Shared Vision

Chapter 1 "The Night After"

REY:

Rey leaned back in a shallow alcove of the Millenium Falcon watching the stars flicker past at lightspeed.  Though the lights had been turned down hours ago and exhaustion coursed through her, Rey couldn't stop the questions from streaking through her mind as fast as the stars slid by the porthole.  Foremost in her mind at the moment was: Why, Ben?  She couldn't stop her eyes from shifting to the table were Luke's shattered saber lay in pieces. 

She had been so sure. She had known irrevocably that when the time came, Ben would turn to the light. And he had. Severing Snoke before the brute could even realize what was happening, immediately turning to face Praetorian Guard, even through the fury of battle she could feel it. There had been no whisper of hesitation. It wasn't fear or hatred that was motivating him. What roared from him was protective, and a desperate demand for freedom. That break of Snoke's hold could only have come from a surge of light in him, she had no doubt. So where had things gone wrong? Why hadn't he come with her? They could have ended the war now! 

...Couldn't  they?

More questions.

She leaned her head back and rubbed at her stinging eyelids. It had been too long since she slept, but her mind needed dredged of the uncertainties that were starting to bubble up.

Hadn't she been completely convinced of a lot of wrong ideas lately? She was sure all she had to do was help BB8 and Finn get back to the resistance, and then she could go back to life on Jakku.  She was sure all she had to do was return Luke's light saber to him, and he would save the Resistance.  She was sure all she needed to do was go to Ben, and he would renounce the First Order.  

And hadn't Luke tried to tell her that?
This won't go the way you think.

Rey chided herself for thinking any of these matters could be solved so simply. On Jakku, life had been straightforward: work, fight, eat, and try to hold on to hope. But she wasn't on Jakku now. Every day became infinitely more complex. She couldn't rely on old habits to navigate such an unfamiliar path.

Time to grow up, Rey.

And, inexplicably, it was with that thought that she dropped into profound sleep. 

BEN:

Ben strode through the corridors of his command ship blazing with intent. Though few people were required to be on duty at this hour, he wanted to make sure even the casual late night observer viewed him appropriately. He must emminate unquestionable strength and focus on a singular objective. He must be looked upon as dauntless, certainly not as a fraying cord ready to snap. Which, of course, he was. Frenetic energy surged through him as he tried to make sense of all that had transpired of late. He felt his fists clenching at his sides, sensed raw emotion urging it's way to the surface. Turning down a passage that dead ended after 5 doors, he wrenched open the last one on the left and stepped out of sight of the meager crew.

The room before him was more intriguing than he would have thought. He had twisted his way through the cavernous ship's belly, essentially as far from Command, weapons systems, and the pretentious living quarters as possible. He had expected maintenance, storage, or even a dusty board room. Instead what he saw was a massive arched view of the stars. On either side of the platform where he stood, shallow stairs led to a second level where dormant flight control panels curved to match the expansive window. Each side of the bottom level was lined with stations for various operations. The unexpectedness of what lay before him shook him from his cyclical brooding. He stilled, reaching out to the structure around him. This was not only a secondary Command, it was a separate ship! He stretched his mind further into the vessel. This cruiser was an older model, built with heavy conflict in mind... yes, defence for the First Order's bases. Those built in areas where their hold was less established. Where even those who were not resistance fighters could cause trouble. If the primary Command deck were destroyed, the ship could be directed from here. If the bulk of it were too badly damaged, this smaller vessel could separate.