╔════ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐎𝐍𝐄

'𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠' ═══════╝

━━ -ˋˏ★ˎˊ- ━━

 . . . AJAN KLOSS, CADEMIMU SECTOR

𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒, 𝐑𝐄𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐓 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐄𝐑 to observe the comings and goings of the base from her little alcove.

Finn often sat with her, trying to read some of the Jedi texts and largely becoming distracted and then also distracting Rey until they dissolved into conversation. It was amazing to think that a year and a half ago, they had no idea who the other person was.

He had become more and more curious about the Force. It started with asking Master Skywalker offhanded questions. With time, though, Finn started joining Rey on the training course, meditating, and largely becoming more entwined with the Living Force as each day passed. At this point, he was chasing his own path towards becoming a Jedi. And then there was Jacen Syndulla, who swore he had inherited his father's abilities. Rey believed him in the skeptical way that she had always believed in people.

There was part of her that knew Poe was right. She should be out there, doing her due part to help the Resistance on the outside. It was safe on Ajan Kloss tucked away from the rest of the galaxy. The hole that Lyra had left in the Resistance had finally healed over like an old scar; Rey was at peace with these people.

And watching them never got old.

The main intel transfer center was stationed just inside the cave. It was a round holo desk with a large retractable lamp hanging above, and it was where Poe spent most of the time he wasn't up in the air. He had become restless, and Rey and Finn often speculated whether or not he actually slept.

Currently, Poe stood looking over Leia's shoulder as they waited for the information to decode. Artoo was plugged into the computer, lights flashing and beeping with steady urgency. Connix hovered nearby with Rose, heads bent together in discussion.

"You know," Leia said wryly, regarding him with the same slight exasperation she usually did. "If you keep breathing over my shoulder, it might actually make the machine run slower, Commander."

Poe took a step back. "Sorry, General."

Jacen Syndulla sat on a crate nearby with his green-haired head between his knees, looking distressed.

"What happened to you?" Poe asked as if noticing him for the first time.

"I tried training for about fifteen minutes with Rey," Jacen groaned.

"He got his butt kicked by a tree," Rey said smugly.

Not quite ready to drop their argument, Poe said, "The same tree you dropped on my droid?"

Rey frowned. Though she still respected Poe, she was no longer intimidated by him. "Different tree, actually."

Leia shot him a look of disapproval, but the machine beeped before she could say anything. Thankfully so because they might have started bickering all over again. Poe was dangerously close to getting written up. If he wasn't doing enough good to outweigh some of his more reckless decisions, he would have been demoted again.

They needed leadership. Especially since Wedge Antilles had made contact with the Inferno Squadron a week ago. Soon, a fresh transport ship of pilots would be arriving on Ajan Kloss. Wedge vouched for the troops, but it was clear that they had all come from backwater spaceports, only keen on fighting for fighting's sake. Wedge was over the moon to know that Poe would be training them.

Leia yanked the cord out of the machine without another word.

"What was it?" Poe asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"An omen," Leia responded cryptically, eyes darting between them. "Jacen, go with Dameron. Spread the word, I need everyone gathered in the next hour. Tell Major Tailor I'm going to need a dry run on logistics for getting the Falcon up and running within the next cycle."

"I don't think you want me asking Reeve about the Falcon right now."

"I can go," Rey volunteered. It was a truce, and Poe looked to her appreciatively.

"No, I need you to stay here," Leia said cryptically. "I need to discuss some things with Luke before we move forward. This--" she glanced once at Rey with unmistakable pity "--is the point of no return."

Poe waited until Leia's back was turned to mouth, what's that all about?

Rey shrugged. No clue.

Only slightly panicking, Rey followed the General to the secluded side of the cave where Leia's office was. It was a high-powered command module obscured by a small wall without a door. Not much privacy, but enough.

Luke was waiting for them. He smiled in greeting, but Rey's attention was captured by the other person in the room.

Lyra was bathed in the light of a flickering full-color WANTED hologram. It was a New Republic headshot of the former officer. Her hair was braided back tight to her head, and she wore a formal uniform with the commander insignia. The holo distorted her with an inhuman, green tint. This was an old image, the same one the First Order had been circulating for the past year.

It looked nothing like any Lyra that Rey had ever known. The First Order had made her into a myth, and the Resistance had started to turn her story into a legend. Both sides had reduced her to a part of the past. It was seldom that anyone spoke of her coming back anymore.

Lyra had been someone to count on, to look up to, to talk to about the things that kept Rey up at night. She had seen straight through her on Jakku. The first person to make Rey feel visible. 

"Did we get any information on her?" Rey asked, not even daring to hope. It felt silly now after so long.

"Not from the contact, no." Luke switched the holo screen over, unwilling to look at it any longer. "The transmission that Poe and Finn uncovered was in relation to Palpatine. He's alive, and he's creating what his followers have dubbed a Final Order. It's slow going as far as we know, but one thing is for certain. Once it's complete, it's going to be near impossible to stop."

Without even thinking Rey responded with, "Well, shit."

Luke had the decency to give a half hearted laugh.

Rey took a steadying breath as she looked between them. "What does this have to do with me? Why not tell me when you tell everyone else at the meeting later?"

"Your parents--" Leia faltered. "--they didn't abandon you. They were trying to protect you. To shield you from the man who was hunting them. Your grandfather."

Darkness descended from darkness, Rey thought. Everything she was, explained. The way it nagged at her, the pull to the darkness that Kylo Ren wanted to exploit. The push towards the shadows that she had always felt, the way she knew everyone would have been safer if she was still tallying the days in a turned-over AT-AT.

"Palpatine," Rey said, looking up into the silence of their expressions. "I'm a Palpatine."

Luke seemed slightly relieved that he hadn't needed to be the one to say it. "Yes."

"So I'm descended from–from an evil darker than anything the galaxy has ever known?"

"In short, you would be right," Luke told her. "But you're also your parent's daughter, and more than that you're Rey. This galaxy has always placed too much value on family lines. Even the supposedly good ones run awry.

"What I'm trying to tell you is the same thing I've told you for months. That pull to the darkness? We all feel it. It isn't something foreign and strange that you need to hide until it becomes something more of a problem. Being descended from one who does evil has untellable outcomes," Luke explained.

"Look at our family," Leia swallowed. "When the darkside presents us with choices, it's what we decide that forges who we are. No legacy can decide that for us."

"So that's why we wanted to tell you now. You don't need to feel like you're alone, Rey. You never are."

Rey gave a stiff nod. They were right. They were so right, but Rey still couldn't ignore that foreboding inkling in her chest. The need to drift away onto an open sea just to protect those she loved. After Lyra left, she had begun branching out. She had forged a place within the Resistance ranks. She had friends, people to fight alongside, and a boy that she really really liked who was never too far away.

And all of that would be gone if they found out who she was. Is this what Lyra had felt? This same fear? Is that why she had disappeared?

"Right," Rey said as steadily as she could. "So what are we going to do about the Final Order?"

Leia gave Rey's attempt at bravado a skeptical glance. The topic would be dropped, but only for the time being. "There was more information that we received from the spy. It was a lead to a Sith Wayfinder. You've been reading through all of Luke's old journals, so I'm sure you're no stranger to the concept."

"A Wayfinder?" Rey repeated, looking to Leia. "Where exactly do we think Palpatine is?"

"Exegol. It appears on no star charts," Leia continued, gesturing to the half-lit holo to her left. The computer kept trying to run the navigational directions, but the code came up short each time.

"I can't explain it," Luke said, shaking his head. "Those were the answers that Lyra went looking for, ones she may never have found. There's no telling where Exegol is in relation to our galaxy."

"But if we can find her?"

"That is an impossible task," Luke interrupted, grief fracturing in his blue eyes. His expression turned apologetic. "There are some people who won't be found until they want to be, no matter how long that is."

Rey huffed and rolled her eyes. "So you're chasing leads based on the old Jedi texts. All of your old information. Weren't you on Pasaana when your trail went cold?"

"Yes," he answered. The holo changed again, this time to a map of a desert planet. "And with this new information from our contact, that's why we're picking up right where I left off."

When Rey left the room, she thought everyone would be staring at her. Look here, the granddaughter of Palpatine! She's evil! And yet, no one even sent her a second glance.

Except Poe, who rushed over to her like he had been waiting for her to finish talking to Luke and Leia. Finn was right behind. She should have known. Most times she found it funny that they were always chasing her around for more information, but in this moment, it only made her irritation sharpen.

"So?" Poe asked.

She shook her head. "Can't tell you. Leia is going to tell everyone later."

"Please?" Finn asked.

Rey couldn't stop herself. Especially for him. "It isn't good. Palpatine is back, Snoke was just his front."

Finn straightened and his expression became impassable. "What?"

"Let me get this straight," Poe repeated, still in shock. "Somehow, Palpatine returned?"

"Shut up!" Rey lamented, elbowing him in the side. "You're so damn loud. I wasn't meant to tell anyone. And it's not somehow, there's a reason for everything."

Poe rolled his eyes at her Jedi-esque explanation. "That so?"

Later, the rest of the Resistance took the news no better.

Leia stood at the head of the group, Luke standing directly at her right. Everyone on base was gathered to hear her talk. Even the group of technicians headed by Reeve had paused their work on the Falcon for the time being. The cave was jam-packed with people, which was always a reassuring sight. After losing so many fighters, they had started to get back up towards their regular numbers.

"Do we believe this?" Mione asked, cocking her head to the side. "This could be First Order conjecture. I'm not sure I believe everything these spies are telling us." She shook her head with disbelief.

Luke rose from where he was sitting on a crate to stand. "This is very real. The First Order is building a fleet, and what's more is that we have a chance to stop it in its tracks. It isn't going to be an easy road, but this is what we've been fighting for all our lives. A chance to see the end and come out on the other side."

Leia nodded solemnly. "We have a contact on the Outer Rim who's put us on a trail. Between them and the mole within the First Order, we have a lead and a good idea of how far the First Order is ahead of us. In terms of searching for Exegol, the Supreme Leader has not yet reached it, either."

Supreme Leader. Leia's voice didn't break when she said it, but Rey knew it couldn't be easy. Not everyone knew it was her son, and those that did were smart enough not to bring it up. Especially now, when Kylo Ren was at the top of the power chain.

"So where are we headed?" Poe asked. Everyone turned to look at him. The newer recruits saw him like a god, and sometimes, like now, it was easy to picture. So self assured.

Leia turned to the holo desk behind her. At the flip of a switch, an orange-tinged planet rose up into the lights. White and gray clouds swirled in the troposphere, and it appeared like every other forsaken desert planet.

"Pasaana. This is the first step on a mission to the end."

-ˋˏ★ˎˊ-

𝐏𝐎𝐄'𝐒 crew was small. Two droids, Rey, Finn, and Chewie.

Absolutely perfect, except he would have rather traded Threepio for Chopper. At Leia's insistence, the golden droid would be coming with them.

And Threepio was already making it everyone else's problem.

"Oh my," Threepio stuttered, pacing back and forth on the packed terra outside of the ramp. "Has anyone taken into account the amount of fuel needed in case we must make an emergency return? Major Tailor, I did not see that tallied in your calculations."

Reeve, who was finishing up repairs on the Falcon's fuel line, turned her head towards the droid. "Are you questioning my calculations, Threepio?"

"I merely ask questions of it."

"That is the definition of questioning," Reeve shot back, unhooking one of the lines and wiping her hands on her pants. "Say, Threepio, did you wanna see the calculations I did for the wind shear required to toss you off the back of the Falcon? It'll make you fly like a little golden kite."

Threepio was appalled.

"I do!" Poe said cheerfully. "Might come in handy."

Taking that as his cue to leave, Threepio hobbled up the ramp and into the Falcon, muttering to himself.

Reeve sighed. "I'm so glad you're taking goldenrod with you, Dameron. Helps me out a ton."

"Anything to help," Poe said. "In all seriousness, is the ship going to be ready to depart on time? I can ask Leia to change our departure slot if you need me to, I know I did a number on the ship," he muttered in apology, scratching the back of his neck.

Reeve shook her head. "No, we're all set. Rose is running final diagnostics, and the rest of the crew is getting everything loaded back on board. Just, try not to do anything too crazy this time."

"No promises," Poe smiled.

Her brow creased as she considered her next words with care. "This is gonna sound stupid, but the anonymous contact in the Outer Rim, the one no one can trace?" she trailed off.

"Yeah?" He asked, waiting.

She met his eyes. "You don't think it could be her, do you?"

His shoulders tensed. Three months ago when they had received the first transmission from the contact that they had all dubbed as the Phantom, he had allowed himself to hope. Briefly, he had entertained the idea that the person on the other end of those transmissions was her. But after so long, he found that it was easier to admit it was his imagination getting away from him. It was now running into the second year that Lyra had been gone from the Resistance, and a full year since Poe had seen her in Coronet City.

In answer to Reeve, he said, "No, I don't think it is."

She frowned. "You used to be optimistic."

"I learned my lesson," he replied easily, not a hint of bitterness in his tone.

Reeve gave a long sigh. "Everyone used to be so hopeful that she was coming back. Is it so terrible that we've given up on her too, the people that knew her best?"

"It's what Lyra would have wanted, I'd imagine." He laughed. "Let people bet against her. She always did have a thing for bad odds."

Reeve wiped her hand on her forehead. Back to the task at hand, she said, "Fuel line's all set, my job is done. I promised my girlfriend I would eat lunch with her today, so I need to actually keep that promise this time. I leave the Falcon in your somewhat capable hands."

"Tell Jess I say hi."

"I always do!" She called over her shoulder, grinning.

Poe was already dressed to leave. He was wearing clothes specifically picked for a mission into the desert. His white utility shirt was rolled up the elbows, and considering most of the mission would be on foot, he was also outfitted with a bandolier that contained the little things he needed to keep on his person. Unlike the last time he had traversed a desert, he was dressed for it.

He found Rey at the edge of the base where the green-hued leaves of the jungle overtook the man-made material of their base. Sunlight spilled through the trees, washing everything gold. No rain today, just a light breeze making its way through the hazy sunlight.

"Hey, we should get goin'," he said, coming up behind her.

She turned with a blank look on her face.

"What is it?" He tried.

"Nothing," Rey said with a shake of her head, forcing herself to smile. "I'm ready to go."

He noticed she had the lightsaber clipped to her belt again, which was a good sign. She went through phases of carrying it and abandoning it, like she wasn't quite sure what to do with the weapon. With how long she had been training with Luke, it was a wonder that she had barely used it in a fight.

"Where's Finn?" Rey asked.

"Probably on board," Poe told her. Then, with a smug smile, he said, "Why? Were you looking for him?"

Rey's eyes went wide. With a very nervous laugh, she said, "What? No. No, I just wanted to make sure we leave on time."

"Right," Poe said languidly.

After Finn had come to him asking advice for what to do when it came to Rey, Poe had made it his personal mission to instigate both parties. It was his way of helping the relationship along.

He followed her on board, knowing that she would take up the pilot's chair. If Chewie was flying copilot, no way in hell was Poe going to be allowed anywhere near the controls.

With smug satisfaction, Poe noticed Rey blush as she stepped past Finn. Progress.

"Alright," Poe told his small crew, punching in the rest of the navigational data. Whoever Leia's contact was knew their stuff. The coordinate path would lead them away from any known First Order blockades. "We're ready to go."

The Falcon rose up above the treeline steadily. Poe never had much of a chance to admire the sight below, always too focused on takeoff and landing procedures to look around him. It was beautiful. Pilots rushing back and forth on the landing strip, scouts perched in the trees, and the sweeping reassurances of a base filled with people.

-ˋˏ★ˎˊ-

. . . PASAANA, EXPANSION REGION

𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐀𝐀𝐍𝐀 was no paradise. Endless rock and sand, it looked like a cleaved-in-half remnant of a place that was once beautiful.

"If I have to go to another sand-covered planet, I'm going to burn it all until it turns into glass," Lyra muttered, pulling the scarf higher up on the bridge of her nose to rest right above her scar.

If it wasn't for the fact that a fire was burning her from the inside out, Lyra would have received a sunburn from a day traipsing the dunes in the blistering heat. Nascha swore she wasn't roasting under the black and red accented fabric of her uniform, but there was no way she wasn't sweating.

They had come here to finally search for Ochi. For weeks, the two of them had been searching prison yards for Nascha's sister and simultaneously spying on First Order activities on those planets for the sake of the Resistance.

The latest information wasn't unexpected; word about Palpatine's return was finally surfacing. Lyra could only hope the information she had sent to one of the Resistance's remote contacts made it back to their base. Wherever it was.

Now back at the ship, Lyra wanted to flatten herself out into a flatcake and lay on the cold metal of the floor in the cargo hold. Sand fell to the ground as she raked a hand through her short hair. She had just cut it again the previous night; most of the dye from Coronet City had grown out and faded. It was slowly returning to its old shade of gray streaked brown.

"We have incoming," Nascha shouted from the cockpit.

"Urgent incoming?" Lyra said, taking a large drink of water from her canteen.

"I dunno, you tell me," Nascha poked her head back into the cargo bay. "The ship is reading with an old Resistance code."

"Resistance," Lyra echoed. Her brain must have gotten fried in the sun. "Resistance?"

"Yes, Resistance, we can keep saying it all day but that isn't going to change the fact that we have to do something about it."

Lyra clambered up the ladder and into the cockpit. Staring over Nascha's shoulder, she asked, "Pull up the numbers. Let me see if I recognize them."

Nascha gave a snort. "It's probably just one of their Expansion Region contacts coming to see if they can get a lead. Or someone in a stolen ship."

But it was neither. The code was familiar, one of the few she still had memorized.

"It's the Millenium Falcon," Lyra breathed.

"Han Solo's freighter? Why the hell did they bring that thing all the way out here?"

Lyra bit her inner cheek. "I may have lied to you about how much information I've been sending them. I gave them a tip off about Ochi."

Nascha threw her head back in the chair. "This is terrible," she moaned. "Do you seriously not understand what anonymous implies?"

"We knew this would happen eventually."

"Yeah, if you gave those bastards too many hints," Nascha snapped.

"They aren't bastards," Lyra insisted. Even after so long, she was still unsure if it had been a mistake or not to fully come into contact with the Resistance again. "Where are they touching down?"

"Forbidden Valley," Nascha told her, eyebrows raised as if to say I told you so.

The Festival of the Ancestors had that chunk of sand congested for miles. It would have been far better if whoever this was had just picked the Wastes. All that was out there were solif-spiders, which were easily taken care of with a blaze of fire.

"They didn't know about the festival," Lyra reminded her pointedly, checking that the saber was still clipped at her thigh. "It's my job to find them, and you're welcome to stay behind."

She pressed the button on the ship's door, letting the sunlight hit her face yet again. Where it touched her necklace, it seemed to sting a little more poignantly.

"Fine," Nascha said, sidling up next to her. "Let's get this over with."

━━ -ˋˏ★ˎˊ- ━━

a/n mmm yes cue the drama a reunion is on its way!!

it's so interesting writing lyra as a figure of the past in this strange liminal space where people have begun to treat her like she's not coming back.  as you can probably tell poe and the gang are about to find out that this is not true in a very big way.  so exciting!

Ive said it once but I'll say it 10x more: I've altered the plot of TROS heavily to fit my own storylines and characterizations.  The whole Rey Palpatine thing is a lot less earth-shattering here because,,, there is no reason leia (and luke) would not have told the poor girl the truth sooner 🤪

-nat <3