A/N: Aaah! It's been a while since I updated. I've actually had half of this chapter on the back burner for a little while, but I wanted to wait to read the TLJ novelization, and then life got in the way . . . anywho I hope you enjoy this latest update, even if it's a little bit shorter than the others. It's a little more meta than action, but I did warn this would be a slow burn

Armitage Hux walked the corridors with perfectly measured steps, not a single hair out of place, his expression as mild as he could manage. Still, despite his outward appearance, inside he seethed. How dare Kylo Ren dismiss the rebels so easily? The damned rebels had destroyed several Resurgent-class Star Destroyers and managed to escape Crait. That traitorous FN-2187 had defeated Captain Phasma without reprisal. The darling Jedi scavenger of the Resistance had supposedly slaughtered Supreme Leader Snoke and the Praetorian Guards, and they were to simply let her walk away?

And Kylo Ren remained unconcerned?

Upon reaching his quarters, Hux began pulling up reports. Even when off-duty, he preferred to stay informed. Very little happened in the First Order that escaped his attention. But this cycle he did not read through the endless deck reports. Instead, he accessed the personnel files of the Supremacy and its previous escort, eyes cold as the names flashed across the screen. Each of those names represented another black eye to the Order's reputation. The stormtrooper program – the heart and soul of the First Order – necessitated the idea that the infants and children placed in its ranks would somehow lead a more stable, ordered life. Such huge losses perpetrated by a ragtag bunch of rebel scum could not be tolerated. Despite the new Supreme Leader's orders, Hux intended to pursue the rebels and make them pay for every single instance of humiliation.

All he had to do was make sure Kylo Ren remained on Mustafar and out of the military's affairs. With that, Hux could make other arrangements to secure the legacy of the First Order.

They had a problem.

Leia Organa paced the length of her quarters, deep in thought. Although she fiercely wished to believe in the light Rey had glimpsed in Kylo Ren, she could not jeopardize the Resistance. Although it had cost his life, Luke's appearance renewed her spirits. Her heart hoped in Rey's ability to reach Ben. But such a connection between the Supreme Leader of the First Order and one of their own posed a major tactical threat to the remaining rebel fighters. A threat they could not ignore. In all her long years of service, Leia Organa had put the good of her people over her own desires. She could not stop now.

Although Rey assured her that Kylo could neither see nor hear her surroundings through their bond, Leia simply could not trust the situation would not change. Only just a short time ago, she would have insisted that the Force could not defy death, and yet here she stood, alive after blowing into space with the rest of the Raddus's bridge.

While Leia acknowledged that Rey's force bond with Kylo Ren was vital to the success of the Resistance, it also proved one of their greatest weaknesses. If Rey failed to pull Ben from the Dark side, and Kylo Ren exploited his connection with Rey to the First Order's benefit . . .

No. The danger was too great. Rey needed to leave.

But how could Leia justify sending the Resistance's last hope – the galaxy's Last Jedi – away without losing what little ground they had left? Yes, they had crippled part of the First Order's fleet. Yes, Snoke lay dead. But the majority of the galaxy remained cowed under the weight of the First Order's military threat. Few had forgotten how one lone Jedi managed to take down the Empire, and now – more than ever – Rey represented the distillation of their dreams and desperation. What else did they have at their disposal?

Leia sat at her desk and drummed her fingers against its cold surface. Luke had defeated the Empire because he had turned Darth Vader against the Emperor, allowing a crack in the regime's façade. That crack had encouraged the galaxy to rise up and take back what was theirs. It seemed Rey had incited Kylo Ren to a similar betrayal, but this time the Resistance had not had the resources or wherewithal to take advantage of that critical moment. Now the First Order had regrouped and appeared as impenetrable as ever. Even licking its wounds, the Order continued its overtures to bring the scattered systems to heel. Those villains would use anything to snuff out any and all who opposed them. Including an accidental Force bond.

So. They could not afford for Rey to remain. But neither could they appear to abandon her.

But, then, no one needed to know. They only had to hope.

"3PO?"

The golden protocol droid tottered towards her. "Yes, General?"

"Have Rey and Commander Dameron meet me in the command center."

"Yes, of course." C-3PO paused. "But I'm afraid we have yet to establish a formal command center. Should I direct them to the provisional command room?"

Even after so many decades of dealing with C-3PO's fussiness, Leia couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Just do it."

Poe Dameron rushed through the dim halls towards the command center, his heart bursting with the thought of another mission. It had only been a few days since they arrived on Lothal, but he was going out of his mind with boredom. While he had always been able to get by in a tight pinch, he simply did not have the knowledge – or interest – to carry out the extensive repairs needed around the base. More often than not Poe only managed to get in the way. But what was a pilot to do when they had only one ship in any kind of working condition?

When C-3PO informed him of Leia's order to meet, he knew something was about to happen. Finally.

Such was his enthusiasm to get to his destination that Poe nearly slammed into Rey as she made her way down the corridor. Without thinking, he reached out a hand to steady her arm, pretending not to notice just how thin she felt.

He remembered Finn mentioned that Rey came from Niima Outpost, but he hadn't given it much thought before. Now, as he recalled what little Jakku had to offer, Poe began to realize that the slim girl before him hid much more strength than what a few Jedi tricks could offer.

"Sorry," he managed with a lopsided smile. "I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"Me too," Rey chirped. "I wonder what the General needs?"

Poe chuckled, seeing the converging threads Leia meant to tie together. "You too, huh? This has gotta be something big."

Rey could hear the burgeoning excitement in Poe's voice, but she didn't share the feeling. Instead, the thought of the impending meeting felt like a stone in her stomach. She had been backed into a corner too many times in her life not to recognize the tight spot the Resistance found itself in. For a moment Rey longed for the simplicity of her life back on Jakku. Sure, her days had been filled with the dangers of hunger pangs and physical harm, but life on Jakku had been predictable. She understood what awaited her on the next sunrise.

But now . . .

Everything tangled before her, a jumbled nest of knotted thread and shadows. She had flown across the galaxy to learn her place in all of this, had begged Luke to show her the ways of the Force, and then shipped herself to the center of battle and chaos for the hope she saw in one man's eyes. It had been a compulsion, that need to reach out and take his hand. But the ties that bound her to this ever-dwindling group of Resistance fighters held her tight. Finn, BB-8, Leia – even Poe and Rose – they were the family she never had. Just as surely as Ben Solo was the future she might never see.

They reached the command center in moments and Rey paused before the door, closing her eyes. She took a deep breath in, then slowly released it. If the world around her lay in shadow, Leia represented a bright spark in the night. The older woman blazed with an intractable determination and resolve. It was no wonder people followed her again and again to the end of everything.

It suddenly seemed to Rey that Leia Organa, even more so than her twin brother, encapsulated the resolute and unmovable spirit of the Jedi. Rey could not imagine Leia having ever been tempted by the Dark side. Even Luke, the self-proclaimed last Jedi, had felt the call to the never-ending black. And when he could not control the balance within himself or his apprentice, Luke chose to close himself off from the Force.

But Leia . . . Leia made every move with the utmost care, her actions almost ruthless in her quest to defend and return the virtuousness, the light, of the Republic. And like so many sycophants, her acolytes of the Resistance threw themselves blindly into the fight.

With Rey's understanding of the General's character came the knowledge that whatever the older woman had to say would set her on a path she might never return from.

But what else can I do? Rey thought, when my friends need my help?

Rey wanted to make the galaxy safer for her friends. Even if it meant upending the universe, Rey would make sure they remained happy and healthy.

A vision of an outstretched, black-gloved hand flashed before her eyes.

Even if it meant waiting a lifetime to find her own peace.

"Rey," the General called. "Come in, please."

Opening her eyes, Rey stepped through the door to face Leia's command.

I hope you enjoyed it! Please review if you liked it . . . or even if you have some constructive criticism.

Thanks to all who've read and/or reviewed so far! :)