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"You've done well," Ben told his students. "You could go home now. You all must be exhausted."
"But Ben," a student stepped forward.
"You earned it," Ben nodded.
The students looked at each other but nodded, gathering their things and leaving him to his own thoughts.
Ben observed the Falcon carefully, seeing what damage it was in. He opened the ramp and went inside. It was cold, and there was a bit of water on the floor and the consoles. It was going to take a lot of time to fix it.
"I trusted you," said a voice.
Ben turned to see Una standing by the entrance to the Falcon. She seemed distraught, which immediately worried him. "What is it? Is Yetta–"
"He knows," said Una, disrupting him. "He knows about Snoke...and the Knights of Ren." Her tone shuddered, as she appeared to be holding back her tears and anger. "Now he's asking questions, questions I'm too afraid to answer."
"How did he know?"
"He heard you and Rey mention them," Una glared. "I knew this was a terrible idea. I shouldn't have encouraged it. I shouldn't have trusted you..." She shook her head, as tears glistened in her eyes. She gulped before she took a breath and continued, "He won't be coming to your lessons anymore...I will teach him whatever I can. Please stay away from him."
Ben was disappointed in himself, as a great amount of guilt had overcome him. He nodded, "I understand. And I'm sorry."
"I know," she said. Then she left, walking down the ramp while almost bumping into Rey. She gave her a bleak smile before she continued forward.
Rey ran into the Falcon to find Ben. Sensing his distress, she asked, "What is it?"
Ben didn't want to tell her, but they told each other everything now; both thoughts and feelings. "Yetta overheard you and I talking about Snoke." He sighed, in shame. "He won't be coming to the lessons anymore."
"I'm sorry." Rey took his hand, intertwining her fingers with his.
Ben shook his head, displeased with himself. "I thought I've left the past behind...but it still haunts me. And when it's not, it still haunts others. The ones I've hurt. How could I be a Jedi if I can't let go of my past?" He looked at Rey, hoping she had an answer.
"Maybe it's not about letting go of the past," she said, thoughtfully. "The past did so much to us, yet we can't let it control our future. Only we decide that."
In an instant Ben felt at ease, and leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead. "Thank you Rey," He whispered. "I don't know what I'd without you."
