Rey stood in front of her Jedi Knights that she'd taken with her to Hapes. They blinked at her, staring at her in disbelief. Sorscha Martigan glared at Rey with a look that could've killed her.
"You mean to tell me that you've been with the enemy all this time?" Sorscha's voice echoed through the empty conference room within the Hapan Palace.
"Ben Solo has never been our enemy," Rey said. "The Knights of Ren have not done the crimes attributed to them in the past two decades. There is another group that has been using their common traits to impersonate them. They've been burning places, stealing Force-sensitive children."
"That doesn't erase that the Knights of Ren are still the First Order's attack dogs," said one of the male Jedi.
"They were Luke Skywalker's last students," Rey said. "They helped give advice that created the Gray Order of Jedi Knights."
Uneasy silence hung over the room. Rey felt Ben's presence in the Force surrounding her, an unconscious act of protection. He was still at Jaina's beside, entertaining her while Rey did this. Her confession.
"Why are you telling us now, about all of this?" Sorscha asked.
Rey took a deep breath. She'd confessed one of the hardest parts, the Force Bond. But this was the secret she'd clutched so tightly to her heart. She struggled to make the sounds she needed to. She closed her eyes, and formed the words.
"Because Jacen was being threatened by Snoke," Rey said. "Snoke wants revenge. On Ben Solo. Because I didn't kill the Supreme Leader. Ben did. For me. Ben Solo is Jacen and Jaina's father."
It was like Alderaan had exploded all over again. There was shouting and whispering, and outrage flew everywhere.
"Do they know?" Siri Tachi, a practical blonde Jedi stood up as she asked the question.
"Now they do," Rey said. "Jaina found out just an hour ago. Snoke revealed it to Jacen five days ago."
"You mean to tell me that your children are heirs to an empire?" Sorscha Martigan yelled. "Why should we follow you?"
"I'm getting to that!" Rey barked. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to remain calm. "I will lead one last mission as your Grandmaster. After this, if you still want me to step down, I will."
Siri folded her arms over her chest. "What's the mission?"
"We're going where the kidnappers went," Rey said. "Snoke is going to be with them. His ghost has gained too much power. We need to figure out how to seal him away. We need to investigate the group impersonating the Knights of Ren. And we need to retrieve their hostages, Jacen and Princess Maia."
The outrage in the room went to silence. Siri looked about them, in dismay.
"You're going to abandon our master because of her compassion?" Siri demanded. She looked to Rey and saluted her. "I'll follow you anywhere, Lady Rey. Your compassion is to be admired, not shunned."
Siri then looked about the other Jedi. "You should be ashamed of yourselves! Look into your own hearts! Shadows are there, aren't they? Yet did Lady Rey turn you away? No, she helped you! She helped you find the light again! And she did the same for a man you thought a monster! On my planet, such kindness would be revered, not treated like a dirty scandal!"
Sorscha stood up. "You misunderstand so much, Tachi."
"Careful, you two," Rey warned, reaching for her lightsaber on her belt as the two women drew closer, their faces twisting into angry unrecognizable grimaces.
"Then explain it to me, Martigan," Siri said, her rather adorable face scrunched up from her building anger. Her tone was as cold as Hoth, despite the obvious anger.
"Tell me you haven't suffered under the First Order's regime!" Martigan yelled.
"I'm from Deyer, of course I suffered!" Siri yelled. "But I've been keeping up with the Holos from both sides! The First Order truly is changing under Ben Solo's leadership— haven't you seen that?"
"It hasn't changed enough," Martigan sneered. "Besides, no matter how benevolent a dictator is, he is still a dictator!"
"Maybe that's better than a Senate that is so busy playing childish games that it can't stop what's right in front of its nose until said nose has been broken!" Siri shouted.
"Both of you, calm down now!" Rey shouted, and she ignited her lightsaber.
Both women jumped, and separated. Rey put away her lightsaber.
"That's better," she said. "But we can fight about political ideologies once we've solved this crisis. I want everyone to change into practical clothes, get a quick meal, and meet back up in the Flight hangar with our shuttle. Ben can sense where Jacen is, and he said he's in Vader's castle on Vjun."
"Vjun?" Sorscha's green skin went pale. "The planet with the acidic rain?"
"The very one," Rey agreed. "So get ready. This is about to be a very long mission."