This chapter is really short but it was necessary to set up the next one. As compensation I won't make you guys wait half as long for the next chapter! Thanks for being patient (not that you have a choice otherwise haha).

Ben was communicating with Rey as he made his way back to his quarters on the Finalizer.

How was your training today, Solo? She asked.

Difficult. Well, not difficult, taking down the troopers is easy. But Thrawn kept me training for five hours.

Five hours? Rey repeated. I only ever train with Luke for about two every day. You're going to be sore.

I already am now, he said, rubbing his arm wrap. So go easy on me tomorrow, will you? He teased.

We'll see, she said.

Ben focused ahead as Captain Phasma approached him from the end of a long hallway.

"Phasma," he greeted, and stopped when she moved before him.

She removed her glinting chrome helmet and brushed the blonde hair from her eyes. Her damp hair and forehead indicated that she, too, had just come from a training session. "Commander Ren," she greeted stiffly, "Supreme Leader Snoke requests to speak with you in the holo chamber immediately."

"Snoke?" Ben repeated, taken aback. Snoke hadn't communicated with him a long time. He wanted to continue speaking with Rey, and he waved Phasma off. "I'll see to him later," he said, and was about to move around her, but she blocked his way.

"Immediately," she repeated, but Ben noticed a softening in her expression. Was it pity? Her trained gaze indicated that something serious was afoot.

Ben opened his mouth to retort, but instead he held himself back and nodded.

Rey, I have to go now, he said. I'm sorry.

It's okay, is everything alright?

I hope, he returned.

Phasma turned on her heels and began leading him through the massive star destroyer to the holo chamber. Ben moved up to her side, keeping pace with her long, militant strides. His chest began twisting with anxiety. "Is it about Storia?" He asked, lowering his voice as a squadron of troopers hurried past.

"Yes," Phasma said curtly, "but there's something else—I don't know what, but something. Thrawn met with me earlier about it. Just...be prepared."

"That's helpful," Ben snarked, and Phasma shot him a sharp look as they stepped into an elevator. She waited for the mechanical doors to slide shut before responding.

"You know, before you escaped here long ago with that scavenger, Rey, and you told me you'd be back...I didn't imagine it would be like this," she sighed, turning to look at him. "I thought that you meant you would be returning with the Resistance. Not as Snoke's slave."

Ben scowled. "I couldn't join the Resistance, I still can't," he said defensively. "I'm just a war criminal, a...a traitor. They'd sooner behead me than they would see me on their side. And you know that Nodin and Thrawn set me up."

Phasma nodded slowly. "I know. I know," she said, releasing her stiff posture and leaning against the back of the elevator. "But I thought you'd have come to me by now, for help again." She turned and looked at Ben, and he met her focused gaze.

"What are you saying?" He asked, keeping his voice low as the elevator doors slid open to a group of waiting officers. They remained silent as they moved passed the others.

"I'm saying, I managed to get you and the girl out of here. So I don't see how I couldn't do something like that again for you—I'm trusted by Thrawn and all of the officers, they would never suspect me," she said quietly. They were nearing the holo chamber, and they slowed their pace.

"But...why?" Ben asked, looking at her seriously. "Why would you risk everything for me?"

"Don't worry, it's not because I'm fond of you," she said, winking and giving him a teasing smile. "But I've grown up alongside you, I've seen all that you've had to go through under Thrawn and Snoke. At least I have my own freedoms—you have none, all because you were born with the power of the Force, something you didn't have a choice in. I think you deserve to end your life in freedom, not in Snoke's shackles."

Ben stopped and stared at her a long moment, taken aback by her sympathetic consideration. "Thank you for understanding, really, but—this is absurd," Ben said, shaking his head. He pressed a hand to his forehead, exasperated. "None of you seem to understand how powerful Snoke has become—what he could do if I went against him."

"You're worried about Rey," Phasma said knowingly.

Ben let out a frustrated breath and began walking again. "Enough of this," he said, waving her off. "It's impossible." He concentrated ahead at the metal doors to the holo chamber, now in sight.

"Those metal interrogation chairs were designed to be impossible to escape," Phasma said, moving up to his side.

Ben stopped and looked around, making sure the troopers down the hall were out of earshot. "I don't see how that's relevant," he said flatly.

"They're impossible to escape. And yet…both you and the girl managed to break out of them. That's never been done before," Phasma's eyes seemed to light up as she stared at him expectantly.

Ben thought for a few moments, then shook his head. "Goodbye, Phasma," he said dismissively, but he slowed and turned over his shoulder as Phasma spoke again.

"If you change your mind…I'll be in the main ship bay all night," she said. She lifted her helmet, but hesitated. Her mouth tightened into a thin line, and her eyes were solemn. "If I had to choose between following Snoke, or you...I'd choose you." She slid on her helmet and strode away, leaving Ben to realize that Phasma really did know what this meeting was all about.

….

"How are you feeling about tomorrow?" Finn asked as they were loading containers of supplies onto a shuttle.

Rey grunted as she lifted a heavy med kit onto a tall stack of boxes. "I'm feeling...ready," she panted.

"This will be your first real battle, won't it?" He asked, swiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his palm.

Rey shook her head. "Well, my first 'real' battle was with Ben, on Starkiller," She teased.

Finn chuckled and shook his head. "I try to forget about that night," he said, reaching around and touching his back, and Rey winced, remembering how Ben had brutally sliced her friend's spine. "You sure changed your mind about him," Finn added, smiling at her knowingly. Rey didn't answer, and he sat down on a box, turning his gaze to the side. "I didn't really believe Leia when she said your short trip last week was to convey information to one of our bases—I thought you'd given up your senatorial duties," he said, looking back up at her.

Rey bit back a smile. "You're right," she said. "To be truthful, I met up with Ben...When did Leia tell you that?"

"Poe asked about it during a pilots' meeting the other day. He always seems to bring you up at the most random times—that just goes to show how much he likes you, I guess. But don't worry, everyone else believed Leia. Especially Poe—he'd jump into a sarlacc pit if she told him he had to," he chuckled.

"I think anyone would," Rey laughed. "Poe definitely looks to her as a mother."

"Don't we all?" Finn asked. "I mean, she's basically adopted the entire base."

Rey nodded and laughed softly. "That's true. I can't help but feel that it's her way of coping, of trying to fill the gap left from Ben. It's actually really…"

"Sad," Finn answered, nodding seriously. "Look, I don't know where you stand with Ky—Ben, right now, but I'm sorry about the other day—about Poe, I mean. He hatched up this plan to get you two alone so he could confess his feelings, and I didn't know how to get you out of it; I couldn't exactly tell him who else you had feelings for. If you still do, that is," he added, raising his eyebrows.

"I do," Rey answered softly, meeting his eyes. "I really love him, Finn. I know you don't understand, and I don't ever expect you to, considering what he did to you—but I've seen a side of him you haven't. I know the real Ben."

Finn nodded. "No, I believe you, Rey, you don't have to explain. I can't say I understand, but I believe you." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, Finn," Rey said, smiling back. They both turned as they heard the footsteps of Poe approaching from the tarmac, juggling several boxes, and they descended the ramp of the shuttle to help him.

"Hey, thanks, guys," Poe said as they each took a box from his arms.

Rey pretended not to notice as he smiled directly at her. "Don't mention it," she grunted as she dropped the box onto a stack.

"That's the last of 'em," Poe said as he dropped a box of blasters into a container. He swiped the palms of his hands together. "So you're going full combat tomorrow, huh? You sure you don't want to fly up in the air with us?" He asked Rey.

"I'll feel safer on the ground, thank you," she said, averting her gaze.

Poe rested a hand on his hip. "If you say so. I hope those buckethead stormtroopers won't be too much trouble for you."

"Excuse me, I'm right here," Finn said, stepping forward and pointing to his own chest.

Poe glanced from Finn to Rey. "If Kylo Ren shows up, he'd better watch out for me—my new x-wing is designed for ground attacks."

Rey furrowed her brows. "I doubt you'd even be able to spot him from where you'll be up in the sky."

"All I have to do is lock my tracker on him, and then..." he said, smiling confidently. He picked up a blaster from the box next to him and pretended to shoot at a target outside of the shuttle. "Pew-Pew-Pew. Easy."

"I don't think he'll be that 'easy' to take out," she said, leaning against the wall of the shuttle and folding her arms. "You're underestimating him."

Poe stared at her a moment, his smile fading. "Ren still has his hold on you, doesn't he?" He said, frowning. "Rey, don't you realize how he brainwashed you with his mind-control powers? Why can't you see it? He's not good enough for you. He made you weaker."

"No, he didn't," Rey said, growing defiant, "he made me stronger."

Finn stepped in between them and held his hands up. "Look, guys, there's no sense arguing about this, Kylo Ren is just a thing of the past—"

"He will be," Poe said, looking between the two of them. He looked at Rey sympathetically. "Rey, if you see him tomorrow, just stay away from him, alright? Don't let him hurt you anymore. Promise me that."

Rey opened her mouth to speak, but she refused to agree to his promise. "I'm not going to make any promises," she said, pushing away from the wall of the shuttle and moving towards the ramp. She looked back at Poe and Finn over her shoulder before descending to the tarmac. "If I see him in battle tomorrow, I will engage him."

….

"Supreme Leader," Ben swallowed, peering up at Snoke's enormous image from beneath his brows.

"I assume you have sufficiently prepared your Knights for battle," Snoke intoned.

Ben nodded once. "Yes, our meeting on Coruscant—they are prepared," he said, chiding himself for speaking so unevenly. He needed to feign confidence.

"Good," Snoke said, settling back in his seat. "I expect that you will take Storia easily. Without any difficulties."

"Yes, Supreme Leader," Ben said automatically. There was a long pause, and Ben shifted uncomfortably in place as Snoke's eyes remained trained down on him like a stern parent.

"Isn't there something else?" Snoke asked, his voice flat.

Ben opened his mouth, confused. "No, Supreme Leader," he said, shaking his head once.

Snoke's eyes narrowed and his holographic form began to straighten in the chair. "Nothing else?"

Ben's heart raced and his skin felt prickly beneath his dark wraps. Gods, no.

"Admiral Thrawn informed me that your crew documented you were late on arrival to your shuttle on Coruscant. Do you have anything to say?" Snoke pressed.

Ben's breath caught in his throat. "Surpreme Leader, I—" he began, but he had no reasonable explanation.

"You were seen in the streets with the scavenger," Snoke declared, leaning forward to glare down at him.

Ben felt as if he couldn't breathe. Who followed us? His mind raced, disgust and anger brewing within him. Thrawn? "Supreme Leader, let me explain—"

"Save your worthless excuses until after tomorrow's battle," Snoke snapped. "This Kenobi has made you weak. You are too much drawn towards the side of the Light. We shall remedy that once and for all. It is your destiny."

Ben shook his head slowly, his face pleading. He could not bring himself to speak.

"You have no choice in this, Kylo Ren. After you take Storia, you shall reclaim the girl and bring her to Mustafar," Snoke intoned, leaning ever lower. "Bring her to me."

Ben remembered Snoke's same demand when he'd brought Rey to Starkiller Base. Even then Ben had not wanted to bring Rey to the Supreme Leader, and finding her interrogation chair empty had driven him into an enraged panic, fearful that she'd be brought to Snoke by someone else, namely Hux.

"Supreme Leader, she is of no use—The Empire is strong enough without her," Ben said quickly.

"You are correct," Snoke said, and rose up to his full height. "However, she is of use to us. It is time your Force bond with the girl fulfilled its true power."

Ben merely stared up at him, confused and shaken.

"I shall be expecting you both tomorrow," Snoke said, and the hologram began to flicker. "But should you choose to disobey, I will have the girl killed before your very eyes. You have my word."

Rey doesn't like the thought of Ben getting blasted...

And uh oh. BIG uh oh. Tensions are rising...who snitched on Ben and Rey? What's the real purpose of Ben and Rey's Force bond? And what's Ben going to do—should he try to escape Snoke's clutches or heed the Supreme Leader's warning? He could probably use some advice right about now. Anakin, where are you to counsel your grandson?! Poor lil Ben, he can never escape the Angst™ I set up for him...