Star Wars IX- Balance Of The Force

Chapter 2- Rey and the Resistance

On the Resistance base on Ealor, a planet in the outer rim territories, in a wooden hut high in the tree branches, Rey sat on her cot staring at her feet. She'd been dressed for hours, unable to get back to sleep yet again. It had been so long since her dreams weren't this recurring one. Every night, every time she closed her eyes, it was the same thing- him and their child.

The last time she'd seen him, other than the dreams, was on Crait, and then it had been through their bond. As she'd stood on the boarding ramp of the Millennium Falcon, the bond had opened, and she could see him as he kneeled on the floor of the operations room from where the Resistance had just fled. His face was awash with different emotions. He had looked heartbreakingly sad, but he was also angry. Angry, his duel with Luke had been purely a distraction. Angry, the Resistance had escaped due to his folly and angry at her. How she'd felt about him was of no consequence; he had made his choice for power, and it was a path she could not join him on. She'd closed the door on the Falcon and closed her mind to him at that moment. They were enemies, complicated enemies, but still enemies.

She'd sensed him since when meditating in the Force and when training with her saber; she could feel his presence. He was so strong he was undeniable as she stretched out with her feelings. She felt peaks in the Force radiating from him. She thought of him, of course. Of course, she knew that was ridiculous, but a part of her had wanted to join him, to be with him just like she'd seen in her vision when their hands had touched on Ahch-To, but her vision had shown him turning from the dark and that hadn't happened. Ben had been there for a fleeting moment, as he killed Snoke and fought at her side, but then Kylo Ren had returned hungry for power.

It didn't change, though, how she felt then or now. She'd been alone her whole life; she had friends now, admittedly- Finn, Rose, Poe, but they'd never really understand. Ben had been there when she was scared and alone. He'd taught her and listened to her when Luke had turned her away. With Ben, there had been an understanding, an understanding no one else could or would ever really come close to. She'd felt a sense of belonging when they'd touched hands; completeness was something she'd sought her whole life. It had felt as though they were one like being together was meant to be. She felt haunted, haunted by a memory and a dream of a man who was gone.

Rey had realised since Crait how right Master Luke had been when he'd told her it wouldn't go the way she'd think. How naive she had been to believe Kylo would turn if she went to him. His choice wasn't as simple as she'd assumed, and she wasn't enough. She understood now to turn him back to the light, he had to do it, and he had to want to. The future she knew now was too complicated to see clearly; visions of the future may come to you, but interpreting them was something else. In a way, they'd both been right. He hadn't bowed before Snoke. She had stood with him. They'd both assumed that meant they'd turn her to the dark and him to the light. They'd both assumed wrongly. There was light in Kylo, yes, but not enough; his desire for control and power was too strong, and she'd left him there in the throne room. She'd stood for a moment, standing over his unconscious form, thinking as Luke once had that one swift strike, and so much suffering could be over. She couldn't do it. There were too many possibilities; his death had not been the will of the Force. The Force wasn't finished with him yet. She would wait, however arduous. Her life on Jakku had trained her to do two things better than anyone. The first was to salvage broken things, and the second was to wait. She couldn't save Ben Solo; she would have to wait for him to save himself. So far, that had not happened.

Kylo had not pursued the resistance as relentlessly as they had expected. Perhaps serious conversations regarding failures on Crait had been had. It was feasible with Luke gone that the Resistance was no longer considered the huge threat Snoke had deemed them to be. Or perhaps Kylo had changed now Snoke wasn't controlling and manipulating him. She doubted that last one. The Force would make its will known, and she would continue to wait to know her part in it.