***Author's Note***

Okay, so, super short chapter this morning, but I found myself short on time. I still wanted to put something up, though, so here you go!

When Ben woke, he was disoriented at first. He reached for Rey, and found she was not there. His eyes shot open, and he found himself in a sterile medical room. Slowly, the memory returned to him. As he sat slowly up, he noticed an unaccustomed weight on his left arm. Looking down, he saw a new metallic hand protruding from his tunic. Curious, he tried wiggling the fingers on that hand; they moved. Thrilled with his new discovery, Ben moved the sleeve of the tunic back and saw that it had been fused with his arm, just below the elbow; he'd been concerned that they might have to cut some of the existing arm away to be able to install a new, permanent arm. He was pleased to see that his fears had been unfounded. He ran his right hand over the new arm, marveling in the fact that, though it was metal, it was not cool to the touch; in fact, it felt warm. Ben glanced down to see that the blankets no longer laid flat where his right leg should be, and he eagerly tore the blankets away to see his new leg. It was sleek and refined, where the leg Rey had built him had been crude, but functional. Ben wiggled his toes, the rotated his ankle, and finally bent his knee and ran his right hand over the new leg. He was pleased with the way the new limbs looked, but he wanted to try to walk.

Carefully, Ben swung his legs over the side of the bed and set his feet gingerly on the floor, with a clink. Gripping the bed with his right hand, he slowly stood, waiting as his equilibrium righted itself. He took a careful step, and found that his new leg supported him beautifully and painlessly. He walked slowly back and forth across his little room, with clink-thump clink-thump clink-thump. There was a mirror on the other end of his room, and he strode over, taking in his altered appearance. He found that he quite liked the effect of the liquid silver limbs. Just then, the door swished open and a doctor walked in, smiling at him. "I'm glad to see you need no help getting around; many of my patients required help learning how to walk again.

Ben smiled in return, "I grew accustomed to an artificial leg while on Ord Biniir. Thank you, Doctor. I am quite impressed. I truly appreciate what you've done for me," he said graciously.

The doctor blinked in surprised; "It was nothing, Master Solo; I was only doing my job. There is a private lounge just outside this door; your mother saw to it that some clothes were sent over for you. She had the idea you might be tired of wearing plain black robes. Whenever you're ready, you are free to leave."

"Thank you," Ben replied. He stared at his reflection for a few moments more before he turned and left the little room. He found the clothes the doctor had mentioned, and quickly got dressed. His mother had provided for him a dark green silken tunic, trousers of a slightly lighter shade, boots of a pale cream, and a matching belt, all of the finest materials. Ben glanced at his reflection again; he quite liked the effect of the dark material against his skin. It made his eyes stand out, and seemed to warm his skin, somehow. Well, his mother always had known fashion. He sighed and reached out with his mind to find Rey. Stay where you are; I'm coming to you, he sent to her.

Ben walked through the halls of the Resistance base, having a definite sense of deja-vu. He felt like a child again, walking through the halls of the Senate chambers his mother had frequented throughout his youth; the only difference was then, Padme had walked beside him. At last, he found her; she was in a meeting with his mother, Chewbacca, Luke, Poe, and Finn. The guards at the door closed ranks, attempting to block his path. "Really?" Ben raised an eyebrow at them, and had them glancing nervously at each other. They seemed to think better of it, and stood aside. Ben waved a lazy hand, and the doors opened. Everyone inside froze, mid-sentence as he strode confidently into the room. He could sense a very great deal of tension, but there were a couple of bright points of amusement it was one of these that he headed towards.

Rey stood beside his mother, watching him walk towards her, as though he belonged there. She was wearing robes of pale gray, and he thought that he had never seen anything more beautiful in his entire life. He stopped in front of her saying nothing. He slowly drew his left arm up, and gently, carefully, laid his hand against her cheek. As she leaned into his hand, he brought his right hand up so that he could tilt her face up to his. He smiled softly at her as he leaned down to kiss her, chuckling slightly at the sense of scandal that permeated the room. His mother cleared her throat quietly, and Ben saw that she was smiling happily at him.

"We're planning an attack on Du'Tang Station; is there anything we should know?"

Ben glanced at their plans. "I was stationed there. Are you sure you want to bite off such a large chunk? That particular station is well-guarded. It's surrounded by a fleet of Super Star Destroyers, each with their own fleet of Tie Fighters. And let's not even discuss the army that is stationed inside. What are your resources?" His mother raised an eyebrow and motioned for the readout of their resources to be brought up. "Hmm. Well, I would wait on this assault, if I were you. I think I could provide a far better target; one that would potentially swell our ranks tenfold."

Leia looked sharply at her son. "Are you certain? Our information says the station has been emptied."

"I'm sure. Du'Tang is one of their most important strategic bases; they would never leave it unprotected. I know of an planet-side base that they have always been arrogant about; they assume no one would be bold enough to take it."

"Okay, I'm listening."

"Endor. They're using it now to train Force-Sensitives." At this, there were gasps and mutters all around the table. "They have never protected them very well; it may be the best option at this point, but we should plan for the worst-case scenario that they would have added to their defenses since my...defection."

"Very well; tell us everything you know."

***Author's Note***

Well, a bit of plot progression, but nothing massive just yet. Thanks for reading!