"Easy is the path to wisdom for those not blinded by themselves."

REY

Her pounding feet smacked against the floor as Rey made her way towards the ship hanger. A great lolloping gait that suggested her ankles were made of tightly coiled springs. Heart pounding, rasping throat, leaden feet, heavy legs. Tears blinded her vision as she brought a wrapped wrist to quickly wipe them away.

"Rey!" A baritone voice boomed after her. Ignoring it, she ducked behind a ship while slowing to a trot in front of a bunch of oddly assorted crates piled up against one another. Knees buckling, she sloppily fell back into a slouched sit on top of them, releasing a rushed, shaky breath. Her lips scrunched up into an odd pucker as they trembled, trying to hold back any more warm tears that decided to slip down her cheeks anyway. Rey's eyes focused on the etched lines of red rust that coated one of the ships landing pads in front of her, simply trying to distract her plagued mind. It was an unsettling pain, she'd much rather take a wound in battle than what racked through her head at that moment. It was a hot fog that felt so heavy it was like her skull was cracking into fragments. Like a perfect mirror dropped to the floor, shattering into razor shards of moments in time; when she was alone on Jakku, a crying child, Luke taking her in, running with Finn, meeting Kylo Ren in the forest on Takodona, all the fighting, the hope that was lost and the love that was gained but only to be ripped away from her again.

Rey's shoulders shuddered as her lungs blew up like balloons as she gasped for breaths suddenly, not even noticing she wasn't breathing in those quiet moments of reflection. Neither did she notice someone stomp up to her, stealing away the ship from her line of sight and replacing it with baggy flight-suit clad legs. Rey didn't need to look up from where her head was perched on her hands to figure out who it was.

"Go," Rey muttered sourly, rubbing her cheeks that were tight and red from being coated with saltwater. She refused to inhale too hard knowing how her nose would snivel, causing her to sound like a weeping child. She could already feel her eyes begin to swell.

"Not to pull rank here, but I don't think I have to listen to that order." Poe mused in between a cough, as he rotated to sit next to her, the crate creaking slightly under their weight. His voice was hoarse but cocky attitude was potent as he smirked at her even when she wasn't looking at him. She continued to stare forward, her eyes wiggling back and forth slightly. The potent smell of exhaust and rhydonium fuel wafted up to her nose, the familiar scent almost calming her. The sounds of clanking metal and shouts of passerby's flooded and reverberated about the tall ceiling of the hanger, the busy noises were inevitable but welcomed. Rey focused on what sounded like a far off man and woman cackling delightedly. Rey can't even remember the last time she had laughed, she suddenly desperately wanted to feel that kind of joy again.

She felt a heavy hand hesitantly rest on her shoulder, the pressure slowly growing heavier as it got more comfortable in its position. Giving way to temptation, ripping her eyes away from the ship, she glanced at Poe. He wore a gentle smile, his hair disheveled, her eyes continued downward until they widened considerably seeing his bluish, purple welts and bruises taking home on his neck. Against his newly paled skin, it seemed more grotesque. Her mouth parted, making a small 'oh' shape in utter shock.

'I had no idea the force could do that.'

His throat bobbed slightly, he coughed once more. The pain too much for him to really swallow. Rey quickly averted her gaze, suddenly feeling guilty for staring at his wounds for as long as she had. Her head hung low between her knees as her shoulders built up protective walls around herself. Taking another shaky breath, she hissed it out through her teeth.

"What am I going to do..." Her voice came out hushed, the question more for herself but Poe brought himself out of his own musing mind, his ears perking up to the sound of muttered words.

This poor girl had been through hell for as long as he's known her, and that time was incredibly limited. From what she said about her childhood, she's never had it easy. He sat and watched her now, his attempts to lighten the mood with his smile were futile. His lips slipped into a sad frown, watching her flex her hands, rubbing them together in anxiousness and cracking her knuckles all the while her eyes stared blankly at the steel floor. Her sorel hair slipping around her neck and shoulders like thick vines only to dangle through her vision, causing her to grunt in irritatedly.

"What does your gut tell you?" Poe asked, making sure to keep his voice down. Personally, he would suggest to stay and face the fight head on. Yet that was just Poe thinking on his own behalf, unfortunately, he didn't know Rey well enough to perceive her opinions.

Rey's face crumpled up in disgust as she continued to stare at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing since the Millennium Falcon. "I don't know." She grumbled angrily, her hands balling up into fists before she continued to roll the tip of every digit between each finger as if she was physically trying to wring out the anguish like an old, wet cloth. "I thought I nearly had it all figured out for once in my life and then someone had to throw a stone into the pond." She gesticulated angrily, huffing while bending down to pick up a loose screw and fling it into the closest side of a ship. It dinged, hitting the metal surface before rolling across the floor to a stop.

"I understand..." Poe sighs, running a hand through his hair, causing it to spring up in all directions. He coughed to clear his throat before his brown eyes flicked back towards her.

"Rey..." Poe spoke up once more, a concerned look taking hold of his features causing his jaw to set in a straight line.

She looked over her shoulder at him, waiting for him to continue. She found herself silently hoping that he had all the answers, that this man could somehow fix every problem she had, but she knew that wasn't even remotely possible. Another frown bent her lips, she was shattered and she knew it, too many pieces for only one person to help put her back together. Not that anyone would want to.

Poe's gaze flittered from her to something behind her, back and forth, back and forth before finally settling firmly on her eyes once more. A questioning expression took hold of her before he stood up, sighing. His back popped many times as he stretched momentarily. The scene seemingly taking a lifetime for Rey as she watched him, waiting for his response.

"C'mon, let's go," Poe said lazily as he reached out, expecting for her to latch on to his outstretched hand but quickly realized she was already up and by his side. Letting his arm drop back to his side, Poe's smile widened. His steps growing more swift, he made his way towards the old Corellian freighter.

~

"Lando!"

"Leia!" The two veterans embrace one another tightly. Lando wrapped his broad arms around Leia's short figure, almost engulfing her completely.

"You wreak of exhaust fumes." Leia laughed as she leaned back slightly to look at her old friend.

"By the stars." He paused, looking her over, "and you haven't aged a day." His dark eyes twinkled with seemingly ancient memories as if just being with each other brought Han back from the dead. Leia's smile faltered for a moment. Silence drove a wedge between them.

"Leia... I'm so sorry-"

"Don't be. You lost a good friend just as I lost my husband that day. We're both in mourning." Leia dipped her head, trying to urge the unshed tears back into her eyes. Her lids were already pink and swollen from the private conversation she had just gotten out of with Luke after watching Ben leave. She thought he would try his hardest to resist, to run over to Luke and strangle him with his bare hands, but he didn't. With only saying a few bitter and harsh muttered words, 'death would be too good for you! It would be better for me to sit back and watch everything you've ever built crumble and fall.' He left, turned passed his mother and stalked out of the dimly lit hallway, just as Rey had.

It seems he was right. Everything felt as if it were already falling apart. Leia brought her eyes back up to meet Lando's, a gentle smile cracking her lips. He ran his tanned hands along her robed arms, a sad look in his eyes.

"General, a ship has just left the hanger." Said a communications officer as he turned in his chair to face her, confusion lurching into his voice.

"What?" Leia questioned, leaving Lando's side to briskly step up to the wide glass window that revealed the white plain. The salt of Crait's surface shown so brightly that she had to squint to notice a large shadow peeling away from the base and into the stark blue skies.

"That's the Falcon..." Lando's voice quivered in question as one of his dark brows arched above his eye.

"Communication coming in, General." The officer spoke once more as a blue blip appeared on the dashboard of the large comm unit installed within the long U-turn table.

"General!" Yelled Poe's jovial voice over the room's speakers.

"Poe...what are you doing?" She asked, a warning lacing her tone.

"Rey and I are going for a flight. Shouldn't be long, we'll come right back. Oh! and BB is with us, as well as-"

"AAGHHHEHH!" A loud roar crackled over the speaker, bringing a half smile to Leia's lips.

"This is not a terrible idea!" Poe's voice faded slightly as his head turned away from the speaker.

Leia's voice cut through Poe and Chewie's argument, "Well come back soon, and stay out of the atmosphere. We don't know how far off the First Order is, and the last thing we need is for them to catch of whiff of the Falcon's signal."

"Will do General, don't worry about us!" The communication was quickly silenced after Poe cut off the signal. Leia rubbed her chin lightly, a stern look cast through the large window filled with white. She hoped they would be back soon as they said they would, she wondered about Ben and where he was in the base, she hoped Reys was alright. Wiping her frail, dry hands down her face she sighed.

'Usually, women my age only had to worry about what they were going to do with their grandkids, when they were coming over or simply spending alone time relaxing, but no...' Leia thought, rubbing her eyebrows in annoyance.

"Now..." Leia let out a loud sigh, "Where's my son..." She muttered quietly before waving in Lando's direction with a small smile and swiftly exiting through the communications room door.