The Balance and The Force {Star Wars Ep. X}

s. III

Anni stood in the small ship. One that was enough to hold only a few people. There were no blasters on the ship, it was mostly just used for cargo.

She stood there and watched her mother pilot the ship. BB-8 with her in the pilot area. She seemed urgent, and Anni was afraid on what was out there.

"I haven't ever left Tatooine." Anni said to her mother. She nodded before patting the passenger seat next to her.

"Anni, I need to talk to you." She seemed uneasy from the past events.

Anni sat down and looked at her mother. Rey breathed out shakily before turning back to her daughter.

"You know of the dark and the light, correct?" She asked her daughter.

"Of course. From your teachings." Anni answered.

"Your brother must have been... Persuaded." She started, she was unhappy. "By someone else. Someone who wants to destroy the bond between our family." She looked down at her hands. "It can't be your father who is contacting him. I know your father better than that, I also know he is dead."

Anni sat there and looked down at her lightsaber. "Luke gave me the crystal." She said softly. "He wanted the necklace for some reason, but he was also willing to give it back to me. He told me it was important."

Rey looked at her daughter sadly. She seemed innocent. Not understanding of the true capacity of this issue.

"You two... We're born from the two most powerful families in the Galaxy. Made from your father's life force... A blessing and a curse. I kept you two hidden so this wouldn't happen, but someone knew." She sighed and turned to look back out into space.

"Where are we going?" Anni asked her mother. She didn't wanna make her mother upset by discussing her father.

Rey breathed out softly. "To meet some old friends."

There wasn't anymore conversation, the two landed on a planet that Anni didn't know the name of. People were gathering around the ship with guns out. Apparently, the whole army of people were on their toes.

First, Rey stepped out. Anni watched her mother run and hug two people who seemed to be her friends. People she obviously hadn't seen in years.

Then slowly, Anni stepped out of the ship. Her hood falling down and showing her full face. Everyone stopped to look, and the two men Rey had been hugging turned to look too.

"Who is this?" The first man spoke to Rey.

"This is my daughter, Anni. Anni, this is Finn and Poe. The two commanders of the resistance." Finn and Poe walked towards Anni. Confused, but delighted to meet her.

Anni looked at the two. She looked at the first man, the one asking about her. They both awkwardly hugged her. Anni never had been shown this affection from anyone but her mother. She turned to her mother.

"Who... Uh... Who is her father?" The first man asked. Anni guessed this was Finn. He looked at Rey with a look in his eyes. He must have missed her a lot.

Rey stood there nervously, pressing a hand on her stomach. "Ben." She muttered. "Ben Solo." She said.

Everyone seemed confused and Anni just stood there. Feeling like people didn't know what to do with her.

"We thought he died as Kylo Ren." The other man spoke up. That was Poe. "That's who we believed was carrying this threat."

Finn spoke up once again. "Anni... Come with us to the meeting room." He said before waving for Poe and Rey to follow him as well.

They all stepped in the meeting room. Anni stayed standing as the three others sat down. She leaned against the wall and looked outside the window. She was trying to make sense of everything.

"Rey, is that why you ran away? Because you were pregnant with a child?" Poe asked Rey.

"Twins. I knew what was happening was dangerous. Those two are powerful, and I knew that if they-" Rey was cut off by Finn.

"You have another child? Is that the apprentice we heard of?" Finn said quickly. The three looked over at Anni.

"Anni... Do you know anything about your brother? What happened with him?" Finn asked.

Anni turned and looked at the three. She snapped back into reality before standing straight. "I'm unsure... He would always run off while I worked on droids. I always thought he was just exploring. But, over this past year we haven't been as close." She said truthfully. "But... Whoever-" she stopped for a moment to close her eyes. She was getting upset. "Whoever did this to him i-is not my father. I know that." She felt tears wanting to escape her eyes. "He's with me." She held her pendant.

Rey sighed. "Anni, your father is gone. You're not even sure who he truly is. Kai only knows from whoever has turned him to the dark side. Whoever is trying to contact you using that thing is not your father."

Anni was noticably getting upset. Rey sighed and looked to the door. "How about you leave and go get some air while I have a discussion with Poe and Finn?"

Anni obeyed and walked out of the area. She walked down the hall and sighed. She was looking for somewhere to sit down. She found a rock in the wooded area and gently sat down.

She stared off into the distance. She felt sad. She felt like she had lost something that she didn't even know was there. She breathed out heavily and let her shoulders relax. She missed her brother.

Kai always had the answers to everything. He knew how to calm her down and how to fix the things that went wrong. Whenever she felt lonely, he was there. He always told her that she was never alone.

How did this go wrong? What had happened to him that made him do what he did? Anni wasn't even sure of the extent to the issue facing her.

She was suddenly snapped back to reality when someone cleared their throat in front of her. A tall man with blonde hair stood in front of her. He was handsome, she had to admit. He was muscular and wearing a soft long sleeve under a jacket and brown pants. Though, he had a pilot pin on his jacket pocket.

"Anni, right?" The man said, his voice smooth. He seemed calm, this helped distract her.

She nervously nodded to the man before standing up from the rock. He towered over her, reminding her of Kai.

"I'm Ryder, ma'am. I'm a junior pilot... I joined the resistance just recently. Something was telling me I had to speak to you." He was gentle. Anni knew she could trust him.

"It's... Nice to meet you." Anni said and watched as his eyes trailed down to the pendant she was wearing. He smiled before looking up at her.

"How are you doing?" He asked, his eyes going to look into hers.

Anni didn't know how to respond. "I feel a lot." She said honestly. "I wanna know, everything... I'm angry, but I'm also... Hopeful. As if there is something waiting for me just around the corner."

Ryder nodded to her. "Well, if you ever need something from me, Anni. I am here. I'm most likely to be found on the ship bay." He said to her before patting her shoulder and walking off. Anni sighed before sitting back down. Unsure of what to do next.

-

Kai stood in front of his master in the throne room. He nervously stood with his hands to his side. The order was currently barely built. They were so far a small army that had only gotten a hold of just a few planets in the Galaxy.

But now, they had Kai.

Kai closed his eyes. He was trying to reach whom he believed to be Kylo Ren. "Father, what am I supposed to do with my sister?"

You need to find her. She has the necklace. The item to bring me back to life. Though, she must use the dark side in order to complete the process.

Kai breathed out softly. "Where shall this happen?" He asked.

Exegol.