"Where are you going?"
Rey calls out, but she gets no response as Kylo Ren retreats to his personal ship.
Along the way he summons his saber which comes soaring over the cliff it was kicked over. His body is rejuvenated but he's never felt so weak.
He punches the button to recall the ramp, slamming the door in Rey's face as she had once done to him.
Outside, a thoroughly confused Rey, huffs, hands on her hips. What in the world?
She's carrying her pack that Ben left behind in the cave.
Rey sits cross-legged before the shuttle and her stomach rumbles. She figures, she may as well take the time to eat and think, pulling rations and water from a compartment in the bag.
Rey can tell that Ben is running away from what happened, whatever that was, fleeing from her like he did when she first breached his mind on star killer base. She gets comfortable. She'll wait for him to emerge, saying a prayer that he doesn't just blast off right here and now without her.
…
The day had started well enough for Kylo Ren.
He had awakened first.
A deeply curious and intellectual creature, he had poured through those texts, their pages ancient and delicate. The dialect was difficult to decipher but was similar enough to his teachings at the Jedi academy that he could power through it.
He devoured its contents, surprised that the original intent of the mastery of the force, was more open and complete than what it would become. The emphasis was on the whole… the light and the dark embraced together…
It only reinforced what he already knew to be true. It solidified his stance that the Sith, and the Jedi, and the rebels all needed to die…
Speaking of rebels… he was sure the beautiful but battered quasi-Jedi laying beside him would survive. He could feel her heart beating. That she was not dead was an intense testament to her power. He marveled at her strength, admired the vicious grit she had shown in her defiance of Snoke, in slaying the Praetorian guards, in defying him…
He frowned and looked back at the books.
She didn't deserve his good will. Not after declining to rule the galaxy with him. After abandoning him, too weak and sentimental to slay him, leaving him in a position of power he never wanted for himself alone…
When she woke he reveled in her delirious and surprisingly loud thoughts. She was too injured to realize she was telegraphing some pretty interesting intel – that he knew she'd never admit to with her full faculties about her.
He let it swell his ego, but he knew they had important things to accomplish if he didn't want to have to murder her. He chose to ignore it and get them back on track.
He had not anticipated what would happen with the healing technique he learned about… but he was desperate.
Not only had it healed their physical wounds, but it had given her unfettered access to every painful memory that had wounded his soul and poisoned his heart. Before he realized it… she was already inside…then there was the flash of light. He was flooded, left so drained and weak that he nearly drowned.
Kylo Ren grasps a console with shaking hands. The memories that were once the source of his powerful rage felt dulled… not only that…it felt like a black veil had been pulled back from his eyes. He was suddenly awash with memories – repressed and twisted memories that were now clear – painfully clear, unbearably pure, heart-wretchingly unaltered.
Not only did he recall his parents' worried whispers, but Han's piloting lessons, Han ruffling his hair in pride… not only his violent outbursts, but his mother holding him after his tantrums, soothing him, promising to always love him… IT HURTS TOO MUCH!
Everything he had hidden away in little compartments in his mind were raw and wretched open.
What had she done to him? He gasped as rare tears fell from his eyes. He couldn't do this, he had to focus on something else.
He pings the com in his ear. "Hux!" Comes his high, trembling voice. He schools himself quickly. "Hux, report."
If he hadn't been so distracted, he would have noticed Hux's nervous reply, "Supreme leader, a moment, yes, Supreme Leader, how may I serve you?"
"Give me a full report. What requires my attention?"
Hux dives into their latest movements in a number of military pushes, most systems are turning themselves over while others have put up a fight. Hux sends action reports to Ren's data pad. The Attendants want to talk about the next phase of their domination plans. Repairs on the Supremacy and all its on board industries are on schedule…
"And the rebellion?"
"An insignificant rabble who all systems are refusing to aid. Latest intelligence is that they've made contact with Bespin. The system is being monitored. If they arrive, they'll be destroyed"
There's a strange pang in Kylo's chest.
Hux adds gingerly, "Is there progress in your… negotiations?"
Before he can think up a response, Ren simply ends the transmission. Time was running out, he was sure the cunning Hux was using this unsupervised time to some devilish end… he needed to return and command with authority…but he was feeling anything but powerful right now.
—-
Hux breathes a sigh of relief.
Behind him stands a collection of fellow generals - including a dozen in holo-displays. They have just finished watching the records from the elevator. The tender whispers between their Supreme Leader and the wretched scavenger Rey had elicited some satisfying gasps from the gathered military leaders. And not only that!
Some very interesting news was gleamed from Snoke's personal records.
Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren and Supreme Leader of the First Order… had one other very surprising secret title.
Ben…Solo… son of Rebellion General Leia Organa. The same Leia who had escaped thanks to her son's supposed incompetence on Crait… or was he actually protecting them?
The generals are convinced and have signed off on a plan to end this unnatural reign in the most palatable, marketable way possible. A triumphant cruel grin plays across Hux's thin lips.
"Thank you kind gentlemen for your courage and action in this most grave matter. We'll move the destroyers away. Bring in the black-ops with the weapon."
—
On board his shuttle, Kylo Ren has emerged from his refresher, donning a clean black tunic, his arm bands and a new, non-tattered pair of leather pants. The scalding hot water has done little to clear his head.
He's moving out into the small sitting area when he hears it…
Mechanical breathing somewhere behind him.
He spins around but it's gone.
Then it's there again…and the faint cry of Anakin.
Ren spins again, "Who's there?"
In the corner of his eye he sees a blue haze…a wizened old man in Jedi robes stands before him with an ethereal glow around him.
Kylo takes a step back, his eyes wide in shock. His mind races but he knows what this must be. He's heard enough of Luke's stories to know that this has to be a force ghost.
"Who are you?"
"An old friend of your grandfather. And your name sake, apparently," the old man says warmly with a smile.
"Kenobi…" Ben whispers.
"Yes, we've been trying to reach you Ben. But it wasn't until young Rey purged the darkest blockages in your soul, that we were able to get through."
"What do you want dead Jedi?"
This brings an ethereal chuckle from Obi-wan.
"You're a stubborn boy. Yet clever. Full of fearsome vengeance, yet that hero's heart inside of you refuses to die. The force rages in you heir of Skywalker. I'm here to help."
Ben scoffs, absorbing what he's hearing but keeping his emotions even.
"I have no need for the dried up wisdom of a dead hypocrite. Thanks to me, you'll all be ghosts soon."
Obi-wan considers this and seemingly takes a seat on a black bench.
"Hmm," he says rubbing his beard, "is that why you were performing a rebirth ritual with a very naked Jedi lady friend just a short time ago."
Ben sputters angrily…"What?"
"Well the technique is also called rebirth, but then, you knew that. Just pretended you didn't quite read that part correctly, isn't that right?"
Ben can't respond. His mind goes blank.
"There is little time Ben, but there is something you need to know. There is a force you possess that both the Jedi and the Sith tried to suppress, it is this power that brings balance to the force, time and time again in it's own messy way. You and young Rey have the power to make all things right, and teach a new generation of Jedi about this path. A new… order if you will. Does that sound about right?"
"Spit it out old man, say your piece and be gone!" Ben shouts..
Obi-wan shows him instead. Ben is suddenly catapulted into a memory.
A young man, tall, dark and handsome like himself stands before a beautiful and heavily pregnant woman on a platform above a volcanic planet. He watches the scene play out.
"…I won't lose you like I lost my mother…"
"…Anakin, all I want is your love…"
"…I'm becoming more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed and I'm doing it for you, to protect you…"
"…come away with me, leave this all behind…"
"…together you and I can rule the galaxy, make things the way we want them to be…"
"…Anakin you're breaking my heart…"
Then another person emerges, accusations are made, he's strangling the young wife he had just sworn to protect, dropping her and their unborn children to the metal floor.
Ben finds himself kneeling, gasping at the scene before him. Then it's gone.
"Anakin's fear of losing Padme twisted his heart, seduced him to seek power, until his love no longer mattered anymore, and he gave himself over to the Sith."
"You're mother and uncle were born but their mother died, just as Anakin had foreseen. Only, it was by his own hand."
"Why are you showing me this?" Ben demands.
"So, you can understand. Love destroyed the Jedi order, it also destroyed the empire when Darth Vader chose to save his son and kill the Emperor. Both the Jedi and the Sith rejected the sentiment, but it's power is far greater than either order can contain."
Ben was feeling sick.
"Why isn't my grandfather here?" He demands, changing the subject.
"He is… in a way. Certain energies, tools of the force, tend to return to the physical world when it is thrown off balance. But it's so difficult as flesh and blood, so easy to get lost…"
"What are you saying?!"
"Rey *IS* Anakin. Anakin *is* Rey, and you need to help her."
Stunned silence follows. Ben hears nothing but his beating heart.
"This is a joke…"
"Yoda isn't here, so, sadly, no."
More silence as Kylo tries to grasp the absurd things that are being said.
"You tried to help her then too " … Ben is shown a vision of Padme, pleading for Anakin to open up to her, "This time, the force has made you equals."
"I will not listen to Jedi lies."
"Think on it young one. For now, you have to hurry, there's not much time, you must flee…"
"Why?"
"Above the planet, reach out and see what your general is doing. You must act quickly and decisively, it comes down to you now, Ben."
Then a wisp of something floats between them. Ben thinks he sees A scoundrel's smile, smells a musty scent, feels the pressure of a hand on his shoulder.
Han's voice, "I'm here son."
Tears he doesn't realize are streaming down his face. Ben reaches out with his feelings and indeed, they are about to befall a major "accident" at the hands of Hux. They must escape… TOGETHER… NOW!
The ghosts vanish.
He lights his saber and hacks at a console beside him, this time with purpose.
—
Rey jumps as the ramp opens.
She stands and brushes off her pants, only to feel herself flying towards the shuttle. She's too caught off guard to react. She soars up, landing with a thud against Ben's rock hard chest. He secures her with a large arm around her waist, as he chucks broken electronics down below with the force.
"We have to go."
"Ben!?"
And she's being slung over his shoulder. He uses the force to hit the button to lift the ramp and jogs with a highly confused would-be jedi to the cockpit, "What the hell… Ben, what's going on?" She kicks and reaches down, pinching him hard on the ass!
"OW! CRAZY WOMAN!"
"Put me down!"
He dumps her into a co-pilots chair and begins a launch sequence.
"For the love of… what the kriff is going on Ben Solo? Where are you taking me? Do I have to kill you? Is this another kidnapping?"
"Shut up and prime the hyperdrive or we're going to die."
Wide-eyed she looks at him just a moment before deciding this is a real threat. She starts throwing switches as he lifts off… and that's when she's sees it… a blinding red streak of energy heading for their location.
"Force help us."
"Good idea," Ben says as he punches the thrusters.
Fire and chunks of earth rattle their shuttle, flames licking over their viewport. They're just about to be overwhelmed when he sends them into lightspeed. They don't appear as so much as a blip on the First Order scanners.
—-
A sweating, nervous Hux stands over his officers, "Did we get them?"
"No life forms detected sir. The shuttle's beacon is at the center of the blast. There's no way they could have gotten off world. Targets eliminated sir!"
"Yes!" Hux pulls in his fists allowing himself a triumphant display that is certainly below his station.
He straightens his uniform and walks back off the bridge, where the Attendants are waiting with a golden cloak. They throw it over his narrow shoulders.
—-
They're spinning through space.
Blue and white lights streak past them. They stare at each other panting for a long time.
She's the first to break the spell.
"Why did they try to kill us?"
"A coup. Looks like you'll get the chance to help me kill Hux afterall."
He seems to be taking being unseated as Supreme Leader rather well.
"Won't they track us?"
"I dumped the tracker and comms. They should think we're dead."
"Just like that? How can they do this to their own leader… How did you know it was coming?"
This he doesn't answer, shielding his mind from hers.
There was his trusty anger building again. He relished it after feeling so drained by the events of the spring. It was all her fault, he hadn't agreed to help her yet, hadn't decided if he'd keep her alive, those damn ghosts couldn't control his destiny. But he supposed he was alive because of them… they were alive… for now.
Like it or not, if he wanted his position of power back, he was going to need Rey's help and this time, he would ensure that she'd never leave his side again.
He knows where they need to start.
"You'll need a new saber…"
"What?"
"If we're going to bring the First Order down."