Rey stood outside in the hallway for a long time, screwing up her courage before knocking. She had practiced her speech to herself, but there was no telling how it would be received. She raised her hand several times only to lose her nerve, balling her hand nervously at her side instead.

Why was it so hard to ask for what she was sure she wanted? She settled herself with a deep breath and knocked quietly on the General's office door.

"Come in, Rey," General Organa's recognition of her presence surprised her.

"Hi," she said, settling into the extra chair across from Leia. "How did you know it was me?"

The General only looked at her wryly over her reading glasses. "What can I do for you, sweetheart?"

Rey swallowed in anticipation and smoothed her sweating palms down her thighs. "I was curious… I wanted to ask about the upcoming surveillance mission discussed in last week's briefing."

"Okay." The General laid down her stylus and leaned back in her chair. 'What would you like to know?" She braced her foot against the edge of the desktop and slide down a little.

Rey nodded, steeling herself for what she wanted to propose. "I'm…. I'd like to take part in it. It's the least I can do, and I feel as though I'm not being very useful here just working in Mech. There must be more I can do to help the Resistance."

Leia folded her hands in her lap and looked at her hands for a long time before saying anything. Rey could feel the general's conflict, a mix of pride and regret that balled in a knot. "That's very touching, Rey, but this doesn't have to be your fight because of… well, really, dumb circumstance," she began. "In fact, I'm fairly convinced it shouldn't be yours in this specific case."

Rey stared at the older woman, uncomprehending. "But, I-"

The General held up a hand, cutting Rey off. "Feel obligated? Feel like you were meant to? I know." Leia nodded knowingly. "Just because you're Force-sensitive, Rey, doesn't mean you have to go tearing after every evil in the galaxy. There are plenty of other willing folks, believe me."

"General," Rey began again, "I didn't come to you out of obligation. I think I'm well-qualified to help, but I have a request that I think will help me be more of an asset. Do you think Master Skywalker would consider taking me as an apprentice?"

Leia gently shook her head. "That's a question only you can ask him, Rey. I honestly don't know. I'm sure you realize you're quite a bit older than most Force-users ever were when they started training, and I can't speak for how Luke feels presently about it, but I know he was pretty gun-shy after-"

"There's more," Rey interrupted, looked carefully at her fingernails, permanently stained with mechanical grease. "Before you sent me on this last mission, you mentioned the possibility of my having a Force bond with Kylo Ren."

The General merely looked at her.

"You weren't…. wrong," Rey admitted. "I do have a bond with him, and it's stronger than I let on. A… lot stronger." She felt her cheeks flush and the General's ensuing silence only made her flush harder. She babbled to cover up her embarrassment. "It started on Starkiller, from the time of my interrogation. It's mutual, he mentioned it himself then, and it's still there. I think my going to Thyferra only made it more definite. I can sense him all the time now."

General Organa's eyebrows were high with surprise at this. "Why didn't you say anything? We would've found another way."

Rey shook her head wordlessly.

"I just wish you'd told us," Leia sounded regretful now. "I thought Christi- Dr. Ixx- was being overly cautious, which is her default mode."

"Dr. Ixx couldn't have known about the bond," Rey continued. "I told you I could do it, and I did. You weren't wrong," she grinned, "I was getting a bit stir-crazy."

The General chuffed and crossed her feet at the ankles, hands laced on her head. Rey felt a blush creep into her cheeks as she noticed how much son resembled mother in this posture. The General's gaze flicked up for a moment and their eyes met.

"So, you want to go to Luke for training," Leia repeated, "To what end? You want to be the one who is tasked with the surveillance?"

Rey cocked her head to one side. "Possibly? I don't know what the Council has already planned. Mostly I want to be able to keep Kylo Ren out of my head, and I want to avoid going down the same… path as he did."

General Organa nodded again. "We can only ask, Rey."

Rey nodded eagerly. "I would appreciate it very much, General."

"I still wish you didn't feel like this was your fight now," the general added. "These Skywalker men…. " She broke off with a sardonic chuckle. "They are not wired correctly. I hoped maybe Ben would take after his father more, but... that doesn't seem to have happened."

Rey slipped her hands under her thighs and looked anywhere but at the general.

"I'll contact Luke this evening, and he'll probably want to talk to you. Don't go out with the pilots until you hear from me, understood? We need you sober to reason with my pain-in-the-ass Skywalker brother."

Rey laughed at this, her eyes crinkling. "Understood. I'll let you get back to your work."

She rose reluctantly, enjoying this closeness with the older woman. She had often wondered over the last several months if her own mother would've been anything like Leia.

Her hand was on the door as the General said, "Ben did get the Solo charm, though, didn't he?"

Rey's cheeks burned and she mumbled, "Uh-huh."

She walked so fast she was practically running down the hall back to her work in the hangar.

Kylo Ren had been back at the Knights' training base for weeks before Snoke summoned him in person. He had just been sparring with one of the newer recruits when Snoke's voice crossed his consciousness. He'd always imagined thick, black ink when his master spoke to him this way.

Kylo Ren, come to me. There is no need to ready yourself.

Kylo silently held up a hand in surrender and thumbed the switch of his saber, ending the duel. The younger trainee bowed a bit too deeply and Kylo caught her lightly under her chin with the toe of his boot, raising her face to him.

"Don't ever take your eyes off your opponent, even if they seem to surrender," he instructed. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master Ren," she nodded eagerly and backed away from him to the edge of the training room, her eyes never leaving him.

He nodded at her as she felt behind her for the door.

The sweat on his skin cooled him as he swept through the corridors, his arms and face bare. He shook his hair away from his face and waved the door to Snoke's chambers open. A blast of even-cooler air washed over him, and he hesitated for a second as his eyes adjusted to the darkness emanating from the room. He acknowledged the sliver of doubt that entered his mind, one that nagged him this would be the end of him, but he drew his strength from dismissing it; if Master Snoke had intended to extinguish him, he would already be gone. No, he was the prodigal son returning to his father's side.

He stepped inside.

He traced the path he had so many times before, to the edge of the circle of light on the floor that spilled onto the stones from a single, overhead light source.

"Master," he knelt with both knees in deference. "What is your bidding?"

Out of his peripheral vision, he could see Snoke's long, gnarled fingers curling contemplatively at what he supposed was the being's chin. Face-to-face, Snoke was a still over a head taller than he, but his fragile, spindly body was less camouflaged by his ample robes. Kylo would've sworn he looked more gaunt than the last time he'd seen Snoke in person, but that had been ages ago. It was hard to compare accurately.

"Welcome back, Kylo Ren," Snoke dipped his massive head in a single nod of acknowledgement. "Your leave did you good, I trust? You look fit."

"By your grace, I am glad to have returned," Kylo knew when to stroke Snoke's considerable ego. "My leave was instructive, and you were wise to send me away."

Snoke raised one eyebrow. "Of course," he said simply. "My boy, you know why you are here, do you not?" Snoke paused for a moment as though waiting for an answer, but Kylo knew it was rhetorically. "You have been the Master of these Knights of Ren for several years now, but you have yet to complete your training. Are you ready to face the final trials?"

"Yes, Master," Kylo answered without hesitation. "By the grace of your training, I know I am fit to pass them, and take an apprentice."

Snoke chuckled, a dry, rasping sound that died somewhere between his sunken chest and throat. Kylo pictured a pile of dry leaves swirling together in a corner against stones whenever he heard it.

"The girl," Snoke said abruptly. "Tell me about her."

Kylo dared to raise his face to Snoke at this. "Master, may I speak freely?"

"I asked you a question, you have leave to answer it," Snoke replied as though it should be obvious. Kylo knew it was anything but.

"Your grace," Kylo deferred. "Master, she is untrained, but strong with the Force. Stronger even than I, perhaps, but… unformed. She is currently with the Resistance, but she is restless with them. She needs training to channel her powers, and with your leave, I would like to take her as my apprentice when the time presents itself."

"There is more," Snoke prompted him. "Go on."

"Master, there is a bond in the Force that has developed between us. It began during her captivity on Starkiller," he hesitated slightly on the word, "And it has only grown stronger as time has passed. I am… more than aware of her at all times now."

Snoke was silent at this. Kylo Ren looked expectantly at him, waiting for a judgement of some kind. Snoke stared evenly at him before leaning forwards to peer at him more closely.

"You have Force bond with the scavenger girl?" Snoke repeated in disbelief. "How?"

Kylo's stomach twisted slightly. "I can't offer an explanation for it. When I interrogated her, she was partly able to resist me. When we fought, she was able to defeat me. It is as though our being near each other allows her to draw on my knowledge and power, and use it to her own advantage."

Snoke worried at his lips with the tips of his fingers. "This is…. unexpected, but not impossible. And you think she can be turned to the Dark side?"

"I know it," Kylo said confidently. "She harbors a deep well of untapped anger and pain, and she doesn't know how strong it would make her. She is seeking something-anything-to lead her, to make her feel powerful, and needs only our guidance to find it."

Snoke chuckled again. "Are you quite sure you are not merely describing yourself at her age?"

The criticism drew him up short and Kylo looked at Snoke's feet, contemplating. It was an accurate interpretation of his characterizations of Rey, to be sure, but-

"You must be careful, my son, that you do not confuse your apprenticeship of this young woman for your own desire for a companion," Snoke cautioned. "You have long struggled with attachments that hold you back from fully realizing your own potential. You conquered the lure of your father by effecting his death, but I sense this girl's presence speaks to something deeper within you… something much…. older? Your yearning for a… sister?"

The sibilant consonants in the word sliding from Snoke's mouth sent a shiver down Kylo's spine.

When he was younger they had spoken of it often, how he'd wished there had been a sibling to share the burden, the sense of responsibility he felt at his parents' dissolving union. It hadn't come up in years. But there was no one else, and that was the end of it.

"Yes," Snoke hissed. "Good, I feel your hesitation. Do not shy from it."

"Master," he began, "She, too, has had such a desire. Many times, from what I saw in her memories."

Snoke steepled his fingers magnanimously. "If what you say of this girl is true, bring her to me. Draw her to you by whatever means necessary, and bring her to me. She will become a powerful ally, or she must be extinguished."

Kylo swallowed, his throat dry. "Yes, Master."