Rey awoke to bright sunlight filtering in through the large window in her bedroom. She rolled in her bed as she stretched her sore limbs. Luke had been making her practice lightsaber dueling a lot lately. Admittedly, Rey had been disappointed when he'd had her use a different lightsaber than his own, but she hadn't said so. After all, the blue one belonged rightfully to him.

Rey ate breakfast in the large, open kitchen alone, savoring the taste of her spiced porridge she ate most mornings. It was so much more flavorful than the instant-food packs she'd had to eat for years on Jakku. Rey also did not take for granted the variety of foods she now got to choose from.

Rey heard Luke entering the kitchen just as she was finishing her breakfast. "Good morning," he greeted, making himself a cup of tea. "Today is the day."

"Yes!" She exclaimed, smiling brightly. "I've missed everyone so much."

"I know you have. I only wish they could visit you more often. But you must remember that you're here for your own safety," Luke said. "In time, we'll be able to leave here."

Leia had suggested that Luke and Rey stay on a reclusive planet while she work on her training, in the case that the First Order or another opposing force decided to come looking for them.

"Yes, I know," Rey said. I'll bet you can't wait to see your sister." Rey's smile slowly faded as she watched Luke's expression grow somber.

"I...I just wish there was something I could do to make her...happier," he said, looking thoughtfully down into his mug. "But perhaps she'll just never be the same again," he said quietly. Rey got up from her chair and placed her hand on Luke's shoulder. He smiled weakly at her, his age evident in the wrinkles that lined his face.

"Perhaps not, but I'm sure that seeing you will bring her great happiness," Rey said reassuringly.

"I for one will be most pleased to see the Princess once again," C3PO said as he entered the room. R2D2 beeped in agreement as he followed in behind him.

Just then, a rumbling was heard from outside of the house. "Looks like they're here early," Luke said, looking up from his tea.

Rey ran outside of the small house amid the rumblings sounds of the space shuttle descending down to the private landing strip near the house, the thick line of trees surrounding around the area swaying and shuddering in protest.

Rey waited on the edge of the small tarmac eagerly, unable to control her wide smile as the spacecraft's hatch door began to open. Luke came and stood next to her, placing his hand upon her shoulder as they stood waiting. They watched as Leia, Poe, then Finn, followed by a few other members of the Order of Organa stepped down onto the smooth gravel.

Rey couldn't contain her excitement and gasped as Poe's small orange and white droid rolled down the edge of the pavement onto the grass, heading directly towards her. "BB-8!" She exclaimed, crouching down to rest a hand upon the chirping robot.

Rey stood back up and was taken aback as she was immediately consumed by a giant bear hug from Finn. "It's good to see you too!" She laughed.

Finn held her at arm's length and smiled brightly. "I've missed you, Scavenger," he said. "How are you? How's the training been going?"

"Good! How's your training been going?" She asked.

Poe suddenly came up behind Finn playfully shoved him out of the way before he had a chance to reply. "Aw, c'mon, we know who she really missed," Poe said, embracing her tightly. He raised his eyebrows as they stepped back from one another. "You look good, Rey," he said. "You may just be the prettiest Jedi I've ever seen," he added. Rey blushed, but mostly because he had called her a Jedi, the title she aspired to one day earn.

Finn came up next to Poe and shoved him, harder than Poe had done to him. "I was talking to her first, Dameron," he said, his voice mock-serious in tone.

"Alright boys, move away, it's my turn," Leia said as she released her embrace with Luke. Poe and Finn obediently stepped away as she approached, but not before Poe gave Finn another hard shove, nearly knocking him over.

"General," Rey said, curtseying.

Leia waved a hand. "Oh, that's not necessary, Dear. I trust you've been well," she said, leaning forward to embrace Rey. "Luke has been telling me some of the training you've been doing with the Force," she said, smiling briefly.

"Yes, it's been going...well," Rey said, trying to sound assuring.

Leia nodded, but her expression grew somewhat solemn. "You'll have to tell me all about it later. But, Dear, I need to talk to you," she said, her voice growing serious. She glanced back at Poe, Finn, and the few other New Republic members, all of whom were talking with Luke. "We all need to talk."

…

The group had gathered around the large circular dining table, C3PO passing around glasses of water to the guests, who all conversing happily with one another. As Rey stood next to Finn, the two couldn't help but sneak smiles at one another.

"I've missed you so much, Finn, it's so great to have you here," Rey said, playfully waggling his arm.

"It's definitely been a while," Finn remarked, a faraway look in his eyes. "Way too long." Finn had been helping Leia, Poe, and the others organizing the Star Fleet for the past seven months. Poe had been training Finn to become a pilot like himself.

"We going to get this party started?" Poe asked from across the table, and the chatter amongst everyone began to subside.

General Leia rested her palms on the table before her. "Alright, well. There are some pressing matters we need to discuss. Information old and new," she said. "We need to evaluate what is best for the Order, to do all we can to ensure its long-term success." She made eye contact with everyone in the room. "More specifically, we need to generate more funding and volunteers for the Star Fleet. As of now, we only have permanent patrols in ten star systems, which is not even close to what we need. Our influence will need to extend to even the farthest reaches of the galaxy, if we are to be taken seriously."

Everyone around the table nodded, somewhat absentmindedly; this was not anything new. In fact, this had always been the central goal of the Order. Since the destruction of Starkiller Base, it had been difficult to garner support for the Order of Organa; people had been too reluctant to pledge their loyalty to the newly-founded government in fear that the crushing First Order would rise again.

"So far, our efforts to gather more pilots has been largely unsuccessful. People either don't seem to care or they don't want to be attached to our Order."

"Perhaps we should consider a rebranding," Poe said. "I mean, 'Order of Organa' sounds an awful lot like 'First Order,'" he said, signifying quotation marks with his fingers. "I mean, heck, we've nicknamed it the 'Order,'" he said, and Leia shot him a look. "What? I think it's a legitimate point," Poe said, shrugging.

"We have been successful in recruiting pilots to the Fleet from the several systems closest to our base in the Azalea system," Admiral Ackbar said. "It isn't a substantial number, but the number of recruits coming from these systems is at least consistent."

Leia nodded. "Yes, thank you, Admiral, that's what I'd expected. But it's also what I've feared," she said, her expression remaining serious. "Now, in terms of information," she said, straightening up, "there have been reports in the past year that in various farther systems, pilots are being heavily recruited as well, and it is clear that this is not the doing of our own Order. Being recruited by this anonymous force are those young and skilled. However, while some have joined willingly, there are also many reports of these people have been taken by force if they refuse the offer."

"So...Stormtroopers," Finn said, and everyone's eyes turned back to Leia questioningly.

"We are not sure," Leia said. "This is much secrecy surrounding this issue. At the very least, we know this is an organized military force that is not our own."

"We're sure of this?" Finn asked incredulously. Leia nodded somberly. "But...but how could the First Order have survived the destruction of Starkiller Base? Nearly all of their armed forces and commanders were on the base when we destroyed it!"

"Yes, but we know that they still had hidden bases on a few planets," Leia said.

"No matter how many of them that are left, we can not underestimate them," Luke interjected, eyeing Finn. "You of all of us know that." Finn dropped his gaze, and Luke continued. "I myself have sensed some disturbances in the force, in recent months especially."

Leia nodded. "As have I."

Rey shot Luke a baffled look, wondering why he hadn't told her this before, but he (perhaps purposefully) did not meet her glare.

"Hold up, is this still the First Order? Do we know who's organizing this?" Poe asked.

"We have our suspicions," Leia merely said.

"Wait, wait, you don't think that...that Snoke or Kylo Ren could be behind any of this, do you?" Finn asked tentatively. Finn's question hung in the air a moment as everyone digested the fact that he had avoided using the name 'Ben.'

For the past two years, with the apparent disappearance of followers of the Dark Side of the Force and the First Order, everyone in the Order of Organa had assumed that Kylo had been killed off with the destruction of Starkiller base. At least, no one had discussed this further, but instead focused their attention on forming the Order of Organa in a defensive measure. Despite the possibility that Kylo was still alive, members central to the Order decided it best to avoid discussing the traumatic topic. This was for the sake of Leia, who had grown noticeably frail, both physically and emotionally, in her sorrow.

Rey felt a cold flush as she remembered the last time she'd seen Kylo Ren: lying in the snow, his blood pooling beneath him, struggling but failing to stand. Rey distinctly remembered Ren's predatory glare at her across the deep gorge that had formed between them, the bloody gash she'd marked across his face. When retelling the story of her and Finn's short-lived fight with Ren to Leia, Rey had spared details such as these, wanting to protect Leia from these disturbing images of her son.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rey noticed that Finn was watching her; he was probably reflecting on the same day.

Finally, Leia spoke. "Like I said, we have our suspicions," she said, her gaze lowering to the tabletop. "While it is...unlikely...that Ben survived the destruction of the base, we need to be prepared for anything," she stated, blinking hard. Luke placed his hand on top of Leia's, squeezing it. "Sometimes I think I can still feel his presence through the force," she added softly. After a few moments of silence she straightened her posture. "But that is just my own wistful thinking. For now, we must go with what we know. We are nearly certain that Snoke has something-if not everything-to do with this military organization."

"Annnnd I'm guessing we have no idea where to find this Snoke?" Poe asked.

Leia eyed him askance. "Not a clue."