A/N: Apologies for two things: The ridiculous amount of time since the last update, and...midichlorians. I'm sorry. Truly. But...give it a shot anyway?

Chapter Seven: Part I

Hux read the report, a growing frown deepening between his brows. He should have known not to trust the sleazy, marauding smugglers. They couldn't even handle the simple task of hauling children.

"Where did they last disembark?" Hux asked.

"Their ship was last tracked to the Florrum System, though the tracker was shut off or destroyed before it's next cycle began," Mitaka answered. "We have no way of knowing which planet they would have landed on."

Hux handed the report back to Mitaka and stared out the bay window. It was just a small loss, really. It was easy enough to find the children through the medibase. It would be easy to find them again, he was sure. And some thirty-odd sensitives were nothing in the thousands that existed in the galaxy. Still.

"Has the other shipment arrived yet?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. It arrived thirty minutes ago. They are unloading now, and payment should be ready for them within the hour."

Hux nodded.

"Bring me Dr. Lekk Masra."

Rey leaned over the lightsaber, her fingers deftly twisting the frayed wires into new thread. The insulator cover would be a new challenge, but first she had to fix the emitter channels. When she sliced the edge of her finger on the broken encasement, Rey had to stifle an instinctive profanity. She had an audience, after all.

Aya sat cross legged on the other side of the room, her new doll placed to sit daintily in her lap. The two watched in quiet fascination as Rey sucked the blood of the end of her finger. Rey flashed them both a quick, awkward smile. She wasn't used to children. There were only a couple of kids her own age on Jakku, and the competition for resources was fierce.

"Why do you need one of those anyway?" Aya asked. Rey looked up in surprise.

"How do you know what this is, Aya?" Rey asked her. The girl snorted.

"I'm not a peasant, you know."

Rey hid her smile by looking down at the tool in her hands again.

"I liked watching the holovids. The ones where the Jedis fought the droids with the light swords," Aya said, pointing at the saber.

"Really? I've never seen those vids," Rey said.

"Yeah, me and my brother watched them sometimes. The village had big shows they put on every month or so. Where everyone could go and watch."

Rey smiled at her. It sounded lovely. She couldn't even imagine a community that cared for its people like that. Jakku had been the opposite. Sharing was not in anyone's vocabulary there.

"You have a brother?" Rey asked her, hoping with everything in her heart that he was still alive. Aya nodded.

"Yeah. His name is Tiyo. He's older than me, but he's nice." Aya's gaze was focused in her lap, and she fidgeted with the doll's thread. "Do you have a brother? Or a sister?"

Rey's hands stilled, and the familiar pain bloomed in her chest. She of course had no idea if she had a sibling. Maybe there was someone out there who shared her blood. Would she have grown up, watching old Jedi holovids with him? Would they have fought, shared toys, meals, learned together? Your parents were filthy junk traders, who sold you off for drinking money. They're dead, in a pauper's grave in the Jakku desert.

"No, I don't," she answered. Silence ensued for the next few minutes. Rey twisted the ends of the wire together, and carefully slid them into a new insulator she cannibalized from a broken blaster. She picked up her solder and fitted a tiny tip to it, hoping it was small enough to fit into the inner workings of the lightsaber.

"Are you a Jedi?" Aya asked. Rey switched the soldering gun on and set it aside to warm up. That was a question, wasn't it?

"No. At least, I don't think so. Not yet," Rey didn't have a good answer, she realized. And Aya clearly wasn't impressed with her inability to decide. The little girl gave her a quizzical look, then shrugged.

"Well, even if you are, you don't need that light sword. You're good enough with that." Aya pointed to Rey's bo-staff. "And a blaster. You're good with one of those, too." Rey sat up, frowning in confusion.

"Yes, I am, but how do you know that?"

Aya shrugged.

"I saw you fight with the men who took us."

"But you were in the cargo hold, Aya," Rey said, her attention completely focused on the girl now. "How did you see me?" Another shrug.

"I just did. In here." Aya tapped her head. Rey held her breath for a moment, considering her next question.

"Aya, when we were making - Mya, is it? - when were making Mya, and you said the air seemed different, what did you mean?" Another shrug.

"I dunno."

Rey shuffled closer to the girl, but kept a respectful distance. She recognized the wariness in the child's stiff, hunched posture.

"Aya, there's nothing to be afraid of, with me, here." The girl looked up at her then, seeming to see through her. With a little sigh, Aya seemed to melt into herself, as her muscles relaxed. She still picked at the loose threads in Mya.

"We were alone, then we weren't. I couldn't see anyone else, but they were there." Then her eyes perked up in excitement. "Was it a ghost? Can you talk to ghosts?"

Rey released the breath she'd been holding. The girl was Force-sensitive. That was the only explanation. She'd somehow sensed the connection with Ben - with Kylo. A new, darker thought occurred to her.

"Aya, are the other kids here like you? Can they see things in their heads, or feel a presence like you do?"

"Some of them can. Some of them can do other things. One of them - I'm not telling who! - can make things move! It's so cool!"

Rey nodded, her eyes closed. The First Order was kidnapping Force-sensitive children. For what purpose, she had no idea. And she suspected Ben hadn't lied to her. Had he ever? the nasty voice in her head asked. He had no idea what was happening.

"Gods, he's a terrible Supreme Leader," Rey muttered. "Listen, Aya. I'm not going to tell anyone here about your sight, ok? But can you do the same for me?" Aya frowned, tilting her head.

"Is your ghost-talk a secret, too?" Aya asked.

"Yes. And he's not a ghost. Can you keep my secret, and I'll keep yours?"

Aya considered this for a moment. She turned Mya around and appeared to have a quiet conversation with the doll.

"Yeah, ok. I won't tell anyone."

Rey extended her hand, and the two shook on it.

"I'm hungry, Rey."

Dismay filled Rey, but she smiled anyway. Everyone was hungry. The rations that were supposed to last the fleet several weeks were dwindling fast with the arrival of 30 new, small mouths. She remembered the food Ben had sort of offered her, the bright red berries. Her face heated a little at the image in her head. Shaking it off, she stood and brushed her clothes off.

"Me, too. Let's go find something, yeah?"

Aya stood up and rubbed her stomach, groaning dramatically.

"I wish we had some mushrooms! Mommy showed me how to pick them. But I don't think they grow in the desert."

"What's a mushroom?"

"It would be advantageous if you were here, too, Kylo."

Kylo shook his head, aware that Tarak Ren couldn't see him. He didn't want to communicate over the regular channels.

"It's a small rebellion. You and Aran can deal with it. There are things here I need to take care of." He didn't mention Hux. Over the years, as Kylo had grown closer - just the thought made his skin crawl - to Snoke, he'd grown just as far apart from the other knights. They'd never been loyal to Snoke anyway, preferring to follow orders into battle. He signed off, tucking his communicator back into his belt.

What he'd said to Rey wasn't strictly speaking true. As Supreme Leader, he should know the goings on of everything in his command. The truth was, his command was increasingly questionable. Was he really just a figure-head now, a symbol of the First Order's power? Kylo clenched his fist. This wasn't going the way he thought it would.

"Are you the only one who changed your name?" Luke asked. Kylo closed his eyes. He would be driven mad before Hux had a chance to kill him. "How are my old students?"

"Here I thought I'd have some peace once Snoke was dead," Kylo said. "In answer to your question, they are alive. Beyond that, I don't know."

"You may be just as conflicted as you were before, maybe more so, but I think you have found a bit of peace. Am I wrong?" Luke asked. Kylo looked up at his uncle. Luke sat on the edge of his desk, hands clasped easily in his lap.

"Are you really here, or am I going mad?"

Luke laughed and shook his head.

"You wanna have a philosophical discussion on the existence of the soul and the afterlife, its intertwining relationship with the Force? Again?"

Kylo snorted and shook his head. He remembered, vividly, their arguments on the nature of life, death, the universe, and the Force. He'd been a curious student, Kylo thought. Never satisfied with an answer.

"Well, I'm here. But your tenuous grasp on rationality doesn't have a strong precedent," Luke said. Kylo decided to ignore him, and pulled the datapad into his lap. He unclipped a scrambler mask from his belt and plugged it in. Just another reminder of his failure as Supreme Leader: he didn't have access to the Order's communication mainframe. Its transmission and transaction histories were encrypted. He didn't think a paltry scrambler would unlock it for him, but it was worth a shot. After several long, heavy minutes, Luke broke the silence. "What's bothering you, Ben?"

Kylo looked up at his uncle in shock and bitterness.

"You ask me that now, after all these years?" he asked. Luke held his hands up and began to retreat, when Kylo did something that surprised even himself. Typing in the command prompt, he set the datapad aside to, hopefully, crack the communications database. "I feel empty. Hollowed out," he began.

Luke slowly sat back down on the desk. Kylo refused to look at him.

"Not - not thoughtless, or dispassionate." Kylo struggled to explain the vacancy, the loss he felt. "If anything, I'm angrier than I ever was." He paused, searching for the words. Luke let him. "But, for the first time, in a very long time, I feel like it's mine." He stook up and paced around the room. He wished Rey were here, and that realization made him more restless. He didn't know if she'd experienced anything like what he felt, but her honesty would have been welcome right now. Even if she told him to fly into the nearest sun. But the only other presence in the room was his uncle. His enemy. Not really his enemy. The man was dead. And yet here they were. "I keep waiting for the voice in my head to tell me what to do. Sometimes I think I hear him, but it's just me, creating what I'm expecting to hear." Kylo gave up. He found he couldn't describe what he was feeling. He reflected that he wouldn't have needed to with Rey. And what did that mean?

"Your thoughts are finally your own. Snoke is dead, and with him, the poison he fed you." Luke supplied. Kylo snorted.

"You're trying to absolve me of what I've done. I wasn't a puppet, Luke." Kylo ran his hands roughly through his hair. "I knew what I did, and I did it. I'm responsible."

Luke did move now, standing so close to Kylo that he wanted to back away. But Luke wouldn't have it. He raised his hands to cup Kylo's face. The urge to run him through with his saber was strong, even though he knew nothing would come of it.

"Yes, you are. As am I, and Leia, and Han, and Snoke. Your actions are your own, but the guilt doesn't only belong to you." Luke let him go and stepped back. "We all are a sum of many different parts, Ben. No one and nothing exists in a vacuum. No one can go back, but sometimes we need help moving forward."

"Is that why you're here?" Kylo asked. Luke shrugged.

"Maybe?" Luke dusted off the front of his robes, a gesture that belied his calm and steady demeanor. A knock on his door, broke the tension. A droid wobbled in with a tray of food. It didn't appear to see Luke, or if it did, it didn't register as an anomaly. It completed its duty, and then rolled out.

"For me? Oh, you shouldn't have." Luke gushed in mock pleasure. "Or are you expecting a guest?"

"You can leave now," Kylo said, shutting the door. He wasn't expecting anyone. And he wasn't hungry. But it might raise suspicion if he refused service, so he'd dutifully accepted the large - and ridiculously rich - quantities of food that were pressed upon him. It had nothing to do with the possibility of Rey showing up. After all, it'd been over a week since they last connected. He recalled, with the same sense of shock and awe, how she'd been able to interact with objects in the room. Distantly, Kylo thought Luke might have been able to explain how the Force was connecting them, and why. But the thought of asking him made the bile rise in his gut.

"Hmmmm," Luke nodded, one eyebrow raised in question. "You know, desert life isn't easy. Life on Jakku was probably miserable for her. When she came to me at Ahch-to, the island caretakers made a sweet cake, with nuts and honey, for a festival. I swear to you, the girl looked like she'd died and ascended to the gods." Luke laughed. "And then, of course, she verbally whipped me down for tricking her. In my defense, it was pretty funny, though." Kylo stared at him, waiting for an explanation.

"What trick? What did you do?" Kylo asked. Luke waved him off.

"Ask her about it sometime. See you later." Luke faded in a dim blue light. Kylo stared at the spot that was now vacant, half expecting, maybe even hoping, Luke's figure would be replaced with another. For several minutes he stood still, sensing no change in the air around him. Almost hatefully, he tore a piece of bread off and shoved it in his mouth before sitting down to continue his attack on the communications database.

Rose handed the documents to General Leia. It had taken the better part of a week, but she'd finally hacked the smuggler's manifest directive.

"So, their ship log indicates they were en route to a First Order planet, Vodran. However, the manifest indicates that was just a pit stop."

"That makes sense, considering Vodran is defunct, nothing but outdated storage for the Order," Rey said. All eyes turned to her in question. She swallowed thickly, realizing she'd left information slip, information she had no business having. Leia narrowed her eyes, but didn't question her.

"Well, these guys had a hit list, if you will," Rose continued. "They were provided the names and locations of all these kids. And they were getting paid for it."

Poe let out a low whistle at the number.

"That's a pretty hefty wad of cash. Where are they getting the funds?" he asked.

"Bank investments on Core worlds, hedge fund managers, politicians. There's always someone willing to sell themselves," Finn said.

"And others," Rose added quietly.

Leia tapped a finger on the documents, deep in thought.

"We're gonna need more resources, if we want to stop whatever they're planning," Poe said. Leia nodded.

"I know," Leia said. She pulled up a screen, and Rey couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her. A picture, epic in composition, of her and Finn, lit the screen. "This, along with the gripping tale of the Jedi who trained with Luke and killed the Supreme Leader, and the brave Storm Trooper who risked his life to defect and join the Resistance, is being circulated around the Outer Rim territories, as of two hours ago. More will follow. I'm giving it a few days to sink in, then we'll contact our allies and see if any sentiment has changed."

"What about the children?" Poe asked. "If the galaxy knew what the Order was doing, maybe they'd be more inclined to support us?"

"No, we're not bringing them into this," Finn said, adamant. "They are victims. We need to find their families and return them."

"It might not be that simple," Rey said softly. She bit her tongue, dreading that she was about to reveal. She'd promised Aya, but this couldn't go on.

"What are you talking about?" Finn asked. "Of course it is. Once we are able, we are taking them home."

"I can try to itemize the manifest," Rose said. "And compare it with the ships log. And some of the kids can tell us where they're from. Once we get transport, we can take them back?"

Rey shook her head.

"No, the First Order will just go after them again, I'm sure of it," Rey insisted. Finn stared at her, incredulous that she would not take his side. Now or never. "They aren't just random people - this wasn't a raiding party. They're Force sensitive."

The silence in the room stretched across the galaxy, she was sure of it. It was Poe who broke it, his voice shaking.

"Sakk told me there was an engineer, from the days of the Empire, who was constructing some kind of weapon against Force users." He stared pointedly at Leia. The general shook her head.

"I said it before, that's impossible. It's not some magic that can be turned on and off. The Force is in everything. It is everything. To create a weapon against it would be an attempt to destroy the entire universe."

Rose tapped her finger on the screen.

"Let's just think about this a minute, yeah?" Rose said. She twisted her mouth in concentration. "If it's a weapon designed to destroy the Force -"

"That's not possible!" Leia interrupted.

"Then it would be pretty stupidly small to go after something so vast and powerful by hitting one person at a time, yeah?" Rose finished. "What if it's not supposed to destroy the Force? I don't even know what the Force is, except that you can move stuff, and create illusions with it!"

Poe threw his hands up.

"This isn't getting us anywhere!"

"No but imagine! The only obstacle to your goal is some powerful, magical ability. They feared the rise of a new Jedi Order. Why? Because the Jedi could successfully oppose their regime."

"They're trying to wipe out the idea of the Jedi. Destroy any hope that a resistance could exist and win," Finn said.

"How did they know these kids are senstive? How did you know?" Poe asked Rey. She shrugged, and kept her answer as vague as possible to keep Aya's trust.

"I discovered it from one of the kids. I don't know how the First Order would know."

"Medical records," Leia said. She gripped her cane tighter, searching her memory for the stories Luke had told her. "I never trained as a Jedi, you understand?" She said to no one in particular. "Luke always tried to teach me what he knew, what he learned from Yoda. I just - my heart wasn't in it. I always felt I was more grounded here. Among my peers, my - my comrades." She sat down, and gestured for the others to do the same. "Before the empire, when my mother was Queen and the Jedi were numerous, they recruited new students via blood samples."

"What were they looking for?" Rey asked. She sat forward eagerly, unable to hide her interest.

"I don't remember what he called it, but there are organisms, sentient cells, if you will, in every living being. They are not the Force, but they are like conductors, maybe?" Leia shook her head. "My father, Anakin Skywalker - formerly Darth Vader - was said to possess the highest number of them in the galaxy, since history was known."

"So, the higher the count, the more powerful a person is in the Force?" Poe asked. "And now the First Order has a database of potential Jedis? That's, well, that's just kriffing fantastic!"

"But how's that possible?" Rey asked. "It can't be a very thorough database, can it? I've never had blood drawn outside of battle, and there is certainly no record of my birth. I'd know if there was." She felt the weight of Finn's hand on her shoulder and accepted it for what it was.

"Maybe that's not their goal? This could be just the beginning of what will amount to a mass extinction?" Rose suggested.

"But Snoke and Kylo Ren are Force users," Finn said. "And the Knights are all Force users. The most powerful people in the First Order would be wiped out!"

"Yeah, it's something else they're planning. They wouldn't destroy their own, unless it's at the command of the new Supreme Leader? Take out any potential contenders?" Poe said.

"We need more information. Poe, you're with me. Finn, Rose, you -"

Rey stopped listening. She backed out of the room, the sick feeling in her gut growing more and more with every step. Had he lied to her after all? He was the Jedi Killer, after all. How much blood must be on his hands. How much more was to come? She pushed her way past the other soldiers, catching snippets of urgent communication. Were they shouting into the void? Would anyone answer their call for support? What possible hope did they have if they were relying on a scavenger from nowhere? She shook her head, trying to erase the doubt.

"You can't go backwards, only forwards," she muttered to herself, repeatedly.

"Or sideways," a voice quipped behind her. She whirled around to find him at her back. How long had he followed her through the corridors of this little hideout? How much had he seen. He must have noticed the panic in her eyes, because he held up both hands.

"Before you run away, I've no idea where you are." In the interest of remaining truthful, Kylo continued. "I can hear what they're saying, though. I doubt anyone will answer their call. But then, so do you, don't you?"

Well and truly terrified, Rey sprinted out of the communications room, down the hall into one place she knew no one would follow her. She ripped the door to the fresher open, and sat heavily on the bathing bench. The walls were still damp from someone's previous shower, and the humidity was stifling. No one from the base would follow her in, but it seemed her intergalactic pen pal had no such qualms. He leaned casually against the sink, looming over her.

"If you'd like privacy, well, too bad right now." Kylo lifted his eyes to something she couldn't see, reaching up to twist it in his fingers.

"Why can you see my environment, but I can't see yours?" Rey asked. Kylo shrugged.

"Dunno." He looked behind him at the door. "What's outside?"

"A dormitory, full of children who are starving and scared and effectively homeless," Rey bit out, then regretted it.

"Homeless? That would pain you, wouldn't it?" Kylo mused softly. "And you? Are you starving and scared?"

"If I were? Would you feed me and tell me everything is fine?" Rey spat. Kylo said nothing, but opened the fresher door. Outside was not the dormitory of children, but his personal quarters again. But the items in the center of the room couldn't have surprised her more. Two cushions placed a few feet apart, with a platter of all manner of what she could only tell by smell was food set to the side. Two plates and two drinking cups.

"Go somewhere that you will be alone. Then come back here." It was clear Kylo meant this odd space the Force created for them, that was neither Florrum nor his ship. "I refuse to eat in a fresher, even if I'm not really in one."

Rey was dumbfounded. She'd heard the expression before, but never could grasp how someone could be "found dumb". But here she was. Wordlessly, she exited the fresher, and tiptoed carefully over the landmine of children, out of the dormitory.

Kylo Ren, master of the Knights of Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order, son of a princess, and one of the most powerful Force users in the galaxy, was nervous. Why, he couldn't say, but it was the only explanation for his new and uncharacteristic inability to sit still. She likely wouldn't return, though he'd left the door wide open for her, so to speak. Just as he was deciding exactly how humiliated he was going to feel, he heard the soft whisper of her bare feet on the floor behind him. How interesting, this progression of their connection. He hadn't heard the sizzle in the air, felt the almost physical shift of the floor beneath him when they connected. He hoped, fervently, that their newfound ability to interact with objects in the other's environment was not a momentary aberration. Then again, this whole thing was an aberration. Again, Kylo recognized Snoke's lie. There was no way he could have created this.

A brief pause in her movement, and then she stood across from where he was seated. She was wary. He'd give her that. So was he. Enemies sitting down for a meal, in an impossible place that existed between light years of distance?

"Where are you?" Kylo asked, once she sat down, then made to amend his question. He did want to know where in the galaxy she was, but that wasn't what he was asking now. Rey, however, seemed to understand that, or at least, assume.

"The Falcon."

Kylo nodded.

"Hungry?" He gestured to the table beside them. "The last time we spoke, I noticed a feather or two stuck to your hair. Porg, I'd bet." Rey looked up, alarm darkening her features. "I've known it was Ahch-to for a while, Rey. The island from your dreams, the rain, the cave you described to me. Besides, it would be so like Luke to seek solace and meaning in a place he believed to be the first Jedi temple."

Rey leaned forward, her arms reaching for his, her face contorted into fury, fear, and pain.

"Please! Please don't destroy it. Don't hurt the people there! Luke is gone, he's dead. Please!"

Kylo sat still, momentarily stunned. Somehow, he knew Rey had never begged for anything in her life. That she would do so now, give him even that smallest bargaining chip, for a small group of strangers, bewildered him. Moreso, her invasion of his space. She did that more often than she realized, he thought. What must it feel like to be so selfless?

He took her hand from his arm and gently pushed it away.

"I've no intention of going to a remote planet to murder a dwindling community of religious hermits," he said. "I've suspected the location since you confided in me about your experience there. The porg feathers only cemented that belief."

Rey leaned back slowly, but the transformation in her face was remarkable. The fear and anger were slowly displaced by a wary trust. It was at once unexpected and something precious.

"They invaded the Falcon," she said, her voice nearing normal. He snorted. "Now we can't get rid of them." She shrugged. "At least they're cute."

"You're a survivor, though. Surely even you wouldn't refuse to eat something because it's cute?" Kylo asked.

"Ah, you've never had the unique pleasure that is porg meat?" Rey said. Was that a smile? Was she smiling? "Chewie can eat it, and possibly some of the others, but humans can't digest it properly."

Kylo's mouth lifted in a half smile.

"I know. I was just curious if you'd tried yet. I doubted it, given that you're smaller now than you were when we first met."

"You've been to Ahch-to?" Rey asked, ignoring his assessment of her health. Kylo shook his head. He lifted the plate in front of her and loaded it up with a healthy sample of everything on the tray, holding it out to her. Rey hesitated, raising her hands to it slowly. Kylo was reminded of the moment she reached to him on the island, her hand, unwavering, but timid in its invitation. Now was the moment of truth. Would the plate fall through her hands the moment it left his? He let it rest in hers, moving his hand away almost as gingerly. She held it between both hands, her eyes wide and mouth open in awe.

"How is this possible?" Rey whispered. He shook his head.

"I don't know." Kylo decided to voice the revelation he'd come to. "But Snoke was a liar, among other things." Rey looked up at him sharply. He finished plating his own food, less than what he'd given her, but the same items. She hadn't touched anything yet, and he wondered if it was fear that it would disappear or fear that it was poisoned. He could alleve one of those at least. He popped a piece of fruit in his mouth. Rey watched him intently, till he swallowed. He waited to eat another, meeting her eyes. She looked down at her plate, her fingers hovering over one bit, then another.

"I don't know what some of this is, to be honest," Kylo said. "But it's not poisoned. I made sure of that."

With one last moment of hesitation, Rey grabbed a bright blue and yellow wedge and stuffed it in her mouth. Her eyes closed as she chewed, and a bit of juice ran down her chin. Kylo swallowed against the sudden dryness in his throat and forced himself to take a drink. What followed was a display of appetite so epic, Kylo wondered that she hadn't just powered through the ill effects of eating porg meat. When she was finished, she wiped her mouth and sighed heavily. Kylo realized he'd been watching her rather than eat his own, and he hurried to empty his plate.

"I should not have done that," Rey said ruefully. "Eating all that on an empty stomach." She shook her head at herself, but nevertheless seemed very satisfied.

"There's sweetwater in that glass," Kylo said. She took it and drained it. Setting it aside, she stared down at her empty plate. "There's plenty if you want more." She shook her head.

"Why?" Rey asked. Kylo paused, a piece of bread half raised to his mouth. Rey gestured to him, to the food, to the galaxy at large, maybe. "Why do this? You're literally feeding your enemy."

Kylo chewed the bread slowly, contemplating his answer. The truth was, he had no idea. He wanted to talk to her, and - though he hated to admit it - Luke had given him the idea that food might facilitate such talk.

"Are we though?" Kylo asked. "Are we only enemies?" He drank the last of the water and set it and his plate aside. "We were never just enemies, Rey."

"You've killed people, people I knew, might have known, friends. You tried to kill me. You are the leader of the First Order, the regime my friends and I are trying to defeat." Rey said this without anger. That it was just a statement of fact somehow hurt more. Anger was easier to deal with. Kylo nodded.

"I did. And I am."

"Then why?" Rey asked again, frustration seeping through her voice.

"Why have I fed you, or why did I try to kill you?"

"Both!" Rey shouted. Kylo stared down at his hands.

"Why did you eat? Why did you not kill me when you had the chance? Chances, I should say," Kylo asked instead.

"I-" Rey began but stopped. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. Any second now, one would drop. All she had to do was blink. She closed her eyes, and there it was. Kylo tracked its slide down her cheek to her chin. Furiously, she wiped it away, choking a laugh behind her hand.

"I was hungry," she said softly. "And after Snoke, after - I thought that maybe you would, maybe at some point -" Her mouth opened and closed, trying and failing to find the words. Or maybe she just didn't want to voice them.

"You thought maybe I would feed you," Kylo said softly.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

The space between them seemed to expand and contract, its own little universe of possibilities. Rey sniffed hard and wiped at her eyes.

"I wanted to talk to you," Kylo said, louder, trying to regain some semblance of control, and give her the same pretense. "I have information, for you, actually." Rey frowned.

"What?"

"I was able to obtain a list of medical records, curiously for about thirty children, give or take, all procured off various Core planets." He stood up and retrieved his holopad, handing it to her before sitting down again. "It contains a list of each planet they were abducted from."

"Why are you giving this to me?" Rey asked.

"So you see, they're not homeless after all," he continued, not answering her question. "I haven't yet discovered their purpose, but I'm getting there. But now you have a way to take them home."

Rey scrolled through the data, trying to make sense of it, but nothing leapt out at her that screamed I'M A JEDI!

"Why don't you just make him tell you? Doesn't he answer to you?" She asked absently.

"Hux knows I killed Snoke. He's ready to broadcast that information to the entire Order," Kylo said curtly. It wasn't something he'd wanted to reveal, but his frustration got the better of him.

"And yet there's a bounty on my head?" Rey asked, indignant. Kylo shrugged.

"There's not a bounty on your head, there's a bounty on your safe, intact, and alive delivery to my ship," Kylo said. There was a difference, and it was important. "I won't ask you where you are, but I will find out."

Rey went very still. It wasn't a threat, it wasn't a promise, it wasn't anything but a statement of fact.

"And what happens then?" Rey asked.

"My offer to you stands."

"And what would this New Order look like, Supreme Leader? Or would it be Emperor?" Ray sneered. "How would you create anything when you can't stop destroying what you already have?"

Kylo leaped to his feet as Rey did the same. They faced each other, the truce of a meal forgotten.

"I'm the Supreme Leader of the First Order," Kylo ground out.

"So you keep saying!"

"You are more than a scavenger from a desert wasteland -"

"Big of you, given I've heard I'm nothing!"

"And if you'd put aside your ego for a moment, you'd see how much more you could be! Everything we could accomplish! You could end all of this! We could end it all! No more war, no forgotten casualties, we could end this!" Kylo drew in a ragged breath. Surely she saw it? He'd seen her beside him in his vision that night. Why could she not understand how it was meant to be? Kylo reached for her arm, gripping her lightly. "I've tried - I've given -" He shook his head. It wasn't what he wanted to say. He licked his lips. "What do you want from me?" He asked softly, plaintive. He thought she wouldn't respond, and then the pain in her eyes hardened into anger.

"I will end this," Rey said, her voice chillingly quiet, implacable. It was as though she'd been made animate from stone. "I will end the war. The injustices you only wish would be changed? I will change them. The ruin you imagine rebuilt? I will rebuild it. The Resistance will prevail. Without you." She covered his hand on her arm with her own, only to throw it off. "I want nothing from you."

Like a gate slamming shut, the connection was severed, and Kylo was alone.