Han let the silence stretch out for as long as he could bare, but when he was uncomfortable, he talked. He talked a lot. If only the man beside him would reciprocate. Only after days of relentless cajoling from Han, Chewie, R2 and Luke's own sister Leia, did Luke Skywalker board the resistance ship. The General Leia Organa couldn't accompany them personally of course, too much was still going on with the Resistance and First Order, but the messages she left had finally gotten through to Luke.

Now with R2 in the back of the ship checking various circuits, Chewie eating a second lunch, and Han piloting, that left Luke in the chair next to Han, sitting as silent as a statue. Han let his eyes flicker over the hooded Jedi beside him before returning to the ship's dash.

"Come on...you've really got nothing to say to me? After all this time? We went through hell to find ya pal…"

Luke said nothing and Han released a big sigh. As glad as he was to see his friend, and brother-in-law, Han felt like something just didn't sit right. He may not be force sensitive but it didn't take a Jedi to feel the undercurrent of contrition that followed Luke, who had barely spoken three words since he'd come aboard.

Han tapped his armrest with a finger, getting restless. He had never minded hearing just his own voice before, but he needed something from Luke. Han hadn't seen the man since he had left with Ben...all those years ago.

Han looked over at Luke again, remembering the day he'd gone with Ben. Ben grinning, despite leaving his parents for the first time. Leia feeling a little nervous and Han beaming with confidence. Luke knew the Force; could teach Ben all he knew. His boy would learn to be a Jedi and accomplish great things. Han had smiled broadly with pride that day.

Since then, their whole family had been torn asunder and while Han was doing his best to hold them together now, he knew that to fully mend, Ben and Luke would have to meet and quelsh what festered between them.

Han sighed again, much more heavily this time and gave Luke a grim stare. "Will you at least tell me how it happened? I have a right to know, Luke. He's my son."

Luke had been leaning back against his chair with his eyes closed for hours, never acknowledging anyone on the ship. Anger prickled through Han, but before he could berate Luke again, a series of beeps brought his attention back to the dash of the ship.

"The Resistance has intercepted a distress call from a nearby disabled craft, one of ours. They're sending us the coordinates for pickup," Han automatically stated. He punched a few buttons and rerouted the autopilot.

Well, good, Han thought. A little distraction would be welcome. His frustration with Luke was at a boiling point.

He knew his son had chosen the darkside after he'd left Luke, knew Snoke had influenced him but there was something else neither of them was telling him. He didn't care if he had to shoot both of them in the leg for an answer, but an answer he'd eventually get, so help him. Han's hands briefly tightened and he opened his mouth when Luke's eyes opened, suddenly.

"We're about to crash into a bit of garbage," Luke muttered.

"What?" Han started to say, as their ship popped out of hyperspace automatically and Han had to quickly grip the controls to steer their ship sharply before they hit the solid craft in front of them. Han had swerved enough to pause and look at what they'd almost collided with. Before them was a heavily damaged Corellian YT-1300 light freighter...his Corellian YT-1300 light freighter!

Han's mouth gaped incredulously at the sight of it before he let out a string of curses. "I don't believe it! You give the kid the keys once and this happens!"

Luke straightened in his chair, his eyes locked intently onto the ship. He could feel Ben inside of it.

"No turning back now," he said softly.

The Falcon was tethered and easily pulled into the larger bay of the Resistance ship. The outer dock doors sealed with a hiss and oxygen was ejected all along the hangar outside the damaged ship. Ben stood with Rey, waiting for the ramp to extend. He was tense, having already long sensed his uncle's energy. Rey felt someone out there too, someone strong in the Force, although she didn't know who.

"Is it Luke Skywalker?" she ventured curiously to Ben but he didn't reply, either by words or through their bond. In fact, it seemed as if he had erected an invisible wall between his emotions and hers.

Rey frowned at Ben before looking out the Millennium's door window to see Han and another man in greyish robes standing in the bay. Rey's face lit up with a smile and she ran nimbly down the ramp to Han, throwing herself in his arms for a giant hug.

"Hey, kid. How'd it go on Jakku? Find what you were after?" Han asked her, giving her his best side grin.

Rey's happy smile lessened before it fell completely. "Not what I wanted...not really. And the First Order found us. They took me, but Ben and Finn...Finn…" Rey choked at her friend's name. The pain pierced her and she fell against Han's chest again, not bothering to try and stifle her tears.

"Ah...hell…I'm sorry, kid," Han said, patting her back solemnly before looking up at his son. Ben Solo hadn't moved from the Falcon's boarding entrance. His eyes were locked with Luke's.

Luke returned his nephew's gaze with a similar intensity, never wavering. Ben stepped down and walked to them, his eyes remaining resolutely on his former Master's.

"Here we are at last...uncle," Ben said with slow deliberateness, his last word the quietest, as though he didn't want to admit his relation to the man in front of him. He uttered his next sentence even lower. "Come to finish me?"

The corner of Luke's mouth turned downward a fraction.

"No, Ben."

"You wonder if I've come to finish you," Ben said, not really a question but a statement. No one moved, not even Han or Rey. The tension hung thick and palpable in the air. Rey looked as if she would speak but Han's grip on her shoulders tightened, a silent plea to stay quiet.

"They know what I've done, Master..." Ben said, throwing out Luke's title mockingly before continuing. "But have you told them what you did? What brought us to this moment?" Ben's eyes narrowed in loathing but Luke's face remained impassive.

"Tell them!" Ben shouted, his cheeks flushed red with fury.

Luke finally spoke. "I sensed a darkness growing in you. It was...becoming stronger. I passed by your room, when I felt something stir deep within you. I came back and for a time while you slept, I watched. I felt that blackness ripple through you again and in a moment of weakness I contemplated something horrible-"

Ben cut Luke off when he screamed at him. "You BETRAYED me!"

Ben reached for his lightsaber and in one fluid motion, it lit to life as he brought it next to his uncle's throat. The hatred rolling off of Ben was suffocating, even with his inner shields up against Rey. She held one hand up to her mouth and the other gripped her own lightsaber. She looked from Ben to Luke, unbelieving. But the truth had been spoken, and Luke did not refute it.

"I trusted you," Ben's voice cracked slightly before turning back into cold bitterness. "You were my Master...my family! Do you know what that is LIKE?!" Ben was yelling again, biting rage coating his words. "TO OPEN YOUR EYES AND SEE A MAN YOU'VE CARED FOR...STARING DOWN AT YOU WITH BLANK EYES, WEAPON DRAWN?! I WAS JUST A BOY!"

Ben's face twisted into a snarl and his lightsaber crackled with a deadly pulse, it's sound synonymous with Ben's anger as it hovered mere inches from Luke's neck. The Jedi didn't move.

"Strike me down in hate, and I will live with you forever," was all Luke replied, in a tone as soft and calm as Ben's was furious.

Rey's hand left the weapon at her waist. She rested her palm against Ben's arm. For the first time since his descent from the Falcon, Ben turned his eyes from Luke to rest on Rey. His gaze softened.

Luke looked from Ben to the girl beside his nephew, making no attempt to hide his shock. Luke could feel the hate ebb from Ben, like melting snow on hot coals. Ben lowered his red saber to his side. It deactivated with a quiet hiss.

Han, pale as a sheet, who had stood by without a word turned to the Jedi. "Luke?" He said only his name, but it was clear what he what he was really asking. Was all of that true?

Luke's normally passively void face grew heavy as he spoke, his eyes back on Ben.

"I did fail you, Ben. When my trust in you faltered, it caused you to abandon the light. It is...my greatest regret. Snoke, who sensed the turmoil in you, knew he could twist you to him. But it was by my hand that had driven you there. In that, the fault is mine…"

Ben listened but dared not look away from Rey's warm eyes. She kept him grounded, when blind hate would consume him. He leaned toward her and rested his forehead against hers. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes. The inner shield he'd placed around his thoughts gave way, letting her in. The force of his emotions pummeled her, forcing her to take a deep breath as well. She felt his pain acutely, as if she had been stabbed in the chest.

She was flooded with overlapping waves of grief, anger, loneliness, and despair, all of which in turn clashed against feelings of calm acceptance, whispers of hope and love for her. Rey looked at Ben as she felt and saw the conflicting battle within him until he dropped his lightsaber to the ground to encircle her to him.

Rey… He spoke her name over and over in his mind, letting her light envelope him.

"Who are you?" Luke broke the moment, staring at Rey with quiet wonder. Rey didn't move her eyes away from Ben, his hold was tenuous as it was, but Han stepped next to the Jedi to place a hand on Luke's shoulder. What Han really wanted to do in the moment was give his brother-in-law a good hard punch to the jaw, but if his son could stay his hand, so could he.

"Rey's a scavenger from Jakku, and she's been helping us. She helped find the map that led us to you, Luke..."

Luke absorbed the information candidly, looking her over more piercingly than he had before. His gaze widened when he saw the lightsaber at her hip. Rey, who still leaned against Ben, saw Luke look at her belt and reached to unclip the weapon.

"This belongs to you-" she began.

Luke held up a hand to motion her to stop. "I will not take it. Never again…" he said curtly.

Rey let her hand fall, but didn't press him further. He wasn't anything like she had ever expected. He looked rather haggard, tired, and...grumpy, if she was being honest. His earlier words to Ben while seemingly sincere, still held a hint of accusation in them. He had not forgiven Ben for the destruction he'd done before he'd left.

Ben's mistrust of Luke had lessened from wide river to a stream, but it flowed ever onward, steadily and strong. It seemed that, while there was a momentary peace between them, forgiveness was on neither side.

Ben spoke to Rey through the Force. I'll gather our things. Speak to him if you must, but I cannot...and I will not kill him...for now.

With that thought, Ben strode back to the Falcon without a spoken word, leaving Rey, his father and Luke behind.

The resistance ship was on it's way back to the rebel base where Leia eagerly awaited their return. Han had sent news that all was well. Sort of. At least no one was dead, so Han called it a pretty good day. Han had gone after Ben aboard the Falcon, ready to have a father to son heart-to-heart talk, only to find himself face to face with the one-armed scientist hostage Eralyn K'vor, the very same lady who'd experimented on his son. Han had, none too gently, carted her off the Falcon and dumped her in the bigger ship's holding cell.

"Wait til Leia gets a hold of you." Han shook his head at the angry captive. "I'd say I feel sorry for you but, well...I'd be lying."

Han left the woman, who began yelling profanities at his back, to return to the main deck. Rey sat in the common area with a slice of buttered bread, eating quietly while Luke sat across from her, ignoring everyone on the ship again. Rey inwardly sighed. She felt like she was split between two stubborn tauntauns, Ben on one side and Luke on the other.

Ben sulked in the room where he'd put his and Rey's things, an accommodation Han had lifted a brow at, but said nothing. He liked the influence the girl had on Ben, but the father in him twitched at the thought of his son sharing such intimate space with Rey, whom he also felt fatherly toward. It was damned confusing, but he shrugged and did his best to let it be. He's definitely my son, Han thought, briefly reminiscing of his own forward behaviour towards Leia. He leaned back in the captain's chair and closed his eyes, a tiny smile on his lips.

Rey finished her toast and glanced at Luke. He never took advantage of her earlier attempts to draw him into conservation so instead of trying again, she plucked a small metal piece from her pocket. It had been among the things Ben had recovered from Garrett after killing him. She smiled at the bauble, bittersweetly. On Jakku she'd used it to scribble lines on the wall of her home in the abandoned AT-AT walker. A small symbol etched into the side of it was intriguing but held no meaning to her. Luke had moved to watch her and reached out his hand.

She looked at him, surprised he'd noticed her at all and let the object fall into his hands. Luke examined the piece and froze. "Where did you get this?" he said.

Rey involuntarily moved a little further away from the man as he'd almost barked the question. "I've always had it...as long as I can remember."

Luke clasped his hand around it and left, heading for his room. Rey stared after him before she pursed her lips tightly. She got up and followed. "Hey, that's mine you know. I didn't give you permission to just take it!" She stopped, still feeling indignant at Luke's brashness when the Jedi stopped rummaging through his belongings. Rey saw that he'd been moving around a bundle of ancient books, among other things.

Luke pulled out a carefully wrapped cloth tied with a length of twine. He unwrapped it to reveal a necklace. He held the two objects in his hands side by side, their marks unmistakably the same.

"What is it?" Rey asked, looking from the necklace to her metal block, failing to understand why everyone fussed over a piece of scrap she'd carried around for years while on Jakku. Luke turned to face her, his eyes studied her intently as he looked over her with renewed awe.

"It's the symbol of Revan."

Rey raised a brow. "Yes, the Knight of Ren who kidnapped me told me as much, but who is Revan?"

"Gray Jedi…" Luke murmured under his breath, so low Rey almost missed it.

"A Jedi? But I still don't understand-"

"No, he turned from the light but that's not the end of his story," Luke interrupted her and bent over his dusty books, running a finger along the spine of one. "Was anything else found? Or is this key all you have?" Luke asked abruptly.

"No, I don't have anything else, and wait...that's a key? A key to what?" Rey asked more questions, but all went unanswered. Frustrated, she held her hand out, waiting for Luke to give it back. When he did not move, she folded her arms. Suddenly a thought struck her.

"Actually, Ben told me he'd taken something from the merchant, Unkar Plutt. It had something to do with my parents… Hey, where are you going?" Rey called out after Luke suddenly brushed past her and strode toward her room.

Ben glowered at Luke as the door swished open. He had been meditating on the floor of the room, legs folded beneath him and hands against his the tops of his knees, with their palms up. The serenity all but shattered when he rose to meet his uncle's gaze with a stern glare.

"We have a lot to discuss, you and I," Luke told his nephew grimly, ignoring the narrowing of Ben's eyes.

General Hux eyed the wreckage of the medical bay with a disdainful sniff. He stepped over a puddle of congealed blood to stand next to a young woman in a white lab coat. "Miss...K'vor, is it? Anya K'vor? You say you understand your mother's research. Just how well do you know it?"

The woman blinked coldly at Hux, but her tone was civil. "My mother and I ran the lab together. She is the right foot, and I am the left, so to speak." She picked up a nearby clipboard, brushing the rubble off of it and asked in a smooth voice. "Did you find her?"

"No," Hux replied. He sounded almost petulant. "She was taken by Kylo Ren. Their whereabouts are still...unknown." General Hux's slightly babyish face scrunched into an angry scowl. He had been eyeing the smashed vials along the floor before he rounded on Anya.

"The girl's blood. Tell me it wasn't destroyed." Hux waited impatiently and glared even more fiercely when the girl smiled.

"Not all of it. We have enough for two doses, but without more...further experimentation cannot be performed." Again, Anya's voice betrayed little to no emotion, but her smile did widen as she revealed that some of the work was not lost.

"And FN-2187?" Hux quipped. He followed the petite woman as she left the front of the med bay to the back where a bacta tank stood, a human man lay inside it.

"Stable, although current scans indicate that he will suffer memory loss and reduced brain function."

Hux's eyes roved over the dark skinned man inside the healing tube. "Give him the first sample of the serum, but save the second. He's the perfect subject to try it out. If all goes to plan, this would be a major turning point for the First Order… The scavenger girl had better be worth all the trouble…" Hux muttered to himself the last bit of his rant.

Hux turned on his heel and strode out with his chin raised. He would wait and see how FN-2187 responded to the enhanced drug and if it was favorable...perhaps he could be the second recipient. After all was proven safe, of course. He glanced down at his hands and imagined Kylo Ren's neck being squeezed until tendons snapped and his windpipe was crushed. All with the power of the Force. The Force at his control. He would be far stronger than that insolent whelp who had once called himself a Master of the Knights of Ren. Hux took in a ragged breath and cleared his throat while attempting to tamper down his excitement. Picturing vengeance was almost as good as dealing it out. Almost.