grandfather as a child - to say the least. Even after joining Snoke, he'd been discouraged from looking into the knowledge Vader had sought; Kylo Ren could only assume it was because Snoke was afraid of him gaining too much power, though he claimed it was because he was only an apprentice, and not ready for the kinds of secrets someone like Vader would have collected. Funny, considering Snoke had spent so much time trying to mold him into the same figure his grandfather had been, stroking his ego with images of Darth Vader ruling over the Galaxy with so much power he was feared all the way to the Outer-Rim. But he'd learned that Snoke filled his head with such ideas of grandeur to keep him preoccupied, to keep his thoughts on reaching the heights of Darth Vader, and not reaching his own, which would include surpassing his Master. Jedi dealt in falsehoods; he had learned, in an even more gut-wrenching epiphany of disillusionment, that the Sith did the same.

And that was why he didn't care much for either. He'd said as much aboard the Supremacy.

"Grandfather," he said lowly to the helmet as he bent his head. For years he'd been attempting to reach him through the Force, to call on him, but Anakin never showed. Instead, he was always left in oppressive silence, as if his grandfather was judging him from beyond the boundaries of his vision, and deeming him unworthy. Yet, he never stopped trying.

A blue aura touched upon his closed eyelids. A thrill of expectation went through him, making his heart jump. Could it be - ?

When he opened his eyes all he saw was the disapproving gaze of his uncle.

"You and I have nothing left to say," he said with a snarl.

"That's what you think, kid," Luke shot back at his nephew.

Kylo Ren hated that - kid. Like his father had always done. Luke did it on purpose to rattle him, just as he'd done on Crait before revealing his master deception. "I want to talk to my grandfather, not the husk of my uncle," he said tightly.

"Well, I want to talk to you." Luke unclasped his hands from behind his back and folded his arms. "I won't let you turn her," he said sternly.

"That's not up to you anymore, you dead fool," he ground out through grit teeth.

"I'm not going to abandon her, whatever you may think."

"Not like you did me?" He raised his head, then, to glare up at Luke accusingly. At the very least, Luke Skywalker had the grace to look ashamed.

The Force Ghost of his uncle sighed wearily. "Failure has plagued my life, it's true."

"It will also plague your death," he shot back defiantly.

"You told me on Crait that you'd destroy her. The Resistance. All of it."

"And what concerns do the dead have with my words?"

"I told you, I won't let you turn her. I won't let you change her. She carries the hope of the Galaxy on her shoulders."

He stayed silent. Luke Skywalker was a fool; he didn't know exactly what had transpired between Rey and his uncle on Ahch'To, but he knew from past conversations with her that he had been an unwilling teacher. Certainly at the beginning. It wasn't unfair to assume Luke had sensed things about Rey that he had once sensed in his nephew and - like a coward - feared. Why Luke had returned to train her now, he didn't know, but he was sure there were things about Rey he didn't know, or was lying to himself about.

Because there was darkness in her. She'd shown it to him. The weight of her palm on his throat while she kissed along his jaw still lingered on his skin.

"Ben," Luke said tentatively.

He raised his head once more, eyes shadowed. "Ben Solo is dead. His Master, Luke Skywalker, killed him."

With a faint hum of sound similar to that of a gentle breeze, the Ghost of his past faded away.

He'd come to this private room to meditate and think of his goals, to weigh his options, and all he'd gotten was the unsettling presence of his old Master. Worse, it only confirmed Kylo Ren's suspicions about Rey's training; if Luke was appearing to him as a Ghost, surely he'd already been visiting Rey. So, he had returned to give her the proper training he'd denied her in life? Training in lightsaber assembly and combat was fine. It was the possibility of Jedi teachings that worried him. It was Luke's influence on her that was the problem. He would repress her like he'd done his nephew.

Hux, Sindian, and now Luke - the three would surely drive him mad.

"Supreme Leader," rang a voice over his personal commlink.

"What is it," he said stiffly.

"A scouting unit has come across what appears to be a Republic ship - the Redeemer. Its movements have been reported as irregular."

"How so?"

"Scouts claim its using an old trade route via the Mid-Rim that passes Trandosha."

This piqued his interest. Trandoshan routes were extremely uncommon; the Republic didn't deal too much with the planet, and certainly any old trade routes that passed within distance of it were primarily used by smugglers. Republic ships wouldn't use smuggler routes unless they needed to avoid detection.

He stood, moved to action. "Tell the scouting party to stay on their trail. Order the bridge to initiate lightspeed. Inform the fleet."

"Right away, Supreme Leader." The line went dead.

This, at least, would be promising. Killing a crew of Republic forces he had no doubt were trying to make contact with the Resistance would surely provide him with all the stress relief he needed.

Now:

Pandemonium trumpeted its call over the heads of the scurrying Resistance members; it was chaos. For some of the veterans to the cause - Leia, Rose, Poe, Finn, Rey - this was business as usual, but for the greenies, the novices, the fresh new faces that had only been recruited in the last two weeks - some in the last two days - this was a time to panic and fly about and miss the big picture entirely. They needed to be reigned in, but Leia was busy helping Lieutenant Connix get all of their communications equipment packed and ready; they couldn't leave a single piece behind, it was too important. Without the ability to cast their signal and send messages, the Resistance would be nothing more than a stranded group of fools. Poe was leading the X-Wing fighters to their planes so that the three squadrons would be airborne and on the lookout for incoming First Order forces. Finn, Rose, and a few of the other members that had survived Crait were doing their best at directing people on where to go, what to pick up, and how to pack up the supplies, but the cacophony of panic was often too loud for their voices to be heard.

Rey huffed, watching everyone run about. At this rate, the First Order would arrive before a single Resistance ship was in the air, and everything they'd spent the last month working so hard to acquire, and all the efforts they'd put into rebuilding, would be a complete waste. They'd all be as dead as the crew of the Redeemer they had had the horror of seeing just moments ago on the holo-display. She couldn't allow that. Leia had asked for her help in leading them, and she had been so unsure, then, so conflicted. But in that moment of need, Rey picked up the mantle naturally; it came to her without a second thought.

Hanging on Finn's belt was a blaster. She called it to her hand with ease, then unlatched the safety and fired a few shots into the ceiling of the hangar. The chaos of the room was quickly stifled as people froze in place and looked for the source of the gun fire. "Everyone," Rey called from atop a stack of crates, "let's keep clear heads, okay? If we stay organized we can get everything evacuated in time. Don't panic."

Though fear was still very much apparent in the perfectly rounded globes of some of the newer recruits' eyes, she noticed that, at the very least, they were focusing all their attention on her, and seemed ready to listen without falling immediately back into a frenzy. That was something.

"All right," she said evenly, casting her eyes around the large room. "We all have our assigned ships. Everyone go to your assigned ship and band together with your crew members. Captains, lead your crew through loading all relevant supplies and equipment." There were nodding heads, and some people looked around for their fellow crew members, seeing who they could find in the tangle of people. "Also, please, everyone!" Rey said at a raised volume; this was important. "Arm yourselves! Make sure you have a blaster. In the event the First Order arrives and is able to board any of our ships, we want to give them one hell of a fight!"

A cheer of agreement rang throughout the hangar.

"Okay - go, go!" She urged everyone. The crowd dispersed and followed their orders perfectly; within a minute every ship's crew was assembled and loading boxes and crates with the efficiency of an assembly line.

Things were looking good. More than half of the supplies had been loaded, and all of their communications equipment was packed and safely aboard the transport for the new Resistance flagship - the Radiance.

Their pilots had been sitting in the cockpits of their X-Wings, ready to go, since the beginning of the scramble and they were getting itchy. Pilots hated to be all geared up, with their engines running, just idling on the tarmac waiting for the action to break out. Personally, Rey was glad nothing had broken out, yet. They didn't need a confrontation no matter how badly the pilots wanted to somersault in the air and shoot down enemies.

Leia appeared at her side, suddenly, and placed a hand on her shoulder as Rey bent down to pick up another supply crate. "You see that? You have what it takes to lead, Rey," the older woman said with a sideways smirk.

Rey allowed herself a smile; it did feel good to lead, she couldn't deny it. "Yeah, I guess," she said with a casual wipe across her brow with the back of her hand, but on the inside she felt a little giddy. It was a bit of a big deal to get praise from Leia Organa, especially on leadership abilities.

The General gave her shoulder a squeeze, then gestured to the hangar at large. "We're almost done here, thankfully, so - "

But her words were cut off as a Resistance member - one of the recon crew members, to be exact - came running inside, full speed, yelling, "The First Order fleet has arrived in orbit. They're making their landing!"

The order and determined calm they'd been able to acquire in the rundown structure quickly erupted into chaos once more. Rey's brow furrowed and she hurried out of the hangar into the center of the refueling station's ruins. She watched all of the X-Wings that had been so impatiently waiting on standby, kick their thrusters into high gear and turn down what remained of the old runway. It wasn't a moment too soon; they were in the sky just as TIE fighters came howling their way through the air, firing on the ground with red laser bullets.

"To your ships - now!" she heard Leia command behind her as the General hurried to the transport for the star cruiser, which they'd kept hovering above the station for just such an occasion as this; getting a star cruiser powered up and off the ground took too long to make a quick escape. "Captain," Leia all but screamed into her comm link to the Radiance's bridge. "Engage shields immediately. Expect incoming fire. As soon as we get aboard, prepare to enter orbit and punch it to lightspeed."

When the General made it to the transport ramp and noticed Rey wasn't beside her, she quickly turned on her heel. Rey was still standing in the same spot, her eyes fixed on the sky. Leia looked over her shoulder to see what she was looking at and Kylo Ren's TIE Silencer rapidly descended to the ground. With a furrowed brow etched in worry, Leia turned back to the young woman and frowned. It wasn't that she didn't have faith in her, but Rey was still an inexperienced fighter and Leia had learned early on in her military career that it was often better to run and fight another day, especially if it was a day without the kind of surprise attack that had just been sprung on them. But she'd also learned something else after having met her brother: it was impossible to talk down a Jedi. Once they'd made up their mind to fight and be a hero, there was no stopping them. She smiled ruefully at the memories of her brother, and then turned and boarded the transport without a second glance.

Chaos reigned in the skies, filled with the whirrs and hums of X-Wings and TIE fighters engaged in a daredevil dogfight. The air was filled with the sharp cry of blaster fire, painting the sky with their usual reds and greens. Here and there puffs of smoke would appear and billow upwards. Still, Rey stood her ground, rooted in place with determination, as the TIE Silencer finally opened its hatch. She readied herself with her lightsaber, face contorted with the same persistence and stubbornness that had served her well on Starkiller Base. Some Resistance members stopped to gawk at the figure of Kylo Ren as he stomped slowly and surely down the ramp, but most kept their heads down and eyes on their work. There weren't many supply crates left, and it may have been wiser to abandon them, but with the state the Resistance was in, even a single supply crate left behind could really set them back. They needed every last one, which they had fought tooth and nail to acquire. Leaving them behind just didn't feel like an option.

"Rey!" Finn yelled over the overwhelming din of the landscape between them. It was a wonder she'd heard him at all.

She waved her hand at him impatiently. "Go!" she yelled as loudly as she could.

Whatever he had been about to respond was cut short as the transport hatch closed.

It was a difficult fight for the pilots, as they focused their fire primarily on the ground, but had to avoid TIE fighter guns as they chased their Resistance counterparts through the air. Even though the Finalizer's full wing had yet to be replenished, they still outnumbered the X-Wings 55 to 36, which made their predicament even more challenging. The reason the X-Wings had to focus-fire the ground was because of the stormtroopers peppering it with blaster fire as they tried to shoot down the remaining Resistance members rushing about between the interior of the hangar and the ships docked outside, doing their best to finish loading supplies amongst the anarchy of battle.

Luckily, Rey could help with that thanks to her more recent training. Close to the body, precise, defensive movements, echoed Luke's voice in the back of her mind. She steeled herself, ignited her lightsaber, and slowly walked towards the front line of stormtroopers. Keeping her lightsaber tight and tucked close to the chest, she quickly deflected several bolts of blaster fire with twists of her wrist. She wasn't as concerned with where the blaster fire landed as long as it wasn't landing on Resistance forces, so most of them simply went wild, hitting the old ruins of Vrogas Vas. None of them hit stormtroopers, but her efforts were helping; the supplies had almost been entirely loaded, and the transport had already reached the Radiance. The TL was already ready to go, its engines revved and firing. The last members of its crew brought aboard the final crate and the ship got airborne. Two X-Wings barrel-rolled around the TL to ensure it safely made it to orbit as TIE fighters attempted to shoot it down.

Rey watched with a sigh of relief as the Radiance left Vrogas Vas's atmosphere, and made the final push into space. Shortly after, the TL was on the ascension, following in the Radiance's footsteps.

It became obvious why Kylo Ren didn't use Form III in combat; what was the point of deflecting blaster fire when he could simply stop it in mid-air with the Force? His reflexes had been honed far beyond her own, and once more she had come face to face with the deficit of her own training in comparison to his. Still, this wouldn't be like their fight on Batuu when she had been without a lightsaber and without Luke's recent combat training. And Kylo Ren's, she thought suddenly, remembering how the very enemy before her had aided her when she'd been in need. As ever, things were confusing - she was perpetually caught between the Light and the Dark sides of the Force, being trained simultaneously by both, with the Light providing her with a proper Master, but the Dark giving her a confidant.

With ease, Kylo Ren reached out a hand and yanked on the crate being carried by two crew members as they ran towards their ship. The force of the pull toppled both of them down to the ground as the box dropped, and Kylo Ren's crackling red lightsaber made quick work of them. She grit her teeth and deflected blaster fire as she went. When one deflected towards his chest, he caught it in the air, then threw it towards another Resistance crew scrambling across the station. She flipped into the bullet's path and deflected it a second time with her blade.

Though Form III was a set style for all Jedi and Sith alike, each force-user brought their own unique touch to every movement, taking the different stances and steps and giving it the sort of nuance that made it second-nature for the fighter. And he recognized hers; he'd seen this very particular take on Soresu from his earlier years: Luke. Soresu had always been one of his preferred Forms, meaning he used it often and had his own stylized way of doing things. Now he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, as he watched Rey swiftly transition through the defensive blocks and swings of her lightsaber, that his old Master was training her - influencing her.

I won't let you turn her, echoed in his mind. Those eyes, all blue and full of accusation as if he'd had no part in Ben's transformation from Leia and Han's son to Snoke's dark apprentice. Same as his father, his mother; everyone wanted to deny responsibility, but chastised him for seeking another way forward after the Jedi Order had failed him. Luke would seek to control Rey the same as he had tried to control Ben. And when he saw that different something inside her? Something dark he thought needed to be purged? What then? He couldn't try to murder her the same as he'd tried to murder his nephew, not now as a dead failure, just a mere whisper forever emanating through the Force.

Another crew member tripped and fell forward with a yelp of pain as a blaster bullet struck his leg. Rey saw a stormtrooper aim his gun at the man's back as the front line advanced on the Resistance. She arrived at the man's side just in time to deflect the bullet, panting heavily, and hauled him to his feet. His arm thrown around her shoulders, she hurried him to the ramp of his ship; his fellow crew members took him from her grasp and got him safely on board. Out of sheer luck none of the stormtroopers' fire had hit her, but when she turned back to the scene at large she saw several more Resistance members had been struck down; a supply crate had landed so hard it broke open, spilling its contents across the broken up cement of the station's wreckage. The ship at her back closed up its hatch and quickly lifted off the ground. She didn't know if they were leaving before they'd taken all their crew members or supplies, but they were quickly running out of time as First Order forces bore down on them. Even though several TIE fighters had been shot from the sky, trailing black smoke amid the reds and greens of laser fire and crashing into the surrounding barren landscape around the station, the First Order heavily outnumbered them - what else was new? And the stormtroopers were relentlessly advancing. If the ships didn't take off in the next minute, Rey was sure they wouldn't make it.

As the force of the wind created from the ship's exhaust buffeted against her back, causing her hair to fly about her face, she saw Kylo Ren reach out towards it in the Force; she knew instinctively he was going to try and hold it, keep it from going any further so that his TIE fighters and ground units alike had the chance to shoot it down. With as much strength as she could muster, she also stretched out her hand in the Force and pushed to deflect his own. For a moment, the two stood locked in place as their wills in the Force warred against each other, much as it had on the Supremacy. Then, with a concussive blast, both of them were sent sprawling backwards. Rey hit the ground hard and came to a skidding halt. She groaned, faced down on the ground.

A hundred feet away, the black figure of Kylo Ren did the same.

Simultaneously, both Force-users raised themselves up on their arms slowly, Rey blinking dust and grit from her eyes; Kylo Ren panted heavily. When they stood, they turned to face one another again, and with similar movements - as if the two figures were a mirror of each other's other half - they called their lightsabers back into their hands and reignited the blades. With a loud, guttural growl, Rey used the Force against a small group of approaching stormtroopers and pushed them over. Then, eyes on Kylo Ren, she mocked him with a swirl of her wrist that swung her lightsaber in a fancy circle, much the same as he'd taunted her on Batuu.

Another instant and the two lightsabers were clashing, creating that sharp, electric ring as they were forced against each other, red and blue vibrating as angrily as their owners. She grit her teeth and tried to push against him, but Kylo Ren's heavier blows in Form V were too much against her Form III. She realized she hadn't yet changed stances, a definitive sign of her inexperience. Form III was the best technique for deflecting blaster fire and being defensive, but it was no match for the other forms, especially V. Her elbows felt ready to buckle under the push of his blow; she quickly ducked down and rolled sideways, so that his strike overbalanced him. He turned towards her just as she was able to get upright and change to her usual combat style. He advanced on her and she used the Force to throw some of the station's rubble at him; he swung at each piece effortlessly, cutting them down.

In truth, she was exhausted. Using the Force in tandem with Form III to read the pathway of blaster fire in order to effectively deflect it had depleted so much of her energy. Holding out against his more aggressive combat style had just about depleted the rest. The adrenaline that had been rushing through her early on, aiding in her efforts, was dissipating as she panted heavily and sweat formed on her lower back. It was discouraging to see it didn't look like Kylo Ren was feeling the fatigues of battle at all.

As she quickly wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, she realized he'd backed her up into the hangar, a large space, but an enclosed large space that only had one door. Over his shoulder she saw the Falcon, zooming through the sky to aid the X-Wings in their dogfight. But the dogfight was coming to an end - the last of the Resistance ships were hovering just above the ground, ready to blast off. How was she going to get herself off the planet, now?

"Do you really think you'll accomplish anything like this," he asked through the modulator of his helmet.

Startled from her thoughts, her eyes were drawn back to his advancing figure.

"It was only three decades ago that the Empire fell and the New Republic emerged. And yet the Republic has fallen again and the First Order is on the verge of taking over, following in the Empire's footsteps," he persisted. "It didn't take the Senate any time at all to fall victim to corruption. Senators were lured by promises from Snoke with minimal effort. I was there. I saw it."

She took a moment to catch her breath before answering earnestly, "But before that the Republic saw hundreds of years of peace," she said, trying to convince him while also trying to convince herself. "It was the rise of the Emperor that unbalanced the Galaxy and the Force."

He scoffed. "Which one of the Skywalker siblings told you that?"

It was these types of moments that continued to illustrate just how naive she still was, how little she knew of the Galaxy's past, of the Force and the way it operated. Between them, it was her biggest weakness - her lack of knowledge and training. It became so unbearably clear to her how much of a novice she was, and how far she had to go to catch up with him. Kylo Ren had grown up with a Senator and Force-sensitive for a mother, a Rebel hero for a father, and a Jedi Master for an uncle, not to mention his grandfather and the Skywalker legacy. The Galaxy's history, its politics - these were things he'd been learning and surrounded by since birth. And her? She'd been a scavenger slave on the desolate Jakku, more concerned with finding enough to earn some rations so she wouldn't starve than the lofty academics of her counterpart.

"Don't listen to their lies," he said lowly. "Think of what you could become, all your potential, and realize the truth."

Her bottom lip quivered with lassitude. "Which is what?"

"That the Force brought us together for a reason. And I don't think it was so we could kill each other."

Something burned in his eyes.

With a sudden surge of ferocity, she struck out at him; his ever-crackling lightsaber came up swiftly and blocked it. "I won't listen to you," she snarled.

An odd sound escaped the helmet - a scoff? "And who will you listen to? Luke, your new Jedi Master? Does it feel satisfying to finally be a Padawan," he taunted.

His jabs weren't going to affect her. "Yes," she all but spit back at him.

The same sound of belligerent frustration came from the helmet. "Sometimes the truth is dark, Rey. You know that from your time on Ahch'To," he persisted. It was true - the truth that had awaited her on the island of the Jedi Order's origins had not been a pleasant one. She remembered how lonely it had made her feel, empty and forgotten. It had led her to form a connection to Kylo Ren she would've never thought possible.

"Maybe," she said, trying to gather herself against words she knew were meant to pull down her defenses. "But the Jedi choose the Light side of the Force because it reveals the truth, dark or otherwise."

"Is that what the Aionomica says? Or the Rammahgon?"

So, he knew the names of some of the ancient Jedi texts. She supposed he would, given his upbringing.

He regarded her through the cross their lightsabers made as they continued to stay locked in place. "And when Luke first told you about trying to kill me - did he tell the truth then?"

She hesitated. He hadn't. He had lied the first time, and then lied a second time. Kylo Ren knew that. Luke hadn't been honest with her until after she'd seen her vision, after Luke had caught them touching hands in the hut. When confronted, he had been forced to admit his shame. But if she hadn't demanded answers, would he have ever told her?

"The Light can't reveal everything, not if the shadows go deep enough," he said dangerously, like the edge of an abyss open and waiting to accept her into its arms.

She recalled the wall of ice that she had approached and been transported through, and the line of hers that had gone on for so long, but culminated in the cold realization that her parents - whoever they were - had never wanted to come back for their sad, abandoned daughter. That dark truth had been loneliness - utter, crushing loneliness, made because her parents had never loved her. She had spent all those years scratching marks into her little rusted walker, giving her parents the hopeful, bright-eyed benefit of the doubt, and they had sold her into slavery, and never planned to return; they didn't want her. Unloved. Alone and unloved, deprived of a childhood, deprived of a family. All she had was herself.

A tear spilled down her cheek.

How sympathetic he was. Yes, his parents had loved him, in their way, but they had also never been around. When they were - they fought. His father had never been able to understand him, with his skepticism of the Force, his lack of patience with Jedi knowledge and overall mistrust of Jedi abilities. To look down at his son and see a powerful Jedi in the making had unnerved him. His mother? He scared his mother - she could sometimes feel his tumultuous nature through the Force. She worried he'd take after his grandfather, and so she always kept him at arm's length, haunted by the memories and legend of Darth Vader and his stain of evil upon the Galaxy. What if her own son turned out like that? The possibility of it terrified her enough to send him away. In that way, both Force-users standing in that hangar, locked against each other, had been abandoned by their parents, irrevocably linking them to the same pain, and to the same darkness a child faces in the depravity of familial affection.

It was hard not to see how beautiful she was in that moment, her eyes reflecting both streams of their lightsabers, a bright streak of red and blue across their natural hazel color. These moments that made them feel as one through the Force, as their past memories and wounds bridged them together in a way far more intimate and real than the connection that bridged them across time and space, made his heart beat with rapid flutters he never experienced anywhere else. And he may not be able to hear it, but her heart thumped in her chest with the same kind of intoxicating speed.

She couldn't see his eyes, but felt them on her as much as she felt the weight of his strength as he pressed his blade to hers.

Aboard the Radiance, the bridge was bustling with activity. Not only were they trying to plot a safe course through hyperspace, but they were also doing their best to maintain shields and outrun the First Order fleet which, just like during the evacuation of D'Qar, was fast on their trail. Luckily, the Resistance forces still had their usual advantage: their ships were half the size of the First Order's star destroyers, meaning they could outstrip them with ease. Star destroyers were powerful, but also bulky and slow. Even though their cannons were firing on the Radiance's rear shields, they were nothing more than a tickle.

Even given their positive prospects of escape, Finn was beside himself. He followed Leia around the bridge, desperate to get an answer. "Why did you leave Rey down there?" he asked furiously.

For the most part, Leia was ignoring him, her mouth set in a thin line as she orchestrated the protection and escape of her new ship and its crew. She was relieved to see the TL join them in space, and the remaining ships all linked-in to report they had lifted off the ground and were on their way into the atmosphere. The crease between her brows eased as her shoulders released some of their tension. Rey had helped ensure all of the ships left the ground, and once they were all in space and in formation, they could jump to hyperspace. They had lost four X-Wings, but that was a small price to pay, all things considered. Everything else had gone successfully.

"Leia," Finn yelled angrily, fed up with being ignored. "How could you leave her down there to face the First Order?"

Steeling herself, Leia finally turned to face the enraged ex-stormtrooper. "Rey chose to stay to make sure our forces got off the ground. Because of her we're going to get out of this with minimal casualties."

"I don't care," Finn interjected impatiently. "She's going to die down there alone!"

"She's a Jedi, Finn - it's time you learned that. I didn't give her an order, she decided to stay on her own to help protect everyone, like any Jedi would. If we had stayed, our forces would've been decimated and everything we've spent the past few weeks rebuilding would be gone. We owe her our lives."

Finn huffed, adrenaline coursing through his veins from the rush of the battle, and also his anger. "And her life? It doesn't mean anything to you?"

"Of course it does," Leia said scathingly, her own patience wearing thin. To be accused of not caring - it chafed at her conscience. "But like I said, Finn, she chose to stay. Jedi don't answer to me. Jedi don't answer to anyone other than their own Order. That's how it has always been. Look," she sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. She gave it a squeeze. "Chewie stayed on the ground with the Falcon. When they can escape, they will. I have faith."

Finn swallowed and slowly pushed her hand off his shoulder. Her answer just wasn't good enough. There he was - there they all were! - safe and sound aboard the new cruiser feeling triumphant while Rey faced off against their enemy by herself, some lone beacon of strength in the face of evil. "Faith isn't going to save Rey," he said lowly, and then he turned and stormed his way off the bridge.

Leia watched him go with an oddly nostalgic feeling. How many times had that been her in her youth? How many times had she worried about Luke when he went into battles by himself? When he'd gone to face their father and the Emperor all those years ago, while she'd gone to Endor? But she'd learned there was simply no stopping Force-users when they thought they were doing what was necessary of them. She couldn't reason with Luke all those years ago, and she certainly wasn't going to be able to reason with Rey, now. Finn was going to have to learn the same lesson and accept it.

Back in the hangar on Vrogas Vas -

"Come with me," he urged her, words that were rapidly becoming their usual exchange.

"I can't do that," she replied. It was a conversation they'd now had many times.

"Why not," he said, his voice pitched in a rising tone of aggravation.

"Because I'm still not sure what I think of all this," she fired back with a desperate conviction. "Don't you understand? You may have more knowledge and more training than me, but I can't simply take your word for it. I don't know what's the truth. I don't know what's right!"

"We are what's right," he said insistently. "You feel it, I feel it. Yet you keep denying it!"

"I don't deny it," she yelled back. How could she? After all that had passed between them, how could she deny her feelings for him?

The urge to kiss him rose up in her, but his helmet kept her from touching their lips together. Somehow, she sensed the same kind of thoughts in him, resulting in an impotent sexual tension between them.

Maybe it made him weak - maybe she was beginning to make a fool of him, he didn't know or care. He just needed to hear those words, those words she'd said once before as she'd lain half naked on his bed. "Tell me," he said breathlessly, though through his helmet it sounded more like a desperate rasp. "Tell me you want me," he whispered.

The ghost of his palm cupped between her legs made her thighs quake. "I want you."

"Supreme Leader," yelled a stormtrooper.

Distracted, Rey was shot by the stormtrooper's blaster just as she saw him and two others come running into the hangar. With an out cry of pain from the wound blossoming red on the wing of her left shoulder, she recoiled and her lightsaber blade deactivated as she fell backwards.

With an unnatural speed - a speed enhanced by his feelings of wrath fueled by the Dark Side of the Force - he caught sight of her wound, and then spun around and squeezed the offending stormtrooper so brutally with the Force that instead of choking him to death, his neck broke, and the body crumpled to the ground.

"S-Supreme Leader," questioned one of the two remaining troopers. Both stumbled back a step at his aggression, and grew afraid.

He lifted up his lightsaber and pulled one directly onto the blade; it caught the trooper through the middle, and he sliced upwards. The final stormtrooper attempted to flee, but he was too quick - too blinded with rage. With a fierce pull, the stormtrooper was brought directly into the path of his lightsaber as it sliced down and cut him directly in half, right across the torso.

Huffing, he stared down at the dead stormtroopers.

The outside battle let its presence be known to the two Force-users, who had been so entangled in their own dealings they'd nearly forgotten this was a battle between the First Order and the Resistance. An X-Wing came twirling into the hangar, peppering the ground. Both Kylo Ren and Rey looked up: it was Poe. Kylo Ren growled. Again this pilot was ruining his moment. Worse, right behind the Resistance ace was Chewie flying the Falcon. The ramp was already open, beckoning Rey to safety, as it flew directly over her and hovered.

Holding her shoulder, she used her injured arm to clip her lightsaber back to her belt.

Kylo Ren turned to see her flip backwards directly onto the ramp. They stared at each other as the hatch slowly lifted, reminiscent of Crait. In all honesty, she didn't want to leave, and he sensed that. But he also sensed she felt she didn't have a choice. The Resistance had become her family - a family she had never had, but wanted so very badly. She couldn't turn their back on them.

It was immensely painful to think she could turn her back on him.