Chapter 5

"The First Order Stormtroopers on their own are not a danger to us or anyone, I believe," Luke spoke, with a brief little glance upon Finn, who nodded, to confirm, before continuing, "We'll get the upper hand basically as soon as we can all get rid of Snoke and his most immediate commanders, who are all waiting for their moment of glory as soon as the Supreme Leader is gone."

"Phasma. Hux," the former Stormtrooper began. "They are just as power hungry as Snoke; they only nod yes now just so they can wait for the right moment."

"Ben is one of them as well," Leia spoke in a soft tone that pulled at the heartstrings of the people in the room. It spoke of her loss, her pain. The strong General sounded so fragile now, despite the fact that her expression was fierce and didn't hint at the feelings bottled up behind her voice, behind the strong exterior she put up for her people.

It remained quiet for a full minute, not a droid, Whookiee or human sound to be heard, until Poe finally spoke, "I grew up with Ben. I will never believe that his heart has grown cold and there is nothing of the old him left anymore. There's got to be a way. We've got to be able to find a way to give him a chance to come home."

"His father gave him that chance and died because of it. He refused to take the hand and the help behind it that was extended to him," Rey said, her voice bitter in her throat. She spoke solely of Han Solo as his father, not her own, but despite the fact that she tried hard to keep it like that in her mind, too, she felt the same sort of loss in her heart that had rendered her mother's voice fragile. The same went for seeing Leia as her mother. She had processed the information, but she hadn't at all gotten used to it, and she doubted she would anytime soon. How could one deal with that sort of information and grow accustomed to it when there was basically a mark for killing on their head? There was simply no time to properly make her mind up about what she was going to do with the information and how it was going to affect her future, if at all.

Chewie's grunts of anger and pain resounded through the room, R2-D2 and BB-8 beeping in unison as they conveyed their feelings about the end of Han Solo without words, in their own languages.

"All nice and well, but how do we put this plan in action?" Finn questioned.

"Well, as long as they don't know where we're located, we have to keep it that way, and that means that we'll have to get to them instead," Poe contributed, "but if we attack them in their base, they are at a big advantage versus us. They know their ways around their environment, have access to weapons, and they will definitely be in the majority there. We've got a pretty strong resistance group, but only a select group can go. It would only work if we use the force to our advantage in a climate where their other advantages are eliminated."

"What if-?" Finn began.

Rey, however, interrupted him before he could even begin to think about the formulation of the option he thought he was seeing. "Use me as bait and strike when you can. It will work."

In response to her suggestion, as brave as it was, two people responded with a one word answer immediately - Finn and her mother. The latter's face showed a mixture of anger and shock, fear and determination. The authoritative, rarely heard, edge to her voice brought many people's faces up to hers, including her daredevil daughter's.

Rey looked into the older woman's eyes without blinking for several seconds before turning her gaze to her uncle, who had been surprisingly quiet during the meeting they had called together. Maybe she had different expectations of Luke Skywalker after the stories featuring him with which she had grown up, but despite not knowing him well or at all, she felt that there was a reason why he was so quiet. She could swear she saw the cog wheels turn in his head behind his slightly squinted eyes, giving him a pensive look to the perceptive onlooker. "What's your opinion?"

"I believe that it is a legit suggestion," Luke admitted without averting his eyes from the point in the distance he had been staring at for the past few minutes.

"I can't believe this! You're supporting her?" Leia sounded.

Blinking at last, Luke turned his gaze sideways and regarded his twin sister. He couldn't say that he quite understood her predicament, as he had never been a father, but he loved Rey close to as much as she did, had suffered nearly as much as she had when Ben turned to the dark side and they had to give his niece up to give her the best chances at survival. "We have to take any chance we have to play this in our advantage. Jaina is the key to all of this, and you know it well."

Silence ruled them once again; everyone in the room considering the heavy suggestion that had been made by the one who would sacrifice herself. Caluan Ematt, who had been relatively quiet so far as well, was the one to break it with the words, "If we go for that option, we can take precautions to try and protect her as well as we can with all the means that we have. We can send the best of our team with her."

Mother and daughter stared at each other, and as the same browns clashed with each other, it felt as if the entire room and everyone around them disappeared. The air between them became electric, and all of those feelings of the past years bubbled up to the surface - anger, fear, heartache, regret - and questions how and why they had done the things they had done and it had happened that way.

The brown eyes were not the only things they had in common. If anyone had thought that Han Solo was stubborn, they clearly hadn't met Leia yet, and Rey had, unfortunately or not, inherited that trait from her. As the General of the Resistance eyed her long-lost daughter, she felt her heart clench. She still had those tiny little things about her that reminded her of the man she had loved more than anything. One of the things she had inherited from her father, Leia had quickly discovered, was her need for adventure and to be part of things even if it meant realistic danger. Like with her husband, she knew she wouldn't be able to keep her back. The only thing she could do was ensure that when she went through with the plan, because she would with or without her consent, that she had a few loyal allies with her to protect her from harm.

Leia looked up at Finn and Poe. Without question, she knew they would go even without her asking, and she knew they would give their lives for her... just the way she would if it came to it. "We have to prepare ourselves the best we can for every possible kind of attack to give her the best chances at survival. I am also coming with you."

Protest and disagreement sounded from all corners at that, Chewbacca sounding particularly loud and angry. The General herself couldn't put herself in direct harm's way. The Princess did not belong away from the base. Others would protect Rey with their own lives. She didn't have to come with them.

"Those are my conditions," Leia spoke. "If anyone has another suggestion, let's hear it. I would honestly prefer any option that doesn't put my daughter's life in immediate danger."

Rey swallowed visibly at the words spoken by her mother before she softly spoke, "I will take the Millennium Falcon. I feel like its speed and the way I am used to it will play in our advantage on top of its recognizability."

"That sounds like a plan," Luke answered, putting a hand on his sister's shoulder and squeezing gently. The action didn't go unnoticed by Rey, nor the look in her mother's eyes that made her both want to turn back from the decision and rush into it full force as well.

Leia looked at Caluan curtly, gathering courage. "Let's prepare then."