Darkness shrouds her. Rey turns on her feet, searching for something. All she sees is black. Where is she? Rey closes her eyes. She draws in a deep breath. She opens her eyes. The darkness still remains.

"She needs her father…" a feminine voice echoes through the darkness. "You must help her...please."

"There is nothing I can do, Mhyra."

"You are her father! Why won't you help her!"

"The girl is worthless to me. She's a lost cause. She can't be helped."

Rey's eyes snap open. She shoots upwards, heaving heavy pants as the bizarre dream sinks in. Did her father really think so lowly of her? Of course, he did. As long as he believed her to be worthless, he could so easily pawn her off to Plutt. Rey shuts her eyes and clears her mind the way Kylo Ren had instructed her to. Her fear seems to fade as she taps into her inner strength.

"You're okay…" Rey whispers to herself as her pain subsides.

Rey tosses her covers aside and walks to her cramped bathroom. She removes the black military issued undergarments, discarding them into a clothes hamper before she steps into the shower. Warm water cascades over her. Her dreams are getting so bizarre. A part of her wants to reveal her dreams to Kylo Ren. He would have answers for her, wouldn't he? But, whenever she thinks to go to him, thinks to even tell him, a feeling of warning comes over her. Rey will beg this invisible force for answers as if it were another person — someone that could guide her. She never receives answers she seeks, because the Force itself is something larger than a single soul. This is how she has been told that it communicates — through dreams and through feeling.

Rey finishes cleaning herself and exits the shower. She pulls her hair up into three buns before exiting the bathroom. She goes to her closet and pulls on a pair of clean uniform pants as well as an undershirt. Rey eyes insignia on the sleeve of her jacket. Her heart seems to skip a beat as she looks down on it. There's still a bit of uncertainty left in her. A part of her wonders if the military truly is the place for her. Rey pushes that thought from her mind and puts her arms through the sleeves of her jacket. She fastens the jacket and wraps a belt around it. Her hands brush over the thick material of her uniform. Why doesn't this feel right? Rey shuts her eyes and breathes. Why does she feel so uncertain?

Rey hears a ringing sound. Her eyes snap open. She opens her door to see a masked Kylo Ren standing before her. Rey finds this odd sort of clarity in his presence. She can still leave The First Order, but if she does, she will never see him again. Rey tries to imagine living a life without him, and it just seems so impossible to her. That thought alone is enough to convince her to stay.

Rey crosses through the doorway and signals the door closed with a push of a button. She pivots back towards Kylo and looks up to him. There's a beat of silence before he finally speaks. "I'm assuming you've made your choice."

"Yes, sir."

"Follow me," he instructs.

Rey follows him down the vacant hall. Kylo Ren signals the elevator. Rey glances over to him. The silence between them makes her nervous. They aren't going to train today. He has something else planned for her. She doesn't know how she knows this, but she can sense it without even asking.

The elevator doors open. Rey's feet feel rooted to the ground. There's a piece of her that wants to run, because this light within her feels as if it's screaming out to her in warning.

Run, a broken whisper calls out to her. This is not the place for you. Please run.

Go to him, another whisper encourages her. It is your destiny.

Rey looks to Kylo Ren. She hesitates for only a moment longer before she steps into the elevator. She stands next to Kylo Ren and turns to face the elevator door. The door slides shut, forever sealing her fate with The First Order. The elevator shoots upward. Rey looks to Kylo out of the corner of her eye. She wants to ask them where they are going, but decides against it. She will find out soon enough, and when she does, she can decide what to do from there.

The elevator slows to the stop, the doors swinging open almost instantly. Rey follows Kylo Ren outside of the elevator and down a long hallway. Her senses are heightened as her anxiety spikes. Rey reaches out, trying to find a state of calm. She feels this familiar energy — something that's been there for a long time. The energy grows stronger almost as if it were a guardian of some sorts.

Kylo stops in front of a door. He keys in an access code. The door opens. Rey follows Kylo inside. Her eyes scan the room. Hux stands before a large table seating several officers. A meeting room?

Hux pivots towards her and motions her to come towards him. "I need you to sign some paperwork."

Rey steps towards him and looks down on the table. There's a paper on the table that appears to be some sort of contract. Hux offers her a pen. Rey takes the pen from him with shaking fingers.

"I can't pay you for the time you've been with us until you've signed this contract," Hux explains.

"I'm getting paid, sir?" she asks.

A collective chuckle from the officers seated echo through the room. Rey cheeks burn with embarrassment. She must look so foolish to all of them.

"If you sign the contract, yes," Hux answers.

Rey looks to down on the contract. This is right, she tells herself, but she doesn't quite believe it. Rey looks down to the signature line. She hesitates for a half a second and then scribbles her name across the line. She drops the pen on the paper. A feeling of numbness crawls all over her skin as she looks down at her name in black ink.

"Thank you, ensign," Hux announces her new title. "You may return to your commanding officer."

Rey feels all eyes on her as she walks to where Kylo is seated. She goes to the empty seat next to him and sits down in the steel chair. Her eyes cast down at the table. A part of her feels as if she has just signed her life away, but another part of her is telling her that this is the best decision she can make.

"The Supreme Leader had me call each of you here today for a very important mission," Hux begins. "Some of you have already been briefed on some of the details of this mission already. For others, this is all entirely new information."

Hux turns on a view screen. A dark planet covered in bright lights appears on the screen. "As many of you know, this is Coruscant. A civil war has overrun this planet for far too long, and the Supreme Leader means for us to crush the rebellion. We have one major obstacle in seizing control of this planet. The Resistance and The New Republic have offered Coruscant a gate to prevent us from helping our supporters."

Hux points a remote to the view screen to change the slide. A large circular object appears on the screen. "This is the shield gate that the Resistance has provided their sympathizers in Coruscant. In order for us to carry out an invasion, we will need to shut down their shield gate. Commander Ren and his apprentice will be accompanied by a code breaker to shut down the shield gate from the inside."

All eyes fall onto Rey. She can feel uneasiness from the men in the room. Several of their thoughts seem to invade her mind.

"How can we trust her?"

"She doesn't have the appropriate training."

"What if she's a spy?"

Rey forces their thoughts from her mind. She feels her anxiety skyrocket as Hux's words finally sink in. The First Order wants her to infiltrate a Resistance facility. She feels panic run through her. She's barely trained. Hux might as well have signed her death certificate.

There is no reason to be afraid. You'll be safe with me, she hears Kylo Ren's voice in her mind. Rey nearly jumps at their silent communication. She clears her head and looks to the view screen as if somehow staring at it will make her look more confident to all the officers in the room.

"Once the shield gate is disabled," Hux continues. "Our forces will jump to lightspeed and invade Coruscant. The Resistance is confident of their presence in Coruscant, because they do not believe that we will attack such a heavily fortified planet. They will not be expecting our attack. If everything goes as planned, we will be able to take Coruscant without much effort. Any questions?"

The entire room is silent. Rey has many questions, but feels as if it isn't really her place to ask.

"I expect you all to get a good night's rest," Hux says. "Tomorrow Coruscant shall belong to our Supreme Leader. You are all dismissed."

Rey feels frozen in place as all of the officers file out of the room. She feels Kylo's hand on her shoulder. Rey's eyes turn to see him standing over her. Rey rises from where she sits. She looks up to his masked face. She wishes she could see his real face. It might comfort her more.

"The Supreme Leader has asked that you accompany me," Kylo says.

"I...don't know how much help I will be," Rey says.

"None of that matters," he says. "He wants you to prove your loyalty. My only expectation of you is to come back from our mission alive."

Rey takes in a sharp breath. She gives him a small nod. "Okay, I can do that."

Rey doesn't exactly believe her own words. She isn't even sure what exactly to expect of her mission. Life on Jakku is so different from life in the military. She isn't exactly sure if she can truly assimilate into The First Order.

Kylo motions for her to follow him. She walks by his side as they exit the room. They walk in silence down the corridor. He stops before the elevator and turns to face her.

"Our mission isn't as dangerous as you perceive it to be," his hand touches the top of her arm and lingers there for a moment. "You will come back alive. I will make sure of it."

He seems so confident of his words. Rey wishes she could believe him, but she feels that he's too confident of her abilities. Kylo turns to the elevator and signals it to their floor. Rey's eyes cast to the floor. There's a soft whisper in her head.

This is your destiny. Rey's eyes rise from the floor. Someone is here. She can feel it. Yet, when she looks for the owner of the voice, there is no one to be found.