You all are awesome and your sweet words brightened by day and got my through a really hard week. Here is your reward and I hope to get another part out this weekend as well. Cheers!

Part XVI

By Rey's calculations and if she was in her own shuttle, she would have had to leave Endor early the next morning, but with the speed of Ben's Command Shuttle, they were able to spend a few more hours on the moon.

Arlan and Tyris settled into the cockpit again and took them on a quick flight to another part of the forest that seemed to stretch half way around the moon. It was explained to Rey that they were going to Bright Tree Village, the largest settlement of Ewoks on Endor.

Rey practically squealed when she saw her first Ewok. Pictures on the holonet could not prepare her for the seer adorableness of the small bear-like creatures. "Can I take one home?" Rey whispered to Ben as they walked through the village.

"They aren't house broken and they tend to bite," Ben teased in reply.

With just enough time to eat a local breakfast and enjoy some music, Rey and Ben were back on the shuttle and lifting off the surface once more.

"One more stop," Ben said and they started to fly over the mountain range.

This time Ben took over piloting the shuttling, knowing exactly where he was going. As he landed the ship he addressed his guards, "Stay here," and he took Rey's hand and they exited down the ramp.

They were in a field just outside of a forest and Ben kept her hand in his as they stepped into the tree line. Halting his steps, Rey looked up at him, his eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and steady. Then Rey felt it…the Force. Ben was connecting to the Force and it was awe-inspiring, personal, spiritual, and beautiful. Rey felt honored…privileged to be standing at his side and witnessing something so pure and so raw. It was something that she felt down in her bones and for the first time possibly, she saw him…truly…through the Force, saw him.

His eyes lulled open and he glanced down at her, "This way…"

Walking off into the forest there were so many things that Rey wanted to say…to ask him… but she just followed.

Perhaps a hundred yards into the forest, Ben stopped. "Here," he said simply and dropped to his knees and started to dig in the soft moist dirt. Almost a foot down into the ground his fingers came in contact with a piece of himself that was left here seven year ago.

Rey waited patiently but inside she was buzzing with anxiety. Finally, he stood, brushing the dirt off of something metallic.

"This belonged to Ben Solo," he showed her the simple silver hilt. "This saved Ben Solo's life and allowed the birth of Kylo Ren."

She studied the simple design, even covered in soil, she could tell that Ben had put a lot of time and care into it's making. "I am thankful for this saber as it protected you when no one else would. I am thankful for Kylo Ren and the changes the he has made in the galaxy. I am thankful for you, my Ben, for awakening me and showing me how wonderful life could be."

He reached for her face, neither one caring that he was smudging dirt across her cheek, they were lost to the kiss they shared. It was short but telling and once they parted he handed the hilt to her, "I give you the last piece of Ben Solo and ask you to safe guard it for when he needs reminding of what sacrifice looks like."

The sun was now directly over head and they had already spent too much time on the moon. Even so, they walked at a relaxed pace back to the shuttle and Arlan lifted off again, quickly making way to the Spar Trade Route lanes and activated the hyperdrive with ease.

Rey didn't offer to fly on the way back to Jedha as she wanted to spend as much time with Ben as possible. Since she had been so...pleasantly interrupted the last time she tried to discuss her food assistance program, she took this opportunity to sit in their quarters with her Emperor and actually do some ruling.

Ben agreed to allocate some TIE squadrons to escort food transports until the hyperspace lanes could be deemed safe from any remaining cartels. He wanted to discuss the outcomes of meetings with his counselors concerning the punishment of the Resistance for their acts of treason, but still not knowing what he would decide, he didn't want to prematurely worry her.

So instead they stuck to lighter topics. Rey approved schools for two outlying worlds and commissioned a medical cruiser that would make health care available to planets that didn't have their own hospitals. "I want a focus to be on children and expected mothers. The newest generation are going to be ones carrying on from the foundation we are building right now. We need them to be healthy and also have them think positively about the New Order."

He agree wholeheartedly and added that he wanted to help veterans of the war, treat and resettle troopers that had been too badly injured to return to duty. "Perhaps even those who fought for the Republic and the Resistance will come for treatment. If they are shown respect and given good care, maybe they will see that the New Order isn't something to rebel against."

Rey loved the idea and leaned over to kiss him for being a just rules to all of his people, not just the ones who held his same views. As they parted he pulled the pocket watch out of his coat and frowned at it. Setting aside his datapad, he stood from the couch that had served as their meeting area and held his hand out for hers.

She took his hand readily and wordlessly followed him to the bed where they spent the rest of their time making love and being over all tangled up in each other.

Jedha was just as cold as she remembered and she dressed in her warmer clothing, slipping her green cowl over her head. Just as Ben had promised, her shuttle was filled with the supplies that were on her list and maybe more.

He walked her on to the shuttle and kissed her deeply in the cockpit, "When do I get to stop saying goodbye to you?" His expression was pained as he cupped her face in his large palms.

"Soon," was all Rey could offer and she took his lips to hers once more before she needed to depart.

As her ship lifted off, she reached down to make sure that Ben's first saber was still safely tucked into her satchel. Strangely the metal hilt didn't feel cold, but by some amazing power of the Force, she felt his warmth under her finger tips.

The base was much as it always was when Rey returned. Her cargo was unloaded and the other mechanics were impressed to see the quality of tools she had brought home. "You Jedi's sure do know how to get good deals on things…" one of them had mused as he pulled out a new socket set. Rey wanted to curse Ben for continuing to spoil her, but she also found it amusing that he was providing the tools for the Resistance to keep their ships in working order.

Somewhere in his thought process, there had to be a major conflict of interest, but she knew that his only intent had been to keep her safe and happy. "Only looking out for the good of the Resistance," she replied back offhandedly.

As she moved a heavy crate with a little help form the Force, Poe walked up behind her, "Rey, can I have a word?"

The others in the hangar, called out playful as if she was a child being sent to the principal's office. Had she ever attended proper school, she doubted she would have caused much trouble to end up in such a situation, but she also smiled to herself thinking how many times Ben was sent for reprimands. Even though he had told her that he was a quiet child, she also knew that between his temper and being too smart of his own good, Ben would have gotten himself into trouble from time to time.

She had learned quite a bit about primary and secondary education over the course of the past few months. At first she told Ben that it wasn't fair for her to make ruling on education reform when she had never attended school, but he had argued that since she had be denied the opportunity, that she was the perfect one to decide what was needed. He filled in the gaps, having attended the best prep schools and then university on Coruscant before going to the academy.

Her attention was brought back when Poe called her name again. Rey quickly set the crate down with the others and wiped her hands on her pants before following the General down a few halls to his quarters. About two months ago he had taken over Leia's rooms and the homey feeling of a life time of collecting books, art, and sentiment, were gone.

"I figured that you would be more comfortable meeting in here rather than the command offices…" Poe gestured towards a small sitting area.

Truth be told, Rey was very uncomfortable. Deep inside, she felt wrong for being in another man's private quarters. She was bonded to Ben, linked to him in every way but one, and she also felt that he would not be pleased with Poe's choice of meeting spaces, but she just nodded her head and took one of the offered seats.

"It's been a while since we've talked, just the two of us and I'm wondering how you are doing."

A while was putting it lightly, Rey mused to herself. The truth of it was that Poe played nice while Leia was still living but when she was gone and he took over command, Poe had very little to do with the young Jedi. With the most recent failed mission and also the other time when Rey had advised Ben that one of his transports carrying weapons use a different route…she had been keeping her head down but was also expecting this meeting.

"I'm fine..." she wasn't planning on giving away more than what was asked.

"You seem to be flying a lot of solo supply runs," Rey just sat and stared at him, not offering anything, so he continued. "You haven't had any run-ins with the First Order have you? There is still a bounty out on you if I'm not mistaken."

"I presume there will always be a bounty on my head since I did kill the old Supreme Leader, but no I've been very lucky to stay off the New Order's radar."

"The New Order," Poe scoffed. "You were pretty chummy with Kylo Ren back on the Supremacy..."

Every nerve in her body told her to tread lightly. "I wouldn't call knocking him unconscious and leaving him for dead...chummy."

"But you still went to retrieve him." Poe was fishing and he hoped that she wouldn't catch on.

"I only went to do what Han did, what Leia asked us to do. Luke wouldn't come and fight, at the time I thought that Ben was our best bet for bringing down the First Order." Rey had to clench her hands to attempt to keep her temper at bay.

"Yes...of course...Ben Solo..." Poe had grown up around the Organa-Solo family, as his parents were pilots for the Rebels and the Republic. "It's just a pity that you didn't kill him when you had the chance. All you did was exchange one tyrant for another."

Rey should have bit her tongue, but she was tired of Poe's hypocritical and highhanded hate and anger, "I don't see it that way." The words were out before she could stop them.

"And how do you see it?" Poe asked, crossing his arms over his chest and squinting his eyes at her.

She had really stepped in it now and Rey almost considered using the Jedi mind trick on him to forget the last five minutes of conversation. But instead she did exactly as Ben told her not to, she spoke her mind. "I think that what the New Order is doing isn't half bad." When Poe just maintained his position she continued. "They are building schools and hospitals. They are freeing enslaved worlds and stopped the criminals that plague the trade routes. In just a year they have been able to do more good than the New Republic could fathom doing in a whole generation."

Poe scoffed, "You've been watching too much of their propaganda on the holonet." He ground his teeth for a moment before leaning forward and slamming his fists on the table between them. "It's all lies Rey! They want to lull the galaxy into believing that they are safe…that there is peace." His eyes narrowed, "When are you going to realize that peace is a lie?"

"How very Sith of you…" Rey seethed back through gritted teeth.

The insult was lost on Poe, but it only seemed to stoke his anger, "Rey why are you here?"

"For peace," she answered without hesitation.

"And you think that spreading New Order propaganda around this base is the way to do it?" He had heard her reading articled off the holonet about some of the changes that Emperor Ren was making.

Rey leaned forward and matched his gaze, "If you think peace is a lie, then why are you here Poe?"

"To finish what General Organa started. To protect the Republic. To do what is right!" His voice rose with each point.

Her heart broke, having heard the same words from Kylo back when he was mad with darkness. He was so blinded by faith in the legacy of Vader, that it took an awakening of his own to see that ideals of the past had failed for a reason, and that they were better off making their own changes for the future. As the Light within Ben had risen, Poe was falling into the Darkness. Balance, Rey thought. They had never considered the rising of another evil as Ben became more gray.

"The Republic is dead," she thought back to eight months ago when she had tended to Ben's wounds after he dismantled the Senate. "Leia is dead," her eyes watered thinking about holding Ben as he wept into her shoulder. "And if your idea of right is killing innocents…"

"There are always collateral losses in war!"

"The war is over Poe! You can not win. You should be trying to make a treaty with Ben while you still have some credit to your name and you may be able to have some influence on the future of the galaxy!"

It wasn't lost on Poe that Rey was saying you and not we. She wasn't with them anymore and he voiced is suspicions, "How long have you been consorting with Kylo Ren?"

Rey's face screwed up, "What?" Her shocked expression was genuine or at the fact that he would ask such a question outright.

Poe was insulted by her false innocence and he shot to his feet, spanning the small space between them and wrapped one of his hands around her slender throat, "How long have you been a traitor to the Resistance?"

Her eyes went wide for just a moment, shocked that Poe would even make a move to physically harm her, but then anger took over and she seethed at him, "About as long as you have been a traitor to the New Order."

The sound pulled from the room and Rey heard a growl from behind her and knew that Ben was there. Even though Poe was touching her, she could tell by the General's still gritting face and by the fact that his gaze didn't move, that Poe was unaware of the other Force presence in the room. Ben and Rey had hypothesized that Luke had been able to see them back on Ahch-To because he was also a powerful Force user. Only two people outside of the Emperor and Empress knew about the bond and they were both dead.

Ben couldn't see what was happening but could tell through the bond the Rey was in distress. "What's happening?" He asked as she saw Rey pressed back in her seat by an unseen person.

"Poe wants to know how long we have been working together…" Rey smirked up at the dark-haired General as his accusing expression morphed into confusion.

"Who are you talking to?" He looked around the room frantically.

"Emperor Ren," Rey said smugly. "He's right over there," she nodded over her right shoulder.

"What are you doing Rey?" Ben's tone was warning and scared. They had discussed this…what to do if she was to be found out, but he didn't expect her to so brazen with provoking Poe.

Poe staggered back from her, ready to reach for his blaster, not sure if he was going to use it on her or see if he could get a shot off at the invisible Kylo Ren. But before the cool metal of his sidearm touched his hand, he was frozen. His gaze moved back up and Rey had stood from the chair, her hand outstretched.

"You need to kill him," Ben prompted. "He knows too much."

"I'm not going to kill him," Rey said back to Ben, as he moved to stand at her right side.

"He won't give you a trial. He won't show you mercy. He will make an example of you." Ben pleaded for her to understand.

"He's just lost Ben," she argued back. "Like you once were."

Her brilliant light would not overshadow his concern for her. "You should knock him out. Come to me now. I can keep you safe."

Still holding Poe in place, she reached up and stroked her hand along Ben's face, "I'll erase his memory…"

"It may not be enough," Ben insisted.

"It will. His mind is weak with paranoia and crazed ambition." She looked back to Poe and pulled him across the floor with the Force, his body still frozen in his defensive stance.

"Concentrate," Ben said, placing his hand on her shoulder, pouring some of his power out through the bond.

Rey blinked slowly, took a few deep breaths and then placed her still outstretched hand onto the side of Poe's face. "Relax," she first instructed and she watched as his body went slack, still strong enough to stand, but his shoulder slumped and his arms hung loosely at his sides.

"You asked me into your quarters…"

"He has you alone in his room?" Ben's grip tightened on her as he spoke in disbelief.

"Bad move on his part," Rey shot out before rolling her shoulders. "Balance Ben, I need you to find balance." She heard him take in some breaths through his nose and then she could once more feel the warmth of his power flowing to her.

"You asked me into your quarters to have a talk about how I am doing." She had learned that sticking close to the true intent of the person helped in these matters…not that she had been trying her powers on other people around the base…or anything…

Poe's eyes were glazed over and his affect was flat. His voice was monotone as he repeated her words. Rey could tell he wasn't faking it, she was in his mind. The verbal suggestion were just for show, the true power happened as she rearranged or deleted memories from his brain.

She pulled at the suspicion intent that he felt towards her, leaving just enough so that he wouldn't know something was off. Rey role played a much lighter conversation with him about how she enjoyed working on the ships and getting as much fight time as possible. She flattered him by saying that she could never be as great of a X-wing pilot as he was, but she hoped that one day he would see her merit as a pilot.

Poe had known that she was talking about the New Order successes so she spun herself as an idealist, who approved of the changes, though she too suspected they were just for show, but she saw the good in them and believed the Resistance could bring about such change.

Of course, all of that was a lie, but Poe didn't need to know that.

"Why don't you just make him surrender?" Ben added as he watched Rey flawlessly rearrange Poe's mind.

"Free will, Ben." She answered shortly. "He has fallen to the darkness due to pride and a crippling sense of duty." Rey looked up at him, "Sound familiar?"

"So you plan to bring him back to the light as well?" Perhaps Ben was a little jealous and didn't want to share her with others.

"Maybe that is why I am still here…" Rey mused.

She turned back to Poe who still stood in his Force stupor and instructed him to take his seat again, "You think I am silly and naive, but you trust me…"

"You are naive, but I trust you…" Poe repeated.

"You will be comfortable coming to me when you feel lost or weary."

"You can help me when I'm lost," Poe stated.

"Anything else?" Rey asked over her shoulder again.

"No more private meetings in his chambers," Ben gritted out.

Rey scoffed but didn't make that request. She could handle herself and if she was going to be a sort of confidant for the General, then she needed to have him feel comfortable with speaking to her in private. "I am here to help you and to ensure the betterment of the galaxy," was how she finished her compulsion.

He released Rey's shoulder when she completed the Jedi mind sweep, the bond broke and he was once more alone in his room on Coruscant. His concern was palpable as he paced in his quarters. The uncertainty of the effectiveness of Rey's mind push is what gave him the most anxiety. Until the bond opened again, he couldn't be completely sure that she was safe. Ben was unsure if he would get any sleep.

While Rey did have a datapad that could receive information from his offices, they never used it to directly communicate for fear of the implications if they were found out. Not only did he not want the Resistance to use his affections for Rey against him, but he also feared what his other adversaries would do should they know how unprotected Rey was with the band of misfits who seemed to accept new recruits from every corner of the underworlds.

Back on Dantooine, with a much more relaxed atmosphere in the General's quarters, Rey change the subject to the upcoming nuptials of Rose and Finn. Poe was standing up with Finn as his best man and since months ago she had agreed to be Rose's maid of honor, Rey wanted to amend her relationship with Poe. They were both expecting to engage in certain activities together during the event and she wanted to avoid drama for the bride and groom's sake.

Poe boasted about the upcoming bachelor party that he had planned on some sleazy Mid Rim world. Ray knew that they would have much preferred the party be on a Core world, but also knew that, if found out, Poe would be arrested on sight.

Rey enjoyed the lighter side of the General, as he excitedly told stories about his time with Resistance before Crait. She was thankful that Poe was not Force sensitive as it would not have been so easy to calm the darkness that was swelling within him.

She was also quite surprised at the duties bestowed upon a maid of honor. Having never attended, let alone been part of a wedding, Rey was blissfully ignorant of the role that she agreed to undertake. Wedding showers, bachelorette parties, and dress shopping were beyond her, but Poe gave her a good run down, and for that she thanked him with a smile that showed none of their prior heated discussion that had ended with his hands pressed around her throat.

AN: Who else loves to love these two?