STARDUST:
THE FORCE IS STRONG, TIME IS STRONGER

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1.TEASER
2.PREVIEW
3.AUTHOR'S NOTES

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TEASER

The Resistance had managed to mount a desperate escape from The Battle of Crait a year ago, with the help of the jedi apprentice Rey and managed to hide beneath the endless forests of a jungle moon of Ajan Kloss. They're the last spark left to light the fire of freedom across the galaxy and General Leia Organa is determined not to give up on her fight against The Order, for Han, for Luke and for Ben Solo.

Rey's hopes of turning Ben to the light are far from relinquished but she is well aware, the death of Snoke is going to cause her aim to be harder to achieve. Because now, Ben isn't the lost boy who was forced to kneel before his master and the darkness, who she had bonded with on Ahch-To but someone who had fully internalised the darkness within him, her enemy himself, The Supreme Leader of The First Order, Master of The Knights of Ren, Kylo Ren.

Only the action of sitting on a throne alone is worth sacrificing a life time for some people, General Hux would proudly accept the fact that he is inneed one of those people if asked. Not fully believing the story Ren had told of Snoke's death, Hux is ready to do everything he can do to adaunt The Knights of Ren and their revenant master alongside the rest of The First Order. Maybe this internal war within The First Order shall give The Resistance, the advantage, the miracle they longingly need.

"Here we are, right back at the start," He spoke through the force, "You're away, you hate me, want to kill me; it seems like the force ironically tries to remind me how the history repeats itself." He had no clue what he was expecting to see when he finally picked his glaze up to look at her but her reaction definietly wasn't it, she didn't look at him with hatred yet there wasn't the compassion her eyes beared as usual either, she was suprisingly and honestly irritatingly calm.

"You're the one who took a step forward and decided to take ten back but some things never go back to the starting point."

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PREVIEW

Something pulled her in to the depths of the dark forest which surrounded The Resistance Base. It certainly wasn't similar to the bright light of the force nor the kind of darkness that came from Snoke. It wasn't black or white but wasn't balanced either, it wasn't calm and peaceful yet it didn't bear any conflict. This was something else.

Letting the feeling take control over her body, Rey let the gentle pull guide her. She had spent the last year training in the ways of the force and one thing she was sure of was to let the force surround her when it willed.

A harmless amount of impatience grew bigger inside her as she walked out of her hut and called to her saber which she had managed to construct only one half of. When she would somehow manage to create thr time to visit Ilum and find another piece of kyber crystal in the near future, her aim was to activate the other end of the double edged saber she designed inspired by her staff on her rare free time. However as is, the saber was already useful with its one working edge, having no problem in pretending to be a classic design.

It came flying to her from the tiny desk in the corner of the room and descended into her palm. Even though Rey felt no signs of danger or disturbance in the force, she was well aware she had to be extra cautious all the time now that The Resistance consisted of approximately sixty people, they couldn't and wouldn't dare to lose one single person for nothing.

On her tip toes she quietly walked through the base's now shut down panels and wehicles, taking a deep breath before stepping into the welcoming scent of the trees. As soon as she walked a few more steps, she was surrounded by an even more intense feeling. She couldn't understand why it had felt familiar even though she was so sure she had never felt such a strong presence as this.

After a few more steps, her steps unwillingly quickened and after a few minutes into the forest, she was already sprinting. She did not have a clue on where she was going but it seemed as if her feet were so certain on the correct route so she trusted her insticts and where she would end up at. She was going so fast that she was already out of breath, however she showed no signs of stopping, loving the wind gently stroking her face and dancing through the single braid of her hair.

For a single second she felt the corners of her lips curling upwards, forming a peaceful smile. Rey loved the sensation of the unreasoned happiness which grew bigger second by second inside of her and finally stopped running, closing her eyes. Her breathing harmonized with the slow breeze and for a minute she seemed to forget everything happening across the galaxy.

For the first time she fully acknowledged how Luke must have had felt when he went out of his ways to hide away on Ahch-To. The force had many gifts the user would cherish but it had a price and responsibility that needed to be paid. It got overwhelming at times for Rey but even if some people didn't seem to understand, even a sensitive being in the light side of the force, a jedi, would never be able to fully close off their emotions. Closing emotions meant closing humanity but compassion, unconditional love would always be essential to a jedi's life.

Compassion was the brightest light and as Luke had said, powerful light was equivelent to powerful darkness. So long as compassion existed, there would be hatred, as long as there would be bravery, fear would peek through. Rey constantly tried to remind herself, the key to know her place in all this was to keep the balance within herself, it was okay to make mistakes, yet she felt as if she was walking on a string. One mistake and she would be falling all the way down, dragging her loved ones with herself to the bittersweet end.

She had made one desperate mistake to think Ben could turn to light and it costed The Resistance so much, one more mistake would completely obliterate them.

"This is not going to go the way you think." Her master had been correct, nothing had gone the way Rey thought it would go in the previous year. She pictured Ben Solo back with his family where he belonged, willing to fight for light but right this moment he was across the stars, leading the end of hers and the rest of The Resistance's.

Rey breathed out, the strange presence felt even stronger as if she was right where the force guided her to stand at. She opened her eyes and as soon as she did, her eyes were pulled into another pair of pretty ones like a magnet.

A part of her felt guilty because she instantly knew why the presence felt familiar, like home. Of course he would feel familiar, no matter how hard he tried to hide Ben into the shadows of Kylo Ren. It hurt to know the only sense of belonging she would ever feel in this galaxy was with the one person who would strike her down in a heartbeat. She felt pityful, so small. But she had to be strong, calm and make her every move with her brain instead of her heart.

She slightly gulped down, with an attempt of trying to hide it alongside her nervousness. Rey couldn't help but bring her eyes down to his features. Even if Ben did not want to admit it, it was brazen he truly was a Solo. His eyes carried an incredible resemblance to Han's and he stood upright with a slight mix of ego and confidence just like his father. The scar she gave him hadn't even recovered the slightest bit after the last time she saw him, his hair fell down to his neck delicately, just a tiny bit longer now; the same posture, the same exact facial expression. He truly had not changed one bit.

She picked her eyes up back to his again but slightly stepped back with confusion when a small smirk appeared on his lips. "I see you've constructed a new lightsaber."

She couldn't help but take a look at the saber on her grip before turning her stare right back at him. Just when her lips parted away to form a respond, she was cut off by him and it left her feeling a little surprised. He had never been the one to speak unless actually needed but it seemed like the increase in his confidence changed how he handled situations."You've changed your hair."

"Same cloak."

"No. New cloak."

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Hello everyone, I have finally settled my tea kettle and I'm ready to publish a new book now that I have a lot of time while we're all on our houses, doing our parts in social distancing. If you haven't already realised, this book is taking place after The Last Jedi and it will be a slow burn between my babies, meaning Rey and Ben will have to go through some schnitzel before finally being able or who knows maybe being unable to come through together 🤷🏻‍♀️.

So if you've came far enough to the end of this chapter, I'm hoping you liked The Teaser and The Preview and like the rest of the story too. I will try to update as often as I can, however I have to note, it won't be as quick as three or four days between chapters. I think that's all, love you all and take care ❤️

Huge thank you to @ArtDecoGraphics for this amazing cover :) If you are in need of a cover definietly check their shop out ❤️