Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.

Let's get to it.

Irishman1996: They are much longer lived than humans, but are not immortal. And they do not visually grow old until the end of their lives.

MatbeK01: They have started introducing aircraft with that tech. And no, the Elves are not from two planets. They are all from Alfenon.

Rico: I have given serious consideration to introducing Tenel Ka and Allana.

tristian5: I'm not familiar with that franchise.

Chapter 37- The Mission Begins

(April 2, 2050)

Above the world of Taanab, a small transport drops out of hyperspace. In the cockpit, Rey keeps careful tabs on the controls as she guides the ship down towards the planet. At last, their plan is in motion, and Rey is trying to keep her nerve, knowing that success rides on her.

For the last month, Rey and Ben have been training relentlessly to prepare Rey for this mission, knowing she had to be prepared, while Ben worked with Terran intelligence to formulate a plan for the mission. Everyone involved in preparing for this mission knew that if it failed, they would not get a second chance for a very long time. However, at last, they felt as ready as they could be.

Signals intelligence officers had intercepted transmissions that suggested that Kylo Ren was currently on Taanab, which had been captured by the First Order long ago. Rey knew her best chance of getting brought to Snoke was to go to Taanab and try to draw Ren's attention. However, resting around one of her ankles, hidden by her boots, was a cloaked binary beacon that would allow the Alliance and Resistance to track her location, and hopefully track her back to Snoke once she had been taken to them.

Rey had borrowed a small transport ship that was part of a class used by the Alliance to shuttle mail between planets of the Alliance. It was small, easy to fly, and unarmed, but fast. She had brought nothing with her except for her new lightsaber, which she had built several months ago once Luke had determined she was ready to do so.

Rey breathes deeply as the ship descends into Taanab's atmosphere, keeping away from the

major First Order bases and areas of occupation to avoid being attacked by TIE fighters. Rey finds a large clearing in the forest where she can set down. Rey manuevers the ship down and carefully sets it down in the clearing. Rey proceeds to shut down the shuttle before she stands up from the pilot's seats and heads for the boarding ramp. As she leaves the ship, she looks back at it for a moment, her mind reminding her that this is the last chance she'll have to back out. But she instantly pushes the thought from her head and pushes on, leaving the ship behind. She is not about to abandon this mission.

Rey takes her lightsaber from her belt and begins the long trek through the forest, holding her saber at the ready in case she runs into any First Order troopers, but keeping it deactivated to avoid the light or sound attracting attention.

It takes about half an hour for Rey to break out of the forest and into the fringes of a First Order base that serves as the home base for their troops, with their barracks and main armories. Rey takes a deep breath before she strides out of the bushes.

Within moments, a quarter of stormtroopers come around the corner of a building on routine patrol. Instantly, the troopers spot her. "Hey, stop right there!" one of the troopers calls out as the four troopers start to raise their blasters.

Rey smiles as she raises the hilt of her saber, which is over twice the length of a normal saber. Then, she hits the activation buttons, and a blue blade springs to life from both ends to display its double-bladed identity. The saber looks visually similar to the saber passed down from Anakin Skywalker, but as if two elongated copies of the saber had been joined at the hilt. It's longer than just two sabers joined together, but also short enough that she can wield it in one hand if necessary. One difference is that the ends of the hilt, from the last few inches all the way to the blade emitters, instead look like the ends of her quarterstaff she had wielded for so long on Jakku, to add her own personal touch to the saber.

"Fire!" one of the troopers shouts, and the four troopers open fire. Rey grips her saber with both hands and springs into action. The two blades of her saber flash all around her as she deflects every blaster bolt fired at her. As she senses opportunities, she deflects bolts back towards the troopers. It doesn't take too long before all four troopers are dead.

Rey turns away and advances further into the base, saber at the ready. As she advances into the base, she encounters several more patrols of stormtroopers. All of the troopers are no match for Rey in such short numbers, and are quickly cut down. All the while, Rey continues moving further into the base.

Rey finally reaches a wide road leading through and out of the base that the First Order uses for their land transports to move between bases. As she walks out into the middle of the road, Rey senses a multitude of people around her. Within seconds, dozens of stormtroopers appear all around her, aiming their weapons at her as they surround her. Not just normal stormtroopers, but also heavy weapons troopers and flametroopers.

Rey looks around at all the troopers surrounding her, unmoving except for her head. Then, she hears the sound she was hoping for. The snap of Kylo Ren's lightsaber igniting. A moment later, Ren appears from behind a vehicle, lightsaber in hand. To her surprise, he is not wearing his mask.

The two stare each other down for a few moments before Kylo speaks, "Rey."

"Ren," Rey returns.

"Did you come here to kill me?" Kylo asks her.

"No," Rey responds. She then deactivates her saber and puts it back on her belt before slowly raising her hands and saying, "I'm here to surrender and put an end to all of this."

Kylo looks confused at Rey's sudden willingness to surrender, and is wary. He raises his saber and points it towards her. "This better not be a trick, or you will not live to regret it," he says.

"No trick," Rey responds.

Kylo stands there, motionless for several moments before he slowly begins to lower his saber. He then calls out to all the stormtroopers surrounding her, "Bind her! And bring me her weapon."

The troopers move carefully towards Rey, wary of another attack. But Rey makes no motion to defend herself. The troopers reach her, and one of them rips her saber off of her belt. Another one then snaps a set of cuffs around her wrists to restrain her. All though this, Rey is motionless, just looking at Kylo, who is looking back at her.

The troopers bring Rey to him once they feel confident they have her restrained. As she stands in front of him, Kylo says, "I will bring you to Snoke. And you will join your new master."

"You can try," Rey says defiantly. Kylo just looks at her before turning away and starts leading the way towards his personal shuttle, parked on the other side of the base on the base's landing pad, the stormtroopers escorting Rey behind him. All the while, Rey is silently thinking to herself that if the beacon doesn't work properly, things may not turn out too well.

(Naboo)

In orbit over Naboo, Ben is sitting on a bench within the hangar bay of the battlecruiser North Carolina. He is waiting anxiously for news about Rey. Although he knows she is well trained now, he still worries for her safety. This mission is quite a jump in difficulty beyond anything she has faced before. And he knows if he doesn't move quickly enough when the time comes, she could be lost.

Suddenly, he hears shuffling bootsteps. Ben looks up and sees that a member of the Zulu Force is rushing up to him. The man reaches Ben and says, "Skywalker, we just got word from CIC. They confirmed that the tracker on Rey has left Taanab and is moving towards the border of the Unknown Regions. We think she's on her way to Snoke."

Ben immediately leaps up. "Alright. We gotta move. Send a message to Admiral Jacobsen and let him know that they'll be clear to make the jump to hyperspace as soon as the fleet is ready. But we're leaving now," he orders. He then sprints towards a shuttle parked on the far side of the hangar, the Zulu commando following closely behind. The shuttle is a rare, highly specialized shuttle that has been produced in only limited numbers, and is used exclusively by Terran special forces. The shuttle is called the SC-90 Hades. It is one of the fastest craft the Alliance has, and has advanced stealth technology. There are only a few in Alliance service, so it was a demonstration of this mission' importance that use of the shuttle was authorized for the mission.

Ben and the commando sprint aboard the shuttle, and Ben shouts, "Get us in the air!" The pilots immediately spring into action, their hands racing across the controls as Ben and the Zulu strap in for the journey. Within seconds, the shuttle lifts off the floor of the hangar and streaks out into space. Within half a minute, the shuttle jumps into hyperspace.

Ben looks around at the strike team that will be joining him for this mission and says, "You all know that this mission cannot fail. If it does, we will not get another chance to take out Snoke for who knows how long, and we will lose Rey. We cannot fail. So let's get this done." Everyone nods, ready for this mission. The fight of their lives.

And, I'll end the chapter.

This whole mission will last for several more chapters. So you can look forward to an exciting arc here.

Next chapter will be up soon. Until it is up, please leave a review and stay tuned.