Learning to Fly - A Star Wars Fanfiction - Part One of the "Balance" Trilogy

Morgan

    So Morgan wasn't the only one with secrets. She watched the boy for a moment, interest peaked.  She wasn't sure what he hid behind that conflicted expression, but she could tell it wasn't anything good. She sensed something dark in his past. Something he didn't want anyone to find. And she understood what that was like.

    Yes, the comm had gone dark that fateful night. But soon after, it had lit up once again. A male teenage voice, curious, apprehensive, interested.
    "Hello?"
    The voice had crackled through. Then a frustrated sigh, and nothing for an hour. Morgan sat by the comm, eyes wide in curiosity, waiting for anything, any sign. She hadn't responded the first time from fear, but boy, she couldn't help but wait for the next time. And, soon, it came.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," the voice returned, muttering. "Hello? Is anyone there?"
"Hi," Morgan had replied eagerly. Youth and naivety weren't on her side.
"Who is this?" The voice asked sharply, but it wavered, almost afraid. "This comm network is under the control of the First Order. How are you receiving the signal?"
"This is my radio," she frowned. She'd been silly enough to think it might be someone from the Resistance. "And you captured my friends so, tell me then, First Order, what are you doing with our network?" Silence.
"Who is this?" The voice repeated.
"I could ask you the same question," she said stubbornly. Another pause. Then a sigh.
"My name is Ben," the voice said quietly. "But no one's supposed to know that."

They'd spoken every night for weeks on end, exchanging stories but never sharing anything too specific. It seemed to Morgan that he enjoyed having someone to talk to. She certainly found the feeling mutual. But she had a feeling the boy was hiding something, just as she now felt about Jay Russo. Ben would dodge some questions, instead reflecting the attention back onto Morgan. She would ignore it, instead resting in the knowledge that she had at least one friend, somewhere in the galaxy. But soon the conversations were less and less frequent, growing short and rushed, until they stopped altogether with the last transmission.
    "I can't keep doing this," Ben had told her. "It's too dangerous."
    "What do you mean?" Morgan had asked. And then it had all come rushing out.
    "I'm not who you think I am," he told her, words tripping into each other. "I'm not just some officer. And I shouldn't be keeping secrets from anyone."
    "You're right," she told him. "So be honest with me. Who are you really, Ben? What are you?"
    "I'm sorry, Morgan. The Ben you knew is gone." And, just like that, it was over. She tried, of course. She tried to contact him, she asked around the Ring if anyone had heard of a First Order boy named Ben, maybe high up in ranks, maybe just promoted. She'd payed bounty hunters with the very few scraps she'd had, learned to hack into networks. But nothing. Nothing.

Nothing.

Until the other day. The morning of her initial capture. She'd been resting under one of the black market vendors' carts when she'd heard him.

"Morgan?"

She'd sat up so suddenly she'd nearly given herself a concussion. Groaning, she'd rolled out from underneath the cart, getting to her feet, dazed. She'd looked around.

"Ben?" she scanned the faces of the people around her. None of them were looking at her, acknowledging her. Had she imagined hearing him?

"It worked," she heard Ben's voice again, breathing a sigh of relief. He sounded older, now. Just as she'd grown, he had as well. But he was alive. And he'd found her. Morgan turned to face the source of the voice. It was the first time she had ever seen him face-to-face. He was tall, maybe six feet or so, with dark, curly hair and a jagged scar running across his face. He wore a black cloak, some sort of weapon hanging at his side. None of the passerby seemed to be able to see him. "Morgan?" he asked again. She'd nodded.
"You're Ben, then?" she asked uncertainly. He nodded. She frowned, crossing her arms. "But not the Ben I knew, as you told me?"
"Trust me," he told her firmly. "That was a mistake." The people walking around her were watching now, confused expressions. Morgan raised an eyebrow at one particular man, who walked right through Ben. She swallowed.
"What's happening? Why can't they see you?" Ben smiled at her.
"I think you know. Focus." She hesitated, then closed her eyes. She realized she could feel it. The pull in her mind. The one that was always there whenever she used... Whenever she used the ability. It seemed to center right around him. She opened her eyes again, breathing hard.
"What -" she started, then slowing herself down, "What is that?" She motioned to her head. "That - That feeling?" He smiled wider.
"I knew it. Knew it since the beginning. You're Force-Sensitive."
"I'm what?"
"You've never heard of the Force?" he asked. She shook her head.
"Should I have?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. You don't remember, do you?" Morgan frowned again. "You don't. I should've guessed. Well, that can be explained soon. For now, there's a reason I set the connection up. There's a prisoner shipment this evening. On the Ring. You still live on Kafrene?" he asked this uncertainly.
"Yeah."
"Good. A Resistance soldier is being moved. You need to intercept the passage."
"What? Slow down. I thought you worked for the First Order," she said accusingly.
"More like the First Order works for me," he smiled again. "Where do your loyalties lie, Morgan? The First Order? Or the Resistance?"
"Neither," she'd said. "Who is there to trust?"
"Do you trust me?"
"No," she admitted.
"Good. You've learned. Keep learning. I promise you, though I'm sure my word doesn't mean very much to you, that you can trust me. Me and my friend, who you'll meet soon. No one else. Stop the shipment. If all goes well, we'll talk again soon."
"Wait -"
"I have to go," he said, suddenly looking over her head. She glanced back, but she couldn't tell what he was looking at.
"What is it?"
"Something on my end. Stop the shipment. Don't trust anyone. Can you do that?"
"Where on the Ring, though? Why are you -"
"Yes or no?"
"I'll try." He nodded quickly, then he reached for his weapon. Before he'd activated it, the connection was severed. She was alone.

Now, on Endor, she still hadn't heard from him again. Had she failed him? Had she imagined him? Had something bad happened? Or did he just not care? She knew one thing for sure, though. She'd lied to Jay. Her friends weren't the only reason she didn't trust the Resistance. There was also the man named Ben Solo.