Kylo stormed into his quarters and kicked the door shut, undoing his helmet and throwing it across the room. Dammit. 'I suppose'? Dammit! No!

He slammed his fist into the metal railing supporting his bunk, which crumpled inwards. He stood there for a few seconds, head bowed and breathing heavy. My name is not Ben. He exhaled slowly, removing his stinging fist and slumping onto the bed. Not anymore.

Staring at the ceiling, he wondered why he'd even said that. In anyone else's case, even mentioning his past life would have them killed on the spot. It's just because Snoke needs her, he reassured himself.

But he still didn't feel so sure.

***

In the control room, a pilot, watching the radar readings, noticed a small object skim the surface of their shields before veering out of sight. General Hux looked sharply at him, eyes flicking from the screen to the pilot. The pilot swallowed.

"P-probably just some passing debris, sir," he stammered, "it's not within our radar sensors anymore."

The general nodded and turned away, abruptly losing interest. The pilot breathed a sigh of relief.

***

"So there's a blind spot in the radar," Poe said with a laugh, "and a weakness in the shields."

"It's supposed to be too hard to breach, being placed directly in front of the main engine," Finn replied, still pale and trembling. "Th-this ship has a surprising power capacity."

Poe chuckled again, the only person who seemed unaffected by the near-death experience of being pulled towards the roaring engine. "Never underestimate the Falcon," he said as they neared the ship's underbelly.

The ship latched securely onto the smooth metal, their exit hatch lining up perfectly with the air vent. Finn grabbed his blaster.

"Seeya, Chewie," Poe called, sliding out of his seat and running out of the cockpit, his footsteps clanging on the wire mesh.

Finn hurried after him, Rose by his side, as the wookie keened a farewell behind them.

The hatch hissed open, the vent was pried up, and they were in.

"Now what?" Finn asked, crouched in the tiny space. "There's a rigorous ventilation system up ahead. What do you plan to do?"

Poe was silent. Finn groaned.

"Great. You didn't think about this, did you? Why am I here?"

This was once again met with silence. Finn and Rose exchanged exasperated glances.

"Does no-one come up here to clean?" Rose said eventually, "There should be a hatch or something."

Poe made a noise of agreement, running his hands along the ceiling. Finn did the same, and felt the slight square dip under his fingers. He shuffled back, almost bowling Rose over in the process, and soon found a handle as well.

"There might be guards," Rose whispered.

Groping in the dark, Finn pulled out his blaster. Poe's fingers tightened around his own. There was a quiet crackle and the blue light of Rose's stunner dimly illuminated the vent. Finn reflexively recoiled. He looked up at Poe.

At the pilot's slight nod, he pulled open the hatch.

***

So long since our message, the Supreme Leader rumbled, and no sign of your rebel friends.

"They're not coming," Rey said bravely, having trouble looking the creature in the eye.

Of course they are. The vaguely humanoid mouth curled into a smile. You are far too valuable to them.

"What do you want?" Rey snapped, recoiling as something prodded at her mind.

A low rasping filled the air; it took her a second to pin it as laughter. So impatient. Like many others before you. Ah, Rey. You are special, do you know that? You have power inside you. With us, you could unleash it.

Rey clenched her fists, wishing she didn't have handcuffs on. She would have thrown everything she had into an attack right there and then.

More laughter. A fighter, are you? Good. We are in need of fighters.

"I won't join you," she spat through gritted teeth, her wrists working in the restraints. She pushed against his probing, forcing him out of her mind.

The Supreme Leader grinned, revealing cracked teeth. Strong. Good. He lifted a finger, and Rey was forced up from her kneeling position, the soles of her feet meeting the floor with alarming speed. Tell the General th—

And what the creature was about to say, Rey would never know, because there was the blaring sound of an alarm, and she was being forced out of the chambers at Snoke's screeched command. She could feel the heat of Kylo's lightsaber behind her, could hear the vague hum. His hand gripped her shoulder, steering her rapidly through the halls.

And then there were blaster shots rocketing past her, and Kylo let out a furious snarl. Resistance forces!

There was another blast, and the cuffs around her wrists fell to the ground with a clink. Rey didn't waste a second, whipping around and snatching her lightsaber from Kylo's belt before diving away from him, sprinting down the corridor towards the rebels. Catching a glimpse of their faces, warmth filled her from head to toe.

"Finn! Poe! Rose!" She skidded to a halt, breathing heavy.

"Come on!" They tugged at her arms, forcing her feet to move.

She ran with them as they fired at unseen enemies, ducking and dodging the bright green blasts. She saw the Millennium Falcon tower into sight ahead, and her pace sped up ever so slightly.

But of course, she was weak.

Of course, she had to throw one final glance over her shoulder as she ran.

Of course, she had to catch one last glimpse of the man she'd come to see.

Standing there, lightsaber ignited, unmoving.

With a foreign expression on his face and sadness etched into his eyes.

His hazel eyes that had never seemed so bright or so sorrowful before.

Her steps slowed.

And then Poe grabbed her arm, and Finn shoved, and she was stumbling upon the ship, and when she looked back again, they had already jumped into lightspeed.

She touched the window, staring into the abyss, and couldn't help feeling like she'd left something very important behind.