General Leia Organa stood on the tarmac, watching as the Millennium Falcon descended and sailed to a smooth landing. She found herself wondering how many times in her life she had watched that ship leave and arrive. She couldn't deny that after all these years she had affection for the heap of junk; it had certainly gotten them out of some jams-and into a few.

Her eyes were steely as Poe Dameron and Finn came down the ramp. Poe was wise enough to have his tail between his legs as he saluted her, but the ex-stormtrooper was proud and defiant even in his apologizing. "I'm sorry, General Organa. I take full responsibility for the entire thing, but I had to make sure Rey was okay. She's my friend," he said emphatically.

"I'll deal with you two later," she said, waving them off. Two insubordinate officers were the least of her problems right now. They'd delivered one of the most wanted men in the galaxy to her; the man who'd killed her husband and been party to the destruction of the Hosnian star system was now in her hands. Too bad he's my son. Of course nothing can be simple, she thought, letting herself have a rare moment of self-pity.

She watched with interest as Rey came down the ramp, feeling a pang as she was reminded of the last time she saw Rey exiting the Falcon. Rey approached her, her face nervous and looking fearful of the general's response. Leia dispensed with the formalities. She took Rey's hands in hers and said, simply. "I knew he was there with you, of course."

Rey took a deep breath, relief flooding into her eyes. "I thought it was possible that Master Luke would have told you, but, I wasn't sure. I didn't want you to feel as if I'd let you down, or been dishonest."

Leia smiled kindly, seeing the worry on Rey's face. She barely knows me, yet my opinions weigh so heavily, the general thought. But of course the girl was an orphan; Leia knew something about that, having never known her real mother and losing her adoptive mother at a very young age. It was only natural that the girl should want to have the approval of the elders she had around her.

"Luke and I keep few secrets from each other," she told Rey. "It is the way of twins." She looked beyond her now, to the ramp of the Falcon which was still empty. "And what of my son?"

Rey frowned, her eyes troubled. "Waiting for you on the ship, as directed."

He heard the authoritative ring of his mother's footfall as she came up the ramp, and how familiar the sound was made all the years fall away, for just one second.

But then she was standing there, in front of in him with gray hair and a lined face, and it almost took his breath away as it had when he had faced Han Solo. When he was away, in the belly of the First Order, he had not let himself think of his parents often, but when he did they had been frozen as they were when he had last seen them at age 11. They had been on a diplomatic mission to the Outer Rim, and had made time to stop en route at the Jedi training academy. Leia had not seen her brother in over a year, and Ben had not seen his parents since he left to join Luke at age 9. It had been a rare happy night, having dinner in Luke's quarters. Ben remembered listening eagerly to his parents and Uncle as they laughed over stories of their days fighting the Empire.

But that had been over twenty years ago, and the woman in front of him now, though still attractive and fit, bore the mark of many years spent in hard service. He had not imagined that she would come to have that tired slump in her shoulders, but he recognized she had changed in other ways too. As a woman whose dreams of a safe and democratic galaxy had taken much longer than she had ever imagined, she had grown patient. Very patient.

"Did I ever tell you about what it was like to watch the Empire destroy Alderaan?" she said, seemingly out of nowhere. He swallowed thickly as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat near the holo board. She continued on, leaning against the metal bulkhead, as if they were any mother and son having a casual chat. "No, of course not; when you were with me, you were too young to speak with about things like that, and then when it would have been time, you were gone. But you know I was very young, only 19. Very young and brave, and very foolish, running around with the Rebellion, putting my diplomatic credentials at risk with secret missions. That's how I ended up in the hands of the Empire, watching Alderaan be destroyed by the Death Star."

Her eyes grew distant as she remembered it. "It was very strange, to be in space watching your home be destroyed. I was Force-sensitive, of course, but had no idea, so when I felt those millions of souls cry out in pain and then be snuffed out, I had no idea what was happening. Not only did I have to grieve the death of my homeworld...all my family, my friends, everything I had ever known...but i felt them die. I felt them all go."

He made no response, only watched her face with a sick fascination as she spoke. She looked directly at him, then, waiting a moment before continuing. "When the First Order destroyed the Hosnian system, in the pain of that moment I thought of you. I wondered if Snoke would have told you that you would feel it, through the Force. And I wondered what it would be like for you, if it would be excruciating, like it was for me and for Luke, or if somehow for you it would…" Her voice grew thin here, unable to hide her feelings of disgust and fear. "If it would somehow make you feel powerful."

He remembered that moment, standing masked on the bridge of the Finalizer and watching the powerful red beams arc across space towards the several planets of the Hosnian system. As always, he had been aware of being watched; by Snoke, by the First Order officers all around him. And no, Snoke hadn't warned him; he'd been unprepared for the disturbance in the Force, and for the way it had come rushing at him, all that pain and terror, the murder of billions of people. It had made him feel powerful, because of course he had used it as he had always been taught to use the agony and fear of his enemies; to his benefit. Now, recalling it, he felt a little sick, but he couldn't help but remember...that surge of immense power, and how it had felt.

She searched his face for a response, but he gave no quarter, staring back at her with a face like a mask, unreadable and ungiving. Finally, she sighed and turned go to. "You can't stay here. You'll come home with me, to Corsucant. Luke will fly us," she said, heading towards the ramp to the Falcon. "We'll leave in a few hours. The whole Resistance is abandoning this base, anyway, and it will be weeks before we are set up somewhere new. The First Order knows we are here-we would have long ago if I hadn't had this damned illness. If you want to be safe, I recommend you stay on the ship. You probably shouldn't let Chewie see you."

Ben shot up quickly, reaching out and grabbing her upper arm to stop her from leaving. "The girl-Rey-I'm not going anywhere without her." His voice was calm, but as Leia looked in his eyes, she saw the edge behind his words, a dangerous gleam that unsettled her and made her feel cold. Looks like you do care about something at least, Ben Solo, she thought, but I wonder if that's entirely a good thing.

She yanked her arm back, and glared back at him. "That'll be up to her. If you've already worked it out, I've no problem with it," Leia replied. "But don't think you can boss me around, Ben. Your position here is very precarious."

As she exited the Falcon, she ran into Rey, who had been waiting anxiously at the bottom. The general stopped and gave the younger woman an evaluating look, before asking, "He get that scar from you?"

Rey fidgeted before she admitted it. "Yes, ma'm."

General Organa nodded once and patted Rey on the shoulder before moving on. "Good girl."