"Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is essential to a Jedi's life. So you might say, that we are encouraged to love." -Anakin Skywalker

Flashback:

Ben's eyes were focused, filled with desperate anticipation glued to the old beat up door riddled with blaster fodder. He waited for it to fall, and when it did, God was it slow. Taking his upper teeth he bit down hard on his lower lip in nervousness, his heart beat a little faster than normal but that's only because he wanted- no needed it to work this time. Ben finally had a chance, he's fourteen, an age he believed was enough to at least learn the controls- or by some miracle fly the Falcon, with Han by his side of course.

"This isn't gonna work." The ramp descended seemingly more sluggish than normal as it gave his inner doubts time to decide now was a good time as any to voice themselves.

"Oh hey now," Uncle Lando stood just behind him, taking a scuffing step to land a firm hand across his shoulder with his usual positivity, "you won't injure your eyesight by looking on the bright side of things, kiddo."

Ben rolled his eyes as Lando rubbed his knuckles through his shaggy black hair that looked like he just rolled out of bed. He probably did.

"Who am I kidding? He's not gonna let me fly it, Lando." Ben groaned, making a distasteful facial expression before blowing air through his lips exasperatedly like a tired horse. The ramp finally hit the ground with a retreating wave of dust that ran by his and Lando's feet.

"Sure he will!" Lando smiled but it didn't reach his eyes, they were to busy looking off to the side at nothing in particular because he knew Han possibly even more than Leia did and his ship means more to him than...anything.

The sounds of the Bespin shipyard carried through the air just as the city carried through the clouds. Clanking parts, exhaust fumes bellowing, as well as clapping and excited shouting coming from a group of people across the bay. The smell of fuel robbed Ben of any other sense he had, filling his nose and setting his brain a buzz. It was almost a comfort, the same smell was like spit to the envelope of his entire life. He always either helped clean the Falcon- of course whenever his dad decided to make a reappearance at home- or see how fast he could put together a one-man mining cruiser's engine against his buddies. Ben was a smart kid for his age, he had abilities his friends would envy of, some even jealous enough for them to stop talking to him but in his mind, if he could he would give his extra powers away to the first person he saw. Though of course, he would never tell his mother that, or his uncle Luke.

A loud bark could be heard echoing within the guts of the Falcon causing Ben's stomach to twist into knots. His father's voice could be heard replying faintly, with his usual careless tone saying, 'I know, I know.' Han's footsteps began to grow louder, Ben's hands grew clammy as they clenched and unclenched themselves.

"Calm down kid, ya look like you're about to hav'ah stroke." Lando leaned over a bit and spoke quieter than normal. Ben took his advice silently, he shoved his hands into his pant pockets and licked his dry lips. As soon as Chewie stomped down the ramp, his long hair swaying gracefully, he let out a few loving chirps before approaching Ben and wrapping him in a huge hug. He took it, not even able to get his arms around the massive, friendly beast all the way. Chewie released him finally, giving Ben his sight back before he saw his dad sauntering down the ramp. It's been a few months since he's seen him, he hasn't changed at all. Same light brown hair, same smirk, and vest, same Han.

"Hey, kiddo." Han stood in front of his son with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. Ben did his best to subtly stand tall, shoulders squared, a funny attempt to make himself look bigger. Han's smile grew wider before suddenly grabbing under his son's arms making Ben jump in surprise, his eyes growing wide, wheezing out a breath as Han tickled him to death. "Why!" Ben shouted as he tried to dodge his dad's attacks around his ribs but his efforts were futile considering his size.

Lando laughed, flashing his white teeth and clapped his dry hands together, watching the scene that he wished he could see more often. A normal father and son, if only Leia could see this, although she was off on senator business on Hosnian Prime, hence why Ben was staying with him.

"Han!" Ben shouted aggravatingly and laughed at the same time, bubbling into a fit of rushed breaths and a pink face. Han let out a bunch of raspy laughs as he let Ben go, watching his son stumble backward into Chewies legs before sliding down to the ground, resting his forehead on his knees just trying to catch his breath. Han didn't really know how to ever react whenever his own son called him by his first name, it wasn't like he was his stepdad or adoptive father. This thought train caused his broad smile to slowly transform back into its regular line. Although he should be used to it by now, it wasn't like he was the dad of the year to Ben.

"How's it goin' ol friend." Han finally dragged his gaze up to Lando, reaching out his hand to grasp his elbow firmly before bringing him into a full hug, both chuckling softly. Before Han pulled away he asked, "how's he doin'?"

Lando replied quietly, "he's doin' okay...he's got somethin' to ask you." At that, Han spun on his heel and walked back over to Ben, throwing a quickly closed mouth smile over his shoulder to Lando.

"what's up, kid?" Han put his weight on one leg while resting his palm against his bantha-leather belt.

Ben's snapped his head up from his arms to Han's eyes that looked down at him expectantly but rose with them as Ben jumped to his feet.

"Well...uhm... I was- I was wondering if it would be okay if I could-"

"When I asked the question I expected an actual answer, kid." Said Han lazely, his eyebrow-raising in amusement.

"IwaswonderingifIcouldflythefalcon." Ben's words rushed out of his mouth before he could even think of actual punctuation.  Both of Han's brown brows shot up to his hairline, eyes round and surprised. Although he shouldn't be, this isn't the first time he's asked.

Ben's body was humming with electricity and expectation, waiting for his fathers answer, internally begging he would say yes for once. 'c'mon, c'mon, c'mon,' he chanted on and on.

Everyone was silent, even Chewie didn't utter a sound as he stood sloppily and watched the scene unfold, curious about the outcome.

Han scraped his boot across the ground, tilting his head downward to watch, trying to look at anything else.

"I can do it!" Ben edged his decision on encouragingly, his hands gesturing towards the ship. Han made a sound letting them know he wasn't so sure, it was between a chuff and a sigh, unfortunately.

"Look, kid."

"Ben." He corrected his father, trying to make himself seem more mature.

"I'm- Uhm, just... Not this time, okay?"

'Will there ever be a time?' Ben asked himself, letting his shoulders slouch over in defeat. He knew not to press any further as Han rustled his kid's hair before telling Chewie to lock up before walking past them both towards the dining hall. As he walked away from Ben, the young boy watched, remembering all of the other times he's walked out on him, before casting an evil glare back at his ship to also remember all the times that ramp has closed behind his father as he prepared to leave them again in the past. At that moment, he didn't know what he wanted anymore.

Ben's face was coated with a slimy sweat as he jolted awake on a soft surface. The cold air reaching his skin and lungs, setting his brain on high alert as he took in strange faces of medics as they rushed about the room like it was a bustling city. They prepared and loaded syringes, clicked away at machines, and sent droids in and out with supplies. 'That insipid beeping!' Ben's irritated inner voice yelled, only causing more harm to his ears than the already screaming room. He tried to reach up to his face but to his dismay he couldn't, he was strapped down by his ankles and wrists. Instantly he was fuming, you could almost see the smoke billowing out of his ears as he started seeing red. His slicked hair fell in front of his eyes as he let out an animalistic growl when whipping his neck back and forth, pulling at his wrist binds. Medics immediately took in his presence and sent out a wide alert, voices grew louder and everyone's speed and urgency doubled. The noises emitting from the machines grew even more rapid as his heart rate spiked through the roof.

"Tranq him!" Called out a male medic with floppy blonde hair as he started towards Ben with a stim injector.

"No don't!" An older woman's voice responded. Ben heard a door whoosh open then closed.

In the midst of Ben's frenzy, he whipped his head to the side catching a glimpse of a persons hand near him. His eyes trailed up the delicate limp hand, that hung off the side of the bed to his left, up its arm to a woman's passive face. 'Rey', he thought her name in such a way it sounded as if it were groundbreaking information that she was here. Her eyes were open as another woman checked her vitals. Havoc and peace sharing space in the same small room. Ben squinted and tried to focus his blurry vision on her face, noticing the trek of pink swollen skin down her cheek, a trail of tears the following suit. Silent tears.

Rey laid there quietly, keeping her eyes on the ceiling, matching her breaths to the beeping of the machines that surrounded the bed, the only indications of her heartbeat, her existence. Her legs were numb. Curiosity slowly pried her swollen gaze to meet the dismal view of a cream colored hospital room, the wide door a dull grey. Rey immediately noticed the binds around her wrists and after a quick test to prove her assumptions by wiggling her toes, so were her ankles. This was to keep her in here, and everyone else safe. From her. She slid her eyes sideways, her bound wrists were connected to the bed bars. Short, but plenty deep cuts ran along her arms, beyond was her chart. Not caring enough to read about her condition, she set her eyes on her roommate, soon finding out he was doing the same. Her eyes bore into his dark brown, almost black ones. Almost as soon as their eyes connected, memories of being trapped with him in her own mind came flooding back quicker than she could comprehend. The rocks, the shaking, almost drowning, his terrible words; "starving. I didn't hate him. Say it! A monster. He tried to murder me! He betrayed me!" The visions came so loud and so bright in flashes she had to try to squint them away, her eyes resting almost begrudgingly on his appearance once more. He seemed like a desperate, scared caged animal, his jaw tightening and loosening again and again as well as his fists, his knuckles burning from white to pink. His hair was a mess, a black sweaty mop that dangled over his eyes as if it were teasing him, he kept trying it shake it away as if it were a pest but to no avail.

"Alright, Rey, here we go." Unbeknownst to Rey the nurse had been speaking to her this entire time probably thinking she was just being an unruly patient instead of simply not hearing a word she said. Rey turned to her, watching as she undid her binds with a click before shuffling to the ones by her feet. After she was done, she moved behind her and pressed two firm, chilled palms to Reys back. The medic lifted her up into a sitting position as careful as possible, adjusting the pillows behind her back to give her more support.

"Here," the brunette nurse suggested with an open hand, "try taking this." A square with rounded corners, white tablet about the size of her pinky nail rested in the palm of her hand. The woman replied to Rey's curious expression, "it's a stim tablet, to hasten the healing process." She concluded with a white smile surrounded by pale chapped lips liked her own. Rey frowned at her before taking the tablet between her thumb and forefinger, awkwardly rolling it around before popping it past her lips and taking the container of water another medic handed to her to swallow it. As she swallowed her eyes flicked back to Ben as he wrestled with a medic who came at him with a syringe filled with blue liquid.

"Ben!"

Rey's gaze flew from one scene to another as her eyes peacefully rested on Leia's short form, flowing across the floor like rapid water towards her son. The male medic took her presence as an advantage as Ben's dark form froze in the bed at the sight of her, he readied the syringe before stabbing it into Ben's thigh then hastily retreating through the open door. Ben hissed as the man disappeared but didn't make a move to use other abilities to get him to return for an unfair fight.

Leia stood next to her son, her hands neatly knotted together in front of her dark blue robes. Her eyes showed relief, yet pain and disturbance, confusing Rey entirely.

"How..." Rey spoke softly to herself as her brain cleared, taking a double take about the room from her bed. "Where are we? How did I..." Her questions trailed off as her brain tried to answer them for her but they didn't really pan out. Ben said Snoke broke her mind and that they had to fix it but how did he get to her...where was Snoke?

Leia left Ben's bedside, one of her gentle hands dragged across the corner of it as she came closer to Rey wearing a small smile. "Ben brought you here. Snoke is still-"

The medics rooms door whooshed open to the sound of slamming boots and charged blasters humming to life, everyone's hearts stopped in their chests as heads whipped in the doors direction. Poe stood tall in the doorway, other Resistance soldiers flooded in from behind him to stand at his side. Poe's expression was battle ready, hardened at the sight of Ben starting to sit up in his bed but as his eyes found Rey's they seemed to grow lighter in surprise for a quick moment before his heavy announcement.

"Poe!" Leia chastised, "what are you doing?"

"General Liea, I'm sorry to say-" Poe paused for a moment while puckering his lips and looking at the ceiling in thought, "well not really. We're taking Kylo Ren under military arrest." 

At that, Ben's eyes narrowed into slits as his mouth grew into a snarl, his teeth almost bared in a frightening way.

"Stun em'." Poe lazily pointed in Ben's direction as a soldier from the mold became more apparent than the rest as he quickly brought out a stun gun from his belt and shot Ben twice in the chest, knocking him unconscious immediately. Rey gasped, instinctively moving her hand's position so she could get up but thought better of it...'did he deserve it?'

Leia practically yelled, her voice growing labored, "what is the meaning of this?" She stepped closer to Poe, who she cared about very much. After Ben had turned, Poe was her saving grace, he became like a son to her and like a mother to him.

"He's a murderer, Leia," he said in a matter-of-factly way, "and we're gonna treat em' like one. Grab him, let's go." Three more soldiers came from behind Poe, clicking their blaster's safety on before shoving them into their holsters. The three reached out at Ben's shoulders, torso and legs before hauling him onto a hovering medical bed.

Everything was happening so fast. To fast.

The medics stood as stone, they could've been droids for all that mattered. Everyone's breath was caught in each of their throats as they watched the rebel Resistance mutiny happen before their eyes. Rey pushed herself a bit higher in her bed to watch the top of Ben's head retreat through the door before it disappeared completely behind a mass of a soldier stepping behind the gurney and guiding it down the hall.

"Where are you taking him?" Leia demanded.

"Down to the cells. Where we're keeping tall, dark and pasty." Poe smiled slightly, one could even say it was a menacing smile if everyone didn't already see Poe as the best Resistance pilot, a hero. This was new for him. His eyes flicked to Rey's unexpectedly, staring her down, causing her to gulp her nervousness down. She groped at her blankets, giving her anxious hands something to do.

"Glad to see you're back." He said with a small nod her way before turning on his heel and walked out followed by the rest of his crew. After the door slid shut, a collective sigh of relief and disbelief went through the medical bay.

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