The next day, you and Rey got on a strange ship - completely alone. Just the two of you. Not even Chewbacca accompanied you. Rey said this was for the best. They would find us if we needed them, but there was no need in putting them in danger right now. The Resistance needed them. 

So you couldn't say goodbye to Finn, and that broke your heart a little. You didn't want to hurt him but it was obvious that you would be just by keeping this mission from him. But you had to. This was your fight, not his. He shouldn't have to put his life on the line time and time again. 

"Going to light speed in three, two..." Rey glanced at you. "One."

You held onto the seat and shut your eyes. A wave of nausea washed over you. It went away as quickly as it had come. The ship slowed. You breathed through your teeth.

"You feel sick with it?" she asked. 

"A little," you admitted. "But I mostly feel strange."

She nodded. "How did it happen?"

"The Emperor can influence the Force to give life in certain places, just as he can command death to do his bidding," you told her. "But this is my husband's baby, and that's all that matters to me. I will kill the Emperor before he can think about using either of them for his own personal use."

"Just because you kill him, doesn't mean Kylo Ren is inherently good," she said. "He is a monster no matter what. I know you don't want to hear that-"

"I know what he is, Rey," you said to her, "but you forget what I am. Neither of us are good. All that matters to me is that I can get my family back."

She looked at you again, and her eyebrows came together as she went deep in thought. She looked back out to the stars and imagined what it would be like if she got her own family back. 

You felt a little guilty. You already knew the answer to what she was looking for, but it wasn't your place to tell her. Besides, it was up to her to realize that her true family was the one in front of her. Finn. Poe. BB-8. Chewie. They were her family, just like Kylo Ren and this new little baby inside of you was yours. 

You smiled to yourself. She would learn. In time, she would realize.

/ / /

"There it is," she said softly. "This is where the Emperor is. We will land in the hangar. I will let them take me prisoner, but then I will use Jedi mind tricks to lead me to where the Emperor is. I will distract him. I know he wants to speak to me, too. You find Kylo Ren and lead him to wherever I am."

"How will I know where you are?" you asked. 

"You call to me, and I will call back to you." 

You sucked in a deep breath and nodded. "I wish I had a lightsaber of my own to use," you said. 

"You do," she said, unclipping the one from her belt and handing it over. You just stared at it, then her. "Come on, take it. I have more than I need, and you have to protect not only yourself, but that child inside of you. I mean it, ___. Take it from me." 

You did. 

Rey started flipping switches on the ship. "Landing now. Get ready to hide. They'll be searching the ship." 

"Okay." 

Rey got off the ship and surrendered. You hated watching her do it, even if you knew she had thought this through. She just needed to get inside - and this was the easiest way. 

You wedged yourself between a crate and the wall, knees against your chest, arms pressing the lightsaber against you. They searched the ship, and they didn't see you. As you felt it getting pulled in deeper into the hangar for further inspection, you slipped out. The ramp was rising up and you could squeeze though the space and run behind the stacks of gunfire and bombs they had prepared for shipping out on their next fleet. 

When a group of two stormtroopers walked away, you left the hangar and started down the hall. 

A stormtrooper spotted you, of course. It was inevitable. But as they shouted, "Hey! Stop right there!" and raised his blaster, you ducked and ran full force at him. 

You hit him hard, knocking both him and you to the ground. You stayed on top of him, your legs holding him down to the ground. 

"Back up! I need-" You tore off his helmet and tossed it away. 

"You might want to be quiet," you advised him, slamming the back of his head against the floor. You got up and dragged him into a closet you spotted two feet away. 

You dropped him on the ground and programmed the door to shut behind you and lock.  You turned toward the unconscious soldier and began to strip him of his armor. You put it on, thankful that it fit just fine. Before you put the helmet on your head, you quietly killed the solider with Rey's lightsaber, too afraid to let him live and potentially (inevitably, really) escape.

You left the closet with your lightsaber clipped to your belt and a blaster in your hands. You walked down the corridors now, not afraid of being seen. 

The new base of the First Order was large, and you couldn't figure out your way around. 

But when you stopped at a set of tall black doors, you knew what was behind them. 

And it wasn't Kylo. 

You walked up to them and touched your hand to them. Turning your head to the side, you pressed your ear to the door to listen. 

Murmurs. You hear murmurs. 

You stepped back. 

"Open," you breathed. 

They did. Silently. 

You stepped inside, moving so quietly, so afraid to make a sound. You were in a dark room, but further down it, down a flight of stairs, you saw a bony, ancient figure seated in a chair, facing Rey and Kylo, who were standing there together. 

"Tell me now, young Jedi girl. Did you bring her with you on this foolish rescue?" the bony figure asked. "She carries my new apprentice."

"I know what it is that she carries, and it is nothing for your use!" Rey said defensively. She looked to Kylo.

"Oh, but it is," he laughed. "She will give birth to that child and I will take it from her. I will dispose of her and of you, Kylo Ren, and I will begin a new chain of Skywalkers."

"You will do nothing of the sort," Rey said. 

"I will, foolish child," he said, and he stood from his seat. "Using the child, and using you." He pointed to her. 

"What are you talking about?" she hissed. 

"You. A Skywalker. Formed in the womb of a junk trader by my own hand! I made you with the same blood of Anakin Skywalker. I made you, child."

"Liar," she whispered. 

"It's true," he said. "you know it in your heart to be true." 

"My parents sold me for drinking money," she said. "That's what-"

"How else would two ordinary junk traders create a child with the power to match Anakin Skywalker himself? You could feel it in your blood. You are a child of the dark."

Rey didn't speak. She was shaking. 

"Thank you for bringing her here to me," he now said to Kylo. "You have finally served me well. Now I will have your sithtroopers find your wife, and we will place her in a prison cell until she is ready to deliver the child. And as for you, well. You brought me the girls. I fear that's the only use I had for you, my apprentice. It is time for you to die."

His hands raised, and Kylo flew backwards into the air. He hit the ground hard on his back, flipping over and finally landing on his stomach. You started down the stairs. 

He looked up, eyes wide, and pushed himself up off the floor with his palms-

"Useless!" cackled the Emperor, and once you saw the lightning spark from his fingers, you leaped in front of Kylo. 

"Don't!" you cried, and you felt the electricity hit you and knock you backwards. 

It went through your armor. 

It seeped into your skin. 

It made your body convulse as you fell, almost in slow motion, until your back hit the ground right in front of Kylo. 

Your eyes were shocked open beneath the helmet, and you couldn't find it in your strength to even blink again. You felt yourself fade away.