REY

The downpour of rain thunders on the canopy above me. I watch the heavy raindrops splash into the many tiny puddles along the abandoned road, in front of the Quarren restaurant. Everything smells like fresh dug up dirt. I step out from under the building canopy and let the rain seep into my hair and crash onto my shoulders. My fingers are numb with cold, clasped around my fighting staff. I close my eyes, letting the cold rain soak into me, wanting it to numb the loneliness which has returned, full force, and is suffocating me.

I open my eyes again and look across the street. A warm glow shines from inside windows above the shops. I imagine families inside, with mothers and fathers and siblings, safe from the storm and warm in each other's presence.

The rain clinks against a group of glass bottles left out on the steps. I take in a deep breath. This reminds me of the last time I was on Ahch-To, standing beneath the wings of the Millenium Falcon and waiting for the rain to stop. The wet ground smelled different there, more like ocean waves splashing up onto rocks. Here I can smell the roots of trees and plants, drinking in the rain water.

That moment on Ahch-To had been but a fleeting moment of peace, when I still believed I could get Luke to mentor me and that I would finally have control of this Force inside of me.

I grip my staff tighter. Luke didn't want to train me, but in the end he still tried, and I failed. I went straight to the darkness below the island, twice. It was what Luke had been afraid would happen, only worse, because I went down there willingly, selfishly, to search for answers about my parents. That was my first failure. My second was not listening to Luke when he told me not to go to Kylo Ren. I went anyway. Poe said not to go to Kylo now, but I'm afraid I will. I need to free Temiri. I need to finally be rid of this empty feeling inside of me.

Selfish. My decisions are all selfish.

You came from nothing. You're nothing.

I let the rain beat down on my back, flowing over my hair and onto my face, washing the tears away.

But not to me.

Kylo Ren only wanted one thing from me. Yet for the briefest moment I thought he killed Snoke because he was turning to the Light, but he only wanted to be Supreme Leader and to have me join him, on the Dark Side. He didn't want me, he wanted my power. That's what he's always wanted, to rule unopposed. 

Everyone's interest in me is because of my Force sensitivity. If I didn't have that, I really would be nothing, just like Kylo Ren said.

An image of Han smiling, when I'd gotten the Millenium Falcon flying again, comes to mind and my heart warms. He was so impulsive, so straight forward that it almost felt like he was being rude. But I'd earned his respect, on my own merit. He didn't know I was Force sensitive then. I didn't even know at that time. Yet he took me in and accepted me as I was, just Rey from Jakku.

Help me, Han. I failed Luke.

I shut my eyes tight.

 I can't control this Force inside of me. It makes me feel more than I've ever felt; hate, pain, loneliness. Kylo... Ben, will not turn. I don't want to be the one who ends up turning.

"Rey?"

I whip around with my staff and almost hit Poe in the face.

He holds up both hands. "The General is here."

I lower my staff and nod. He gives me a curious look before turning to walk back into the restaurant. I follow in after him.

GENERAL LEIA

General Leia Organa, mother of the now Supreme Leader of the First Order, and the Galaxy, leaned on her cane for support. Ever since her near death experience, when the Resistance ship was destroyed, she hadn't felt like herself. Her body was heavier and she moved slower, yet she'd survived. If you could call it that.

The group of Rebel leaders who greeted her at the Quarren restaurant were a strong and healthy bunch. Yet their eyes held respect and honor for her, despite her weak frame and walking cane. They kindly guided her to a seat near an open flame fireplace.

Leia relaxed into the wooden seat and glanced at the fire. It sizzled and popped, reminding her of the sparks left behind after their ship was destroyed. Her heart felt heavy as she thought of Admiral Holdo, her long time friend in combat. The woman single-handedly destroyed Snoke's battle cruiser. Now she was gone too, like so many others.

A sequence of beeping sounds drew her from her thoughts. 

"What is it R2?" she said.

The beloved robot of Luke's was restored and travelling with them again. Little BB-8 rolled up beside him. They'd both recently had undergone software upgrades and seemed eager, if robots could be eager, to join alongside their human friends in this regrouping of forces.

"BB-8!" The sudden shout made Leia jump, but she didn't have to turn around to know who's voice it was. Poe ran over to his robot buddy and greeted him so enthusiastically that the little guy's head bounced off. BB-8 quickly rolled over and retrieved it again. Leia chuckled. Men and their robots. Poe reminded her of Luke, full of guts, ready for any fight, and yet soft at heart. 

"General!" His attention turned to her and he got up. Instead of coming to her, he ran out of the restaurant and into the rain outside. Leia shook her head. She would never understand that boy.

"We're so honored to have you here," the Rebel leader, Mangez, said to her.

"The Resistance was happy to hear from your group," Leia replied. "We were glad to finally receive a response to our distress signal."

The front door burst open again and Poe entered with a dripping wet Rey. She wiped the water from her eyes and Leia's heart hurt for the girl. The poor thing had been crying, it was obvious. Luke's death had been hard on her and Leia feared it had shaken her self confidence. Or perhaps it was something else that had stolen the fire she'd always had inside of her. She never talked about her experience on Snoke's ship, when she'd gone to Ben, or why she'd gone to him in the first place. Nor did she say how Snoke had been defeated. Leia didn't ask. 

"Rey, so good to see you." Leia summoned the best smile she could for the girl and hoped it was convincing. What she actually felt was concern. There was so much pressure on this young one, having only recently discovered her Force sensitivity and everyone putting their hope in her now. Ben was older and had gone through a lot in his life. He'd been trained for years by one of the greatest Jedi Knights of all time, her brother Luke. But Rey had none of these advantages and Leia feared the girl would break if pushed too far. The power inside of her was still new, too raw, too uncontrollable. It could one day cloud her judgement, as it had Ben's.

"General Leia!" Rey came over to her and knelt down by her chair. "How are you feeling?"

"Don't worry about me," Leia said to her. "Tell me about this new cruiser I hear my son has stolen for himself. I hope it's not as good as the one we've acquired. Have they already escaped this sector of space?"

Rey looked down and Poe answered her.

"They're still in orbit, around Cantonica," he said. 

The other rebels in the room, who'd been listening quietly, now jumped into the conversation.

"Kylo Ren has the boy," one said.

"He's holding the child ransom," another added.

"The boy? What boy?" Leia asked, looking around the room at all the faces. There was a moment of silence in which only the sound of rain hitting the window panes could be heard.

"My brother," Rey finally said.

Leia frowned. How could Rey have a brother? Her parents had long ago deserted her and they'd have sooner reclaimed Rey, than had another child. Something didn't add up.

"Who told you that you have a brother?" she asked Rey.

The girl looked up. "Kylo Ren... Ben did."

Leia sighed and Rey quickly continued. "I sensed it. The boy, Temiri, recognized me from his dreams."

"This boy is gifted in the Force," Mangez said. "We have seen it for ourselves."

"And my son, he has this boy with him right now?" Leia asked, looking at them all in turn.

They all nodded. "Yes."

Leia's breath caught. She felt it too then, suddenly, the boy's presence. It was faint, but undeniable. And very familiar. 

Could it really be....

"How old is this boy?" she asked them.

Leia's emotions threatened to betray her. Luke had gone into hiding, as well as into a depression, not simply because of his failure with Ben's training, but something else, something more heartbreaking. It was a secret she promised to take with her to the grave. It wasn't only the Jedi students who had died in that fire, which burned down the temple.

"The boy is young," Mangez said. "No more than six or seven years of age."

"And you're sure he's Force sensitive?"

A scattered reply of 'yes' went around the room. Rey's head was bowed and Leia set her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"The boy is not your brother," she told her, needing the truth to be out immediately, before things became too complicated. "The boy with Ben right now, is Luke's grandson."

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Author's Note: If you guys notice the chapter cut off or any words missing please let me know. I'm noticing that happening lately. Thanks