A note from your humble author: Oh my god. I am so so sorry. Rando?!…I can't believe I named him Rando! What the hell was I thinking? I kept telling myself, god, no, don't use that – pick any other name! But when it came time to write this character I just couldn't shake it – so I stuck with Rando. Worst. Name. Ever.

He seemed to be developing a quick mastery of the path between fear and courage, which didn't surprise her. If he was afraid of anything, it was being a coward. He had stared death in the face so many times it had lost all meaning to him. The only fear he seemed to truly struggle with was the fear of losing her. It was the one fear he could not shake. Fearing the loss of an attachment was why the Jedi code discouraged such relationships. The loss of someone you cared for, someone you loved, could drive a person mad, and open a path to the darkness. There were no safe paths for vengeance, not even for a Grey.

You could kill to save your own life, in an act of self defense. You could kill to save the lives of others. But killing for vengeance was dangerous, and she was trying her best to explain it to Ben as they spent another day working together on the Grey path aboard the Millennium Falcon.

"So if someone murdered you, I would not be able to seek vengeance?" he asked, clearly frustrated.

"When I murdered that doctor who had tortured you, I did it because he had hurt you, and I wanted to make him pay for it. That was my intention at the time, that was what was burning in my heart, and I could feel the darkness consuming me. But, if I had not felt that burn of vengeance within me, if I had just killed him to stop him from torturing others, and acted out of consideration for all the others who could ever be harmed by his hand in the future, the darkness would not have gripped me as it did. If he had killed you, my killing him would not have brought you back from the dead, it would have done no good, just like killing him didn't undo the pain he had put you through. The path between the light and darkness is a path of balance, of give and take. Taking a life does not give you back anything, unless you are doing it with the intent to prevent more harm in the future."

"What if someone was once a murderer and changed their ways? There would be no future lives to protect only past crimes yet to be punished."

She could sense he was somewhat including himself in this hypothetical question. "There are many ways to make someone pay for their crimes. Justice and vengeance aren't always the same thing. It doesn't necessarily always have to be an eye for an eye. If the murderer has truly amended his ways, it would be wrong to strike them down with hatred in your heart. It would not bring back the dead. For example, my parents; I know one of the Knights of Ren murdered them, but I don't know which one, for all I know it could have been the one I've already killed. I know I must destroy the Knights of Ren because they continue to hunt and murder force sensitive's. They would destroy us. If I were to strike down a Knight of Ren with the intent to protect us, or future lives, then the darkness would not consume me, but if I strike them down thinking of my parents who were taken from me, then my heart would not be in the right place. The balance for death must be life, preserving life must be my intent, and my only intent. I must set my personal grudge aside, no matter how hard that might be."

She could feel the conflict within him again, the fear and doubt.

"If someone took you from me, I don't think I could set aside such a grudge. I can't do that!" he confessed.

She sighed and folded her hands in her lap as she sat cross-legged facing him on the floor. Whether she lived or died she did not want him to fall into the darkness again, and she knew for him that was a very real possibility.

"Ben, some day you may be faced with that dilemma. Snoke wants me dead, whether by his hand or by one of his Knights of Ren, I could die…"

"I won't let that happen!" he argued.

"No one can say when or how death will come. We live a life of war and pain, and we both have our fair share of enemies. You can't always protect me, but I know that you would try, just as I would do anything to protect you. If Snoke were to take my life, you would have to fight him on your own, but you would have to do it for the right reasons, because he is evil, because he continues to destroy the lives of countless others and nothing else but death will stop him. You would have to set your feelings for me aside, or risk falling into darkness."

"I can't do that!" he shouted as he jumped to his feet and began stalking back and forth in the small living area of the Falcon.

She could feel fear and panic radiating from him, and she knew the day's lesson was starting to fall apart. "Ben, please," she pleaded as she rose and stopped him mid-pace to wrap her arms around him. "Let's stop assuming the worst, for now at least. I have just as much doubt as you do that I could not act out in vengeance again if someone took you from me. I have already killed in vengeance for you! Knowing that you were actually alive and that you could be saved was probably the only thing that kept the darkness at bay. If I didn't have that I probably would have gone mad. If we must face Snoke someday, we must do it together."

He clutched her to him. "I can't do it alone! Only with you. I am stronger with you than I have ever been in my life. As long as you are with me there is no enemy we couldn't defeat," he said as he gently ran his hand down the side of her soft face. He leaned down to taste her warm lips.

They had spent the last several days working on the Grey path and making love nearly non-stop together. There wasn't much else to do in hyperspace as they approached their destination.

Luke had loaned them the Falcon for their mission as it would be more comfortable for two people than an X-Wing. At first Ben had dreaded the idea of revisiting the old ship that had once been a home to him growing up. He hadn't been conscious when he was rescued in the Falcon from the Finalizer, but seeing it again now had brought back a flood of memories. Most were happy, a few were sad.

Maybe someday when I'm gone you can take care of her for me.

He remembered his father saying once when he was a boy, and he did his best to fight back the pain he felt. Being back in the Falcon was a bittersweet experience. Part of him loved the old ship, perhaps in much the same way his father once had, the other part of him never wanted to see it again, being aboard after all the many years reopened old wounds.

So far what he had learned from Rey of the Grey path seemed to be helping him, but he could feel himself catching at some of the old snags. Just because there was a safe path between light and dark, didn't mean it was an easy path, there would still be obstacles for him to overcome. Whenever he would grow frustrated, rather than chide him for leaning towards the darkness, she encouraged him, not to snuff it out, but to embrace it along with an equal measure of light, or at least as much of it as he could muster, but he seemed to muster more and more of the light side every time. He was gaining hope, for the first time in ages.

"There is far more flexibility and freedom to being grey, than being just a darkside user, or a lightside user. Some grey can lean very light, and some grey can be quite dark. Don't feel detoured if you don't end up precisely in the middle, even a darker Grey still has its fair share of light."

"You must be a light grey," he said.

"You'd be surprised. I'm not as light as you think I am. I face my demons too. I feel like I usually do a good job of floating just in the middle, but I've had more than my fair share of moments where I've wandered too close to the dark, and I probably will again. Being Grey is not being perfect, and I'm grateful for that."

If what she said was true, he was grateful as well. He could think of no one more flawed than himself.

When they at last reached Bespin, he couldn't help but be disappointed. For the past few days he had had her all to himself, and no matter what Grey path difficulties he had, no matter the occasional sad memories that would creep in as he remembered his youth in the Falcon, it had still been one of the happiest times of his life, because he was with her, alone.

He had every reason to hate Snoke and the First Order for all that they had done to him, but he had a hard time reconciling himself just yet to the idea of fully joining the Resistance. In truth, he knew he owed it to Rey and his family, but deep down he felt unworthy. Just because Rey, his Uncle Luke, and his mother wanted him, didn't mean the rest of the resistance would welcome him with open arms. He was a stranger amongst them. If he were to find a place amongst the resistance, he wanted to earn it, not just have it given to him because he was the long lost son of the general, the nephew of the legendary Luke Skywalker, or the paramour of the Grey Jedi. He was still a man who believed in commanding respect, and one did not earn respect by being given anything, it had to be fought for, it had to be earned. In the First Order most of his respect was gained through fear and power, but he knew he would no longer be able to rely on that if he were to find a place amongst the resistance, unless if it were though the fear of his enemies.

Even though it technically wasn't 'his' mission, if he thought that she needed him, he would not hesitate to intervene.

Rey had seen very little of large cities, and she was surprised to find that she found herself a little taken with the outward attractiveness of Cloud City. It reminded her of when she was young and would hear travelers at the Nima outpost talk about exotic far-away places, places she could only dream of with her limited imagination. Cloud City was far more than what her imagination could have ever prepared her for.

Ben watched as her face seemed to beam with excitement. He was reminded of how sheltered and limited her life had once been, and he ached to give her every joy her heart could desire, if only to keep that spark of happiness within her eyes.

When they landed the Corellian freighter, she began fussing with her cloak and hair, feeling herself not nearly suited enough for such a grand city. She had worn her hair down, but pinned back away from her face at Ben's request. He loved her beautiful hair and he had asked her, when conditions allowed, to wear it down more often. He could tell she was nervous about making a good impression.

"Don't worry, you look beautiful, if anyone disagrees, I'll kill them," he offered.

She knew that he had grown up most of his life in exciting places, around fancy well-to-do elite people. He looked very distinguished in his black trousers and boots, with a crisp grey tunic. He wore a long black leather coat to help conceal his saber in the off chance anyone would recognize it, and gloves. She had tried to sway him to pick attire that was a little less austere, but he had championed his preferences, and she couldn't deny that he had always looked attractive in black.

As they walked down the ramp of the falcon they were greeted by a small procession, most appeared to be armed guards who flanked the two more prominent figures. One a tall elderly gentleman, who was bald and seemed to have a cybernetic implant, the other a dashing young man, maybe only a few years older than Rey, of average stature, with dark skin and a brilliant and charming smile.

"Welcome to Cloud City," offered the younger man, and his eyes seemed to particularly light up at the sight of Rey. She was just going to give the polite bow the general had taught her, when the young man extended his hand, so she reached out to shake it, but instead found that he turned her hand and kissed the back of it. She felt herself blush a little, and immediately sensed a boiling rage from Ben who stood stiffly next to her.

He less enthusiastically offered his hand to shake with Ben, who chose to stand there glowering with arms crossed in front of his chest. The young man promptly retracted his hand, but did not change his jovial demeanor.

"We were sent here to meet with the Baron Administrator, Lando Calrissian. I'm Rey, and this is Ben Solo," she introduced.

"Solo? Are you General Organa's son? Our parents have been friends for ages! It's nice to finally meet you. I'm sorry father couldn't be here to greet you personally, his health has not been well these past few months so he's been away on Naboo seeking medical intervention, but, he's left the governing of Cloud City in my more than capable hands until his return. I'm Governor Rando Calrissian by the way," he said, finally getting around to introducing himself.

"Perhaps not so capable as it seems your shipments appear to be under blockade," countered Ben.

Rey did a less than covert job of jabbing him with her elbow. The resistance relied a great deal on the generous contributions of Lando Calrissian and it would not do to be ungrateful or antagonize the son of the wealthy Baron Ambassador.

You promised to let me handle this.

She reminded over the bond.

"You're very right," he confessed, looking a little less jovial. "Won't you come inside where we can discuss the situation more comfortably," he offered with a sweep of his arm and turned to lead the way.

I don't like him.

She heard Ben complain over the blond.

You're not here to like him.

She countered.

Bespin, for the time being, remained a neutral planet as far as the First Order was concerned, but neutral planets were often watched more closely than opposing planets. It was a world that thrived in capital and commerce, and maintaining good trade relations with every star system was key to its success. The First Order naturally assumed resistance connections and sympathy from a man who had once been a general under the rebel alliance, but for years Lando Calrissian had managed to successfully supply the resistance without incriminating himself to the First Order, he still maintained his old smugglers pride. As long as the First Order could not prove his continued support to the resistance they could not openly engage in war against Bespin. But that did not mean that they were not watching him very very closely.

The room was large and luxurious, with wide open windows giving full view of the clouds that glimmered pink and orange against the fading sun. All the furniture was costly, and Rey tried her best to stay focused on what Rando had to say and not let her eyes wander around her environment too much. She was sitting across from him sipping a warm cup of tea and listening to him discuss the unmanned freight shuttles that were used to export the goods to the resistance.

Ben stood with his back to them, staring out the window, but she knew he was paying attention to every word.

"We've used unmanned freight shuttles for years, that way if the First Order detects that it's headed to the resistance there wouldn't be any crew-members on-board to interrogate for your base location, and the shuttles are set to never take a straight course."

"Can the ships coordinates be hacked?" she asked.

"They're piloted remotely over a secured transceiver line that's untraceable. Standard procedure is to have the cargo freighter change course three to six times before reaching its destination. If a freighter is intercepted the moment the ship is breached all of the computer's navigation systems are set to scramble to cover its tracks and its destination. The last freighter that was taken had been sent on a very long roundabout route, with over fourteen different course changes set at random, they should have never been able to seize it."

"What about your personnel? Are they trustworthy? Do you have any suspects that could sympathize with the First Order?"

"I trust my staff completely, most of them have been around here since before I was born, like my father's friend Lobot who helps maintain the encryption of the transceiver line. But it's not that we don't have enemies. Not everyone on Bespin approves of my father, they rightly suspect his resistance ties as much as the First Order and are afraid we'll bring the wrath of the Order on the whole planet, but we Calrissian's are proud smugglers at heart, no one has ever been able to prove anything against us, and many have tried."

Rey could sense that what he said felt mostly sincere, but she also couldn't help but feel that there was something that he was keeping from her.

"When is your father coming back? I'm sure General Organa would hate for me to miss the opportunity to meet with him."

"I'm…not sure. Soon maybe, you never know with his health. Tomorrow I will take you to personally inspect the freighters and you can meet the staff that manager their navigation, it's only a small handful of people, you can understand why I have to keep this as a very tight-knit operation."

Just as Rey had felt a moment of suspicion she heard Ben through the bond.

He's hiding something.

Maybe, but it doesn't feel like a lie, not quite.

He's putting up a block to hide something; it's a darkside technique to help mask deceptions.

What?

Ask him something.

He urged, meaning something that he would be likely to lie about.

"Has the First Order contacted you about your operations at all in these past few months?"

She reached out with the force, looking for the signs of deceit. She looked him directly in his chocolate brown eyes as he spoke. "It's been a year since they last tried to stick their nose in our business. Up until this blockade, things had been blessedly quiet. They've been seizing the freighters, but as well as we've been covering our tracks, they haven't been able to trace them back to us."

She couldn't detect any falsehood in his statement, but she could still sense Ben's suspicion.

Rando's staff provided Rey and Ben with their accommodations for the night. The next day she would meet the navigation crew and inspect the freighters. Ben had been annoyed that they had given him a separate room and he had immediately ignored it and joined Rey in hers.

"Your parents were close friends of Lando Calrissian, what do you know about his son Rando?"

"Very little. He would have been quite young when they shipped me off to Luke's academy. I had heard that Lando had a family, that he had married some Corellian woman and had a son, but that she ran off at some point and was never heard from again. Perhaps all Corellian's are scoundrels," he said, remembering his own father's habit for disappearing from his family.

Rey couldn't help but feel a pang for sorrow for Rando at the thought of him being abandoned by his mother. At least she knew Han Solo had never stayed away long and had always returned.

"What did you mean he was using a darkside technique? Do you think he has the force? I couldn't sense it," she asked.

"I'm positive that he was lying about not having recent encounters with the First Order, and Lando not being here seems suspicious."

Rey was not without a suspicion of her own. "Are you sure this isn't just because he kissed my hand and made you jealous? Maybe Lando really is ill; maybe he is telling the truth about the First Order?"

Ben couldn't deny that he was jealous again. He had sensed the younger man's obvious attraction to Rey, and one didn't need the force to see it, but his own personal feelings aside, he did suspect deception. He had lived as a darkside user long enough to know the signs. The darkside was notoriously good at masking itself, but he didn't know how to explain or justify his suspicions to Rey without coming off as just a jealous lover.

"Tomorrow you will go with him to inspect the freighters alone," he said.

He could feel that he had hurt her somehow; then he felt her get angry across the bond.

She had no claim on him to make him join her for the inspection; it was supposed to be her mission. It seemed clear to her that he was just pouting and now she felt as though he were pushing her away for it.

"I see. If that's how you feel about it," she said as she got up and left their room. He heard the door slam across the hall to the room he had original been given.

Why are you in the other room?

He asked.

If you insist on me being alone tomorrow, why not start tonight?

She snapped across the bond, and then he felt her put up a barrier against him. He felt absolutely crushed. He had not meant to hurt her, but he knew he could not explain himself yet to where she would believe him.

He had to find proof.

A note from your humble author: Uh oh, looks like one of our wolves just found themselves in the dog house. Is Rando hiding something? Does he have the force? What the hell were his parents thinking naming him Rando? (well okay that last one's my fault) Find out more next chapter! Same bat-time. Same bat-channel!

P.S. Thank you to all my new readers and followers! You guys are awesome! I love all the feedback you guys have been giving me and it really means the world to me. So please keep the reviews coming and let me know how I'm doing. Every review brightens my day :D Make a girl happy, pleeeease?