Dropping out of hyperspace, Luke flew the Skywatcher towards the old rebel base located in the caves on the southern hemisphere of the planet. Touching down, Luke looked out of the cockpit nervously.
"Come on farmboy." Mara said brushing her hand across Luke's shoulder as she walked out of the ship into the early morning sunlight. As the others joined her, they saw Leia and some Resistance troops emerge from their ships.
"Leia." Luke mouthed silently, running up to and embracing her.
"Welcome to Wolf Base, rebels." said Ezra.
"We'll talk later." said Luke pulling out of the embrace.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Governor Bridger, Countess Wren-Bridger." said Leia turning and walking up to him. "I trust you remember my brother Jedi Master Luke Skywalker." she said gesturing back at Luke as he stepped forward.
"That I do. Master Jedi, it's been a long time but you are always welcome here." Ezra replied.
"We are in need of a secure holding cell." Leia said reluctantly.
"What has happened now?" Ezra asked sarcastically.
"We've captured Kylo Ren." Leia said stepping aside to let a medcart carrying a restrained and sedated Kylo Ren.
"What! How?" Rey exclaimed.
"A mother has her ways." Leia said cryptically.
"You better have some idea as how to keep him contained. Because if he escapes and kills just one of our people. . ." Sabine left the threat hanging.
"We have a plan concerning that." said Leia.
"I hope it works, for your sake." Ezra said as Leia walked past.
"Why didn't you tell her?" asked Rey, rushing over to Luke and Mara.
"There's much you don't understand about the situation." Mara said simply.
"I understand you won't even tell your own sister of your family, of me." accused Rey, glaring at Luke.
"It complicated, Rey." Luke said with a mix of sadness and fatigue.
"It seems pretty simple from my point of view." growled Rey.
"Rey, listen-" Mara stared to say.
"No, you listen. If you don't tell her by tonight, I will." said Rey storming away.
"She has a lot of anger in her." said Luke, as he watched her retreating form.
"Can you blame her? From what I know she had been lost on Jakku for most of her life, holding on to the hope of her family's return and when they do finally reveal themselves to her she gets thrown into a gundark's nest of secrets." Finn said walking over to the both of them.
"You know you won't just be able to keep him in the average cell. He'll break out and lay waste to your troops." Mara said to Leia coming up next to her.
"That's why we're keeping him sedated for now. Unless you have a better idea?" Leia said in response to Mara's statement.
"We could always encase him in carbonite." Poe suggested from behind them, which earned him a glare so cold it would make a tauntaun shiver. "Okay, bad idea. Does anyone else have a suggestion, anyone at all?" Poe called out nervously.
"There's only one thing that might work." Mara said with a grimace. "Ysalamiri."
"What's a ysalamiri?" Poe asked incredulously.
"And where would you get one?" asked Leia, crossing her arms.
"I have my ways." Mara said.
"What's a ysalamiri?!" Poe asked Leia getting more frustrated by the moment.
"A creature that can repel the force. The first time we came to know about them an old imperial grand admiral was attempting to use them to assist in creating a new clone army." Leia explained with a distant and disturbed look in her eyes. Turning back to Mara she said. "Do it."
"I'll need to get in contact with my people." Mara said.
"Very well," Leia said, gesturing to one of the resistance soldiers standing to the side. "Dari here will escort you to the communications center." A young woman barely out of her teens with black hair tied in a topknot and Jedhan features came up. "I'm also sending Rey to keep an eye on you, I'm sure she'll be able to tell if you are hiding anything, so don't try it." Leia finished, Rey's head darting up after hearing what she said.
"Fine." Mara said, turning and walking out to the corridor.
In the communications center Mara stood behind a nervous Dari.
"Contact the Lastri's Ort, they should be near the Kafrene system." Mara said
"Yes ma'am." said Dari. "It will be a few minutes to get a secure transmission."
"So, where are you from?" asked Rey.
"My family has been nomadic since the destruction of Jedha." Dari said turning to Rey she asked. "Are you really a Jedi?" causing Mara to give her a sideways glance.
"Not yet, but someday." replied Rey.
"My grandmother was one of the guardians of the whills and she told me the stories of the Jedi of old when I was younger. I used to pretend I was a Jedi, flying around and saving the galaxy." Dari said with a chuckle, turning back to the console. "We're through ma'am, go ahead."
"Lastri's Ort." said the older man as the holo coalesced. "Hey Chief, what's the word?"
"Aves, is Chin still with you?" Mara asked.
"Sure is, what do you need?" He said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"I need you to go to Myrkr and pick up ysalamiri. Once your done there you'll need to rendezvous with others at Saleucami." Mara explained.
"Ysalamiri? what's going on Mara?" Aves asked.
"We're back in the middle of it, Aves." Mara said resignedly.
"I understand Mara, we'll be there shortly. Aves singing off." he said as the holo cut out.
Back in the main control center Rey stood to the side looking at Leia nervously.
"Go ahead and tell her, Rey. Don't worry I've got your back." Finn said putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Okay, here it goes." said Rey bracing herself and walking up to Leia.
"General Leia, can I have a word with you? There's something I need to tell you." said Rey, nervously glancing around.
"What is it Rey?" Leia asked gently, placing her hand on the younger woman's arm.
"I'm-" Rey started to say.
"Incoming ship, ma'am. It registers as the Jaded Eyes and they're asking for permission to land." Kaydel said from the communications board.
"We'll talk later, I promise." Leia said patting Rey on the shoulder, then heading to the display. "One of yours, I presume." Leia asked rhetorically to Mara who had just walked into the control room.
"Yes and they're delivering a certain item you requested. " Mara said.
"How do we know we can trust them." said Poe glaring at Mara.
"You don't, flyboy. But unless you want your little Resistance to go up in smoke I suggest you allow them to land." said Mara bluntly.
"Is that a threat? Because I don't do well when someone threatens me or my friends." said Poe quietly, stepping right up to Mara's face and staring her in the eyes.
"A warning, you only get one." Mara said quietly and clearly. "Now if you don't mind I'd better go meet my crew."
A modified Gozanti cruiser landed near the Falcon as Rey was working on repairs with Finn.
"Time's running out Finn, I can feel it." said Rey from on top of one of the Falcon's forward prongs.
"I know you told them they have until tonight, but you don't have to rush it Rey." Finn replied, working underneath.
"It's not that, although it's not helping matters. There's something else going on." said Rey.
"Then maybe you should tell the General, I'm sure she'd welcome you with open arms." said Finn.
"I can't do it Finn, I can't tell her. It's like I'm having to choose between two halves of my family." Rey said sitting back a distressed look on her face.
"You should do what you feel is right and I have confidence that whatever you choose will be the right path." Finn said looking up at her as the sun set behind her creating a halo of light. Jumping down Rey pulled Finn into a hug.
"You two make a cute couple." came a voice from behind them. Jumping apart Finn and Rey turned to see Ezra standing there.
"Governor Bridger, we didn't know you were there." Finn started to say.
"It's okay, don't mind me. I was just seeing how our guests were doing." Ezra said with a wave of his hand when Rey let out a gasp and a shudder as the smugglers walked by carrying long fur-scaled creatures.
"Are you okay kid?" Ezra said coming up to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I will be. What are those things?" Rey asked.
"I believe they're called ysalamiri. I saw a carving of them before but I've never seen one in person. I wonder why they brought them here?" Ezra wondered out loud.
"It's how they're going to keep Kylo Ren in his cell." Rey replied, rushing to follow them.
In his makeshift cell Kylo Ren stirred as ysalamiri were placed in a perimeter around the cave. As the Force free space strengthened he shot awake.
"What have you done to me? I demand to know!" Kylo Ren yelled out from behind the ray shields.
"We've done nothing to you, unlike your methods, we're civilized." said Rey coming into the cavern.
"And yet you're the ones hiding in caves." spat Kylo Ren.
"Enough!" came the commanding voice of Leia.
"Princess Leia." snarled Kylo Ren.
"I remember a time you called me mother." said Leia softly.
"What mother would imprison her child." growled Kylo Ren.
"A mother who has to make a hard choice, seeing what her son has become. I've come to the decision that you will be taken to the Citadel on Lola Sayu until this conflict has ended." Leia said with an air of finality.
"You can't do this to me. I am Kylo Ren second in command of the First Order, heir of Darth Vader." he yelled pressing his fists against the shields, burning them.
"You are my son, you are Ben Solo." Leia said firmly turning back to face him.
"Your son is dead, I killed him." Kylo Ren spat out.
"You're a monster, I've had enough of this." Rey said storming out.
Leia caught up with Rey who was underneath the Falcon throwing pebbles in the tall grass. Looking up at Leia, she sighed but said nothing.
"You remind me of Ben when he was young, he had a sharp tongue too." Leia said, Rey rolling her eyes in response. "Actually he was a lot like me in that area." Leia said surprising Rey. "Come with me, I have something that will help." Leia said walking into the Falcon, curiosity peaked Rey followed her inside. Once inside Leia climbed up on the bench in the common area and reached up behind the bulkhead triggering a hidden catch that caused a panel to open in the side of the wall revealing a desk and bench.
"Han added this so I could do my calligraphy." said Leia running her hand over the ink splotched table.
"You do calligraphy?" asked Rey incredulously.
"Yes, it's an old Alderaanian art form. It centers the mind and body and for me it keeps my people alive in it's memory. Now sit because it looks like you could use some centering yourself." Leia said as Rey sat on the bench. Leia pulled out a box from the side of the desk, it was filled with brushes of different sizes and textures, ink of many colors and rolled up pieces of flimsy.
"We'll start simple." said Leia handing Rey a brush and positioning her fingers in the correct way. Then pulling out the flimsy and ink she said. "Write this, 'There is passion, yet peace; serenity, yet emotion; chaos, yet order.'"
"I really don't understand how this is going to help me." Rey said.
"There's an old Alderaanian proverb 'The stylus is stronger than the saber.' Words have power, more than most people realise, they can mend or cause a wound deeper than your lightsaber that may never heal." replied Leia.