Rey sat on the ground trying to center herself, her back against her favorite rock on the island. She breathed slowly and focused on the force flowing through her. She tried in vain to push away the pain and fear she felt clawing at the back of her mind. She remained still, and tried to focus on the things Luke had told her: about the uncertainty of the future, about how he had once tried to save his friends from pain, about how even fully trained masters can misread their visions. She turned it over in her mind again and again as she had everyday for almost a month, but the pain and fear merely grew in heart. She could hear her friends calling out to her. They were captured, being tortured, in the hands of Kylo Ren. His haunting mask stared at her day and night; she could not get him out of her mind.

The pain was too much; she couldn't ignore her friends any longer. She snapped her eyes open. She had decided what to do.

She gathered her things into her small bag, along with Luke's lightsaber. She ran up the hill to Luke, who stood, looking out over the sea.
"You must not go, Rey." He stated, without turning to look at her. "You have not completed your training. You will be more vulnerable now than ever before."

She walked slowly up to him, turning to face him in profile. "I know, Master Luke. But I cannot ignore these visions any longer. I have to go to help my friends."

"We cannot keep having this argument, Rey. You do not know that your visions are real; it could be a trap." Luke voice lacked the concern and conviction it had had the first ten times they had had this argument. He seemed weary and frustrated; he recognized the irony that he was repeating to Rey what Yoda and Obi-Wan had said to him all those years ago. He had ignored them then, too.

"Rey, you cannot face Kylo Ren. You are not ready."

"I beat him before."

"He was severely injured, and he has almost completed his training since then."

"But I have trained, too!"

"Not enough, Rey. You still cannot control your emotions." Luke finally turned to look at her. Her sweet face was full of determination. She was no longer asking his advice or permission. He could see she had made up her mind this time. He put his hand on her arms and looked at her sadly but also proudly.

"Do not forget your training. Mind what I have taught you. Center yourself when you are frightened. Control your emotions so they cannot control you."
Rey nodded at him seriously. He was letting her go.

"Follow the Force, it will guide you. And Rey…" he paused and looked at her with care and concern, "come back here safely."

She nodded again. She reached into her bag to hand him back his lightsaber.

"That is yours now." He said.

Far away, aboard the Finalizer, Kylo Ren could feel the shift stirring within his prey. She has decided to leave. He smiled darkly. Finally.

He pressed the button on the communicator in his quarters. "General."

"Yes, Ren" Came Hux's clear voice through the computer.

"Prepare your men for a ground assault." He commanded.

"Sir?" Hux questioned. They had been instructed by Snoke to hold their location until the coordinates of the new Resistance base were discovered. Teams of his men were searching the galaxy for information on the current base, but nothing as of yet had been discovered.

Kylo Ren voice was filled with malice and conviction, "I know the location of the Resistance base. The time to strike is now."

Hux set to work, coordinating his troops and arming landing crews, but he couldn't help but wonder, how had Ren discovered the location of base so suddenly?

Rey raced to Marchett, where the resistance base was hidden. Luke's warnings and disappointment haunted her thoughts and pressed heavily against her chest. She was making a mistake, and she knew it, but she didn't care. The only thing more haunting than Luke's words were the anguished cries she heard when her mind was blank. With The Force guiding her, she hurried to Marchett, hoping she would arrive in time to save her friends.

The hyperdrive alarm chirped, and she dropped the ship out of light speed, beginning her decent to the planet's surface, and noticing a star destroyer in orbit on the opposite side of the planet. They're already here.

The base was located in an ancient temple, towering in a valley between two soaring mountains. As she approached, she could see a trail of smoke and within it red and green laser fire. She spotted a secluded clearing beyond the fray, and hurriedly began the landing sequence, jumping out of the cockpit before the ship had completely touched down.

She landed on one of the training fields, unnoticed by the endless First Order army that was bombarding the Resistance base. She surveyed the battle, her gut clenching as she surmised the extent of destruction. It appeared that the Resistance was losing. If they followed protocol, the evacuation would have already begun. Underground tunnels connected the temple entry at the valley side of the mountain to a hidden cargo bay on the opposite side of the mountain. These tunnels were designed to serve as an escape route during an attack.

She peered into the distance, and saw tiny lights fading into the atmosphere on the opposite side of the mountain – Resistance ships were already escaping. The evacuation had indeed begun.

Staying low and creeping through the underbrush in the valley, she snuck into the base through its side entrance, still unseen by the stormtroopers forcing their way into the front. A brave group of Resistance fighters engaged the stormtroopers at the front, distracting them from the evacuation already underway.

She ran to the command room, finding General Organa surrounded by her close advisors and other higher-ranking officers. Leia's fierce expression softened when she saw Rey.

"What are you doing here?" She said as she pulled Rey into a tight hug.

"We don't have time right now, General. What do you need? How can I help?" Rey asked. Leia looked hard at Rey, taking her in. Rey wore long white leggings under a pure white sleeveless tunic, synched tightly at her waist with a thin brown leather belt. She still resembled the scavenger from Jakku, but the Padawan before Leia was polished and elegant, her tattered rags exchanged for crisp, clean garments, both neatly tailored and gracefully flowing. She had grown up while she was away.

"We have evacuated more than half of the base, including equipment, but it won't be long before the First Order gets in through our front. We need to hold the them back once they have entered the base in order to ensure the evacuation of as many remaining personnel as possible." Leia voice was strong and clear.

Leia's communicator broke through, relaying the screaming voice of Poe, "They've broken the north ranks, General. We're losing men up here. Clear the command room. They will break through us soon."

Leia and Rey's eyes met. Leia raised her communicator to her lips, "Pull your troops out and get to your transport, Black Leader. We're going to detonate the south passages."

"Yes m'am." Poe answered.

An officer behind them executed the command and the entire room shook violently. "The South passages have been successfully collapsed m'am." He furrowed his brow, "No, all but passage 4, which is only partially caved in."

"It'll do." She nodded. "Give the order for full evacuation. And get to your transports."

Rey sternly nodded to Leia, and turned to head to the north passage, pulling out her lightsaber and preparing herself for battle. She needed to help Poe and his men escape, and provide Leia and the rest of the base the time they needed to complete the evacuation. She continued to run and found herself in the cargo bay. She looked around the corner stealthily, and saw stormtroopers already taking Poe and Finn captive. To her horror, she realized rest of the resistance fighters had been killed.

Why would they capture Poe and Finn, and not kill them like the rest? She wondered, but then her stomach fell. They must have been the primary target, she thought. They are trying to bait me. It was a trap, just as Master Luke had suspected. She stopped and tried to center herself as Luke had taught her. Be calm, she thought, Be at peace. She drew a long breath, and her eyes snapped open. Nope.

Her anger and fear flared and she rush directly into the fray. There were more than two-dozen men taking Poe and Finn away, and nearly six dozen more flowing out of newly arrived ships in the distance. She easily cut through the troopers closest to her, her force powers flexing fully for the first time. She force pushed seven men into the stone wall of the cargo bay, and sliced her saber through another three. One trooper shot at her, but she stopped the laser in its tracks, releasing it only when another trooper stood in its path.

Before Poe and Finn could realize what was happening, she had cut lose their bindings.

"We have to stop these troops from taking the north passage in order to give the General the time she needs to evacuate!" She shouted to them, turning on her heels and running back in the direction from which she came. Poe and Finn grabbed guns from the hostlers of fallen troopers and followed after her. As they get to the entrance, she faltered, falling behind momentarily. Leia, she thought suddenly.

She could sense that Leia was in danger, or would be soon. It was hard for her to discern. She looked back out to the hanger, and clenched her jaw. Newly arrived, was an Upsilon class shuttle that could only mean that Kylo Ren was here. He must have arrived only moments after she did, for her to have missed him. South Passage 4, she thought, unsure from where the thought had come.

She shook her head and ran after her friends. They ran down the North passage, taking down stormtroopers as they went, but more were now following behind them. They ducked into a bend in the passage, and used it to provide them cover.

"All fighters to their transports. The last ships are leaving in fourteen minutes." A computerized woman's voice yelled over the loudspeakers. Finn, Poe and Rey looked at each other.

"You two go. I have my own ship here. I can collapse this passage on my way out, and the rest of the troopers will not be able to get through."

They hesitated, but then nodded.

"We will catch up properly at the rendezvous." Finn said, warmly. Poe winked at her. Rey smiled back at them, realizing how desperately happy she was to see them again, safe and healthy.

"I can't wait. Now get going." She said, her expression warm and caring.

They turned and ran back to the command center. Rey focused her mind and body on the walls of the passage, using The Force to help her destroy them. She held her hand outstretched beside her, fingers curling slowly into a fist as she pulled the walls inward upon themselves. The walls began to collapse around her, she turned and ran back to the command center. It was now empty.

Rey's thoughts were heavy and confused. She felt a strong force tugging at her to turn to the south. She closed her eyes, trying again to center herself. Leia. She was certain this time: Leia was in danger. She ran down the deserted south passage. She picked up her speed as she ran, a growing sense of urgency propelling her forward.

A voice echoed down the corridor, "Ben, please."

Rey's felt her body go cold. Leia's voice was breaking; she sounded nothing like the strong leader that Rey knew. Rey was flooded with Leia's emotions: joy, misery, hope. Rey ran as fast and she could.

"What more can I do to show you that Ben is dead?" said the metallic voice of Kylo Ren. "There is no more light in me."

"I will never believe that," Leia's voice was stronger now, "You are my son."

Rey was overwhelmed with new emotions: rage, frustration, and despair. She sensed that these new emotions were coming from Kylo.

She turned the corner in time to see Kylo ignite his red saber and move swiftly and violently towards his mother, who made no effort to run from her child.

Rey sprinted into the space, jumped over a giant fallen computer tower, and leapt in front of Leia, using the force to push the older woman aside to safety.

Kylo's blow landed directly on Rey's shoulder, cutting deeply into her and burning her skin. She had expected that the force of his attack would have killed her, but Kylo had pulled his arm back at the last second so the blow was shallow than she anticipated.

"Go, Leia. Get out of here. I've got this." Rey screamed as she tried to scramble to her feet. Leia watched in anguish as Rey pulled her right arm to her body, and attempted to hold her saber with only her left. Leia hesitated, desperate to intervene to help Rey and to try again to save her son.

"Go!" Rey repeated. Leia finally turned and ran from the room, defeat and sorrow darkening her face.

Kylo Ren watched Leia leave, but kept his focus on Rey. He remained still, watching as Rey attempted to move away from him, still keeping herself between him and Leia's exit. She was losing blood as she moved. He watched as the white fabric on her right arm became stained redder and redder. She was unsteady on her feet, and he saw her clench her jaw against the pain.

Rey backed into the fallen computer tower, nearly losing her footing and sending blinding waves of pain down her arm. She held her saber up defensively, but her strength was failing.

He turned off his saber and stored on his belt. He moved toward her, towering over her in the cramped space. She raised her weapon, but her arm shook violently. When he was close enough to touch her, he effortlessly disarmed her and stored her saber on his belt next to his own. She looked up at him, wide-eyed and defiant, trying to push him away from her with what little strength she had left.

He bent down to scoop her up, careful to place her so that her injured arm would sit protected against his chest. She had no strength left to fight and could barely keep her eyes open. Her world began to spin.

He carried her out the half-collapsed south passage directly to the cargo bay, where his ship is the last First Order vessel waiting on the tarmac.