Disclaimer: Nothing depicted, character, settings, or otherwise, in this fiction is mine. That honour belongs to Disney and LucasFilms.

A/N: A few notes before we head into the story: I'm Australian and so will be using Australian English and punctuating my speech with — ' instead of — ". Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

Chapter One

Origins

Inhale. Exhale.

Rey ascended the stone steps before her. The breeze blew icy across her exposed skin, the sensation settling in the pit of her stomach. Even with the comforting presence of Chewie carrying R2D2 behind her, her limbs weighed heavy.

Soon enough, a robed figure entered her line of vision, causing a lump formed in her throat and her grip tightened on the saber sheathed at her side. The closer she drew, the more detail she could discern the individual threads of his robes and the globs of mud that clung to the frayed ends. She noticed the figure's shoulders square beneath their robe's heavy fabric.

He knew they were here.

'Kira?' Familiarity tickled around the word.

She shook her head while drawing back the saber. 'No, I'm Rey.'

R2D2 beeped incessantly as Chewie heaved him back onto the ground to scoot up beside her. The droid's head swivelled towards hers, lights now flashing in time with its bleeping, and Rey smiled.

The droid's chatter ceased as Luke turned to her and her companions front on, eyes scrutinising. His jaw was wreathed in a grey scruff of a beard, the colour made all the more apparent by the crevices fissured over his face. No doubt existed that this man was Luke Skywalker. His face matched the hologram General Leia had gifted her before she, R2D2, and Chewie boarded the Millennium Falcon, albeit older and harsher in expression. Even so, the distrust in his blue eyes drew her shoulders together, though she kept her gaze steady upon him.

A brush of fur against her right arm and a lowered grumble in Wookiee. Several soft beeps. We're here. She managed a smile.

Chewbacca and R2D2's reassurances seemed to disarm Luke. His stance relaxed and his mouth quirked upwards, encouragement enough to prompt her approach. Once before him, she extended the saber once more. He stared at it and then her before taking it. 'Thank you.'

She breathed, and the wind flapped about their clothing. 'Did Leia send you?'

'Yes,' she said, tugging at one of her arm band. 'The First Order have risen to challenge the Resistance, and Leia thinks you're our only hope.'

Luke remained silent before sighing. He gestured behind him. 'Come. We've got much to discuss.'

He turned and motioned for her and Chewie to follow. She stood, body language hesitant, until Chewie guided her forward with a push. Shaking herself out of it, she began to jog to catch up, Chewie flanking her, only slowing to a meander when she reached a few metres behind Luke.

Each moment that ticked by marked another tally of doubt in her mind. The terrain grew more mountainous, though sprinkled with more greenery than we they had began, and the sameness of everything called her mind to other things. Kira. The echo of that name resonated, coaxing a shiver. Where had she heard it? Why the shiver? Could Luke feel her distress through the Force? His posture remained upright and firm, but she knew almost nothing about this man other than what General Organa had shared. A myth, he was, until she'd handed the saber to him. Even with the piece of the map entered in the Millennium Falcon's systems, a small part of her wondered if this was true, if in some far-fetched way, this whole experience was a kind of virtual reality someone had trapped her in. She snorted. Ridiculous. Her clothing scratching at her shoulders, the breeze's icy edge, the squeak of R2D2's wheels over stone, and Chewie's musty scent coalesced together, lingering in her senses. This, all of it, was real.

Luke stopped, jolting her from thought. She blinked a moment at her surroundings. The blackness of a cave's mouth stared out at her from a cliff face, one much steeper than others they had passed. The base of her skull tingled, the sensation then trickling down her neck. A sign of the Force, and it was strong here. Grass and other unidentifiable flora of red, orange, and purple hues framed the cave's opening, enough to obscure it from casual glances. She peered harder. A second look revealed some scuffing suggestive of someone's comings and goings.

'Through here. Follow me,' Luke said without sparing a glance behind him. He stepped forward before adding, 'Sorry, Chewie, R2D2.'

He received an annoyed half-growl from her furry companion, though it seemed to phase Luke little as he proceeded, his knees bent. She squatted and entered, sighing in contentment at the absence of outside's nipping cold. A scruff of fur and metal as well as a low grumble told her Chewie and R2D2 followed behind her.

Darkness soon submerged their surroundings as they lumbered onwards. She reached out to both sides of her, where her hands were met with stone filmed with what she guessed was dew. The feel of it hunched her shoulders. 'Yuck! The walls in here feel disgusting. How on Jakku are we meant to see in here?'

R2D2 beeped, opening a compartment on his side to reveal a rod of light.

Luke chuckled. 'You'll see. It's not much farther, I promise.'

She barely contained a snort at his reassurance, but she bit her tongue a short while later when the darkness gave way to a glow that bathed her skin in blue. Ahead, she made out the outline of Luke's robes, the saber he clutched, and ribbons of blue thrumming across the cave's stone walls, increasing the tingling across her neck. These ribbons, akin to veins, thickened as they trudged on, tying and overlapping together until they swallowed the darkness of the stone's surface. She marvelled at the near-constance of their light. They dimmed in and out in the space of three beats, a gentle thrum. Her body relaxed into a trance, her feet gliding ahead—until she smacked into the back of Luke.

A two pairs of hands steadied her. 'Careful there,' Luke said, hands disappearing once more into his robes. 'I shouldn't have stopped. It's easy to lose yourself at the sight of these. They still amaze me after all this time.'

'I-It's fine,' she said, waving it off. She turned on the spot, gaping. 'What are they?'

A pause ensued before Luke replied, 'An anomaly of this cave. I've yet to find the source of it.'

'Okay.' She nodded slowly and held her tongue.

Her vision sharpened. The passageway they had emerged from widened now into a sorry approximation of a circle with little ground space. Droids parts littered much of what space was available—a selenium drive hyper vindicator? She's have to ask him later—a clutter of what looked to be holovids, and a dirtied mattress and strewn blankets encased in a metal apparatus pressed at an angle to the rightmost side. Luke bent down and ignited a circular device, revealing a makeshift table lit by orange light amidst the disorder.

'I have to say, other than these vein-like things on the wall, this was exactly how I expected it to look.' Chewie concurred with a growl.

Luke raised an eyebrow. 'I suppose your Force sensitivity gave you the power of foresight?' He crouched, patted the ground beside for her and Chewie to sit, then placed his hands on the table. 'I'm sorry about these shoddy accomodations, but I can't say I was expecting visitors.'

She clambered down and crossed her legs. Chewie stared down at the floor and remained standing while R2D2 eased to a stop beside her. 'Don't worry. We've got more important things to talk about,' she said, placing one hand behind her.

She breathed in before regaling him with recent events. He kept his expression thoughtful when she explained her meeting Finn on Jakku, how she learned BB8 possessed the map leading here, and the events afterwards that led her to the Resistance. Her speech quickened as she spoke about the particulars of her Force vision at Maz Kanata's castle on Takodana, that his saber called to her and Maz's insistence that she take it. She shared with pride the terror she experienced while interrogated by Ren, his invasion of her mind, and of how she turned the tables and entered his, unearthing Ren's greatest fear: never being as strong as Darth Vader. When she came to speak about Han Solo, her throat ceased and tears prickled at her eyes. Images of Ren shoving his saber through his father's chest and Han plummeting into a misty abyss assaulted her, curling her fists and tightening her jaw. She lowered her head as tears dripped onto her lap.

'He fell,' came Luke's voice.

'Yes,' she managed to say despite the lump in her throat, 'and that monster did it. Stabbed him through the heart like his father meant nothing to him.'

She curled her fist and thumped the table, rattling the light at its centre. 'The only decent thing that came of that was Chewie blasting that abomination in the stomach. It was a bloody good shot.' Chewie patted her shoulder when she glanced up at him with a smirk before she glimpsed over at R2D2, who stayed stationary. When she peered over at Luke, his mouth drooped into a scowl, and her smirk slid away.

Silence sank like a blanket across the four of them, prompting her to place one hand atop the other, awaiting a response, any response.

'I never thought Han would get involved,' Luke said finally.

Rey stared at him. 'What do you mean by that?'

'I thought Han had given up completely on his son. He once shared that with me, saying it was easier for Leia if they remembered him as a child at his best.'

'And you have nothing to say about your nephew?'

'I wish I could say I'm surprised he would take up the First Order's helm as commander, but I'm not. He always needed a source of validation.'

'I couldn't care what that sod needs to feel better about himself,' she said. 'I don't know what Han told you, but he rested his hand on his son's cheek as he died. That's the action of man who hoped.'

'Then that was Leia's doing.'

'Are you saying Han didn't love his own son?'

'No, he loved Ben enough to let him go. A lost cause, his words were at the time. I didn't agree and told him as much.'

'Ben? I suppose that's Ren's real name? And Han was right the first time. Ren was… is a lost cause.'

'His former name, yes, and don't be so quick to dismiss who is worth redemption. There's still light in him. I felt it with my father despite his years of evil and now again in Ben.'

Her nostrils flared. 'To me, it sounds as if you're condoning his actions. He has murdered millions of people, injured my friends, invaded my mind, and Jakku knows what else! Exactly how close were you two for you to dismiss all of that?'

Luke's gaze upon remained steadfast. 'I'm stating objective facts. I've felt his turmoil for years. Whatever he's done is an unfortunate outcome of that. I acknowledge his wrongdoing and positive deeds equally because if I didn't, my attachment to anger and guilt would pull me to the dark side. As the only remaining Jedi, I can't afford that level of self-righteousness.'

'Self-righteousness? Are you saying I'm that? I have every right to be after what that fiend has done. One of my friends lies in a coma because of him.' She looked away in disgust. 'It sounds dangerously like you're apologising for that kind of behaviour.'

'If you choose to interpret it that way, I understand, but my duty as a Jedi is to regard every being with understanding, especially those who've strayed farthest from their intended path. My previous relationship with my nephew impacts that little.'

Give in. Let go. 'But you still hid on this backwater for twenty years knowing what Ren felt? You could have done something, anything. If you had, maybe Finn wouldn't on the edge of death right now!'

Rey's words echoed in the air.

A rage of bleeps exploded from R2D2.

Growling at the robot beside him, Chewie nonetheless stretched to full height and clamped firm hands on her shoulder. The strength in the wookie's grasp cut her feet into the stone beneath her. She glowered at him but kept her hand from twitching to the staff at her back. Calm, remember your purpose. Seconds drifted by, draining her anger to a small pool.

She glared at the man across from her. Guilt buried in the lines of his mouth, regret furrowing his brow, and slowly, her fists unclenched and returned to her sides.

'Rey,' Luke said at last, 'I'm sorry, but even with all my regrets, there is still nothing I can change about my past actions. We need to concentrate on what we can do now.'

Her posture slumped. 'I know. I just feel so helpless.'

'I understand. I've felt the same for years about many things better left behind.'

'Then what can we do?'

'We invest in our greatest defence.' He made his way around and, as she half-turned to him, clapped a hand on her upper arm. 'Are you here for me to train you?'

'Yes,' she breathed.

'Are you willing to forfeit your former life?'

In her mind, she crossed her fingers. 'Yes.'

'To subject yourself to the conditions necessary to face my nephew, the First Order, and avenge Han?'

She set her jaw. 'Absolutely,' she said, Chewie rumbling and R2D2 rattling at her answer.

'Excellent.' He grinned, strode back around the table, and settled down into his former spot. 'Now, tell me about more this Snoke and the Order.'

Ren roused as light filtered through the crack of his eyelids. He shifted onto his side. Pain flared through his abdomen and then shoulder, his eyes watering in response. His teeth clenched as he waited for the pain to abate, and as he lay once more on his back, something coarse scratched at his skin. He knew that sensation. Sand. He hated the shit. They must be on Moraband, the homeworld, settling in one of the many bases he'd established while exploring the lost Sith empire. It was one of their best equipped, particularly the medcentre he now occupied. Clever.

The fold that concaved his stomach as he sat up caused another flare of pain, prompting him to rip back the blankets and yank up his shirt to assess the damage done. Heavy bandaging greeted his inspection. He pressed gently over the bandages and felt what he guessed were ridges of half-healed flesh. Somehow, the injury hadn't killed him, and Chewie's bow rarely left anything but fatal blows. What that was a testament to he didn't want to contemplate.

The thought of the creature embedded his fingernails into half-moons on his palms and tingled the wound on his abdomen. Where was that walking carpet? Bereft of his old companion, the girl—Rey—would be at his side. He breathed and concentrated, searching for their energies. Nothing. Wherever he was, it lied well beyond the scope of his ability to sense. Not that it mattered. The Force would call them together soon enough. It was the nature of equal but opposing powers. The dark sought as much to eclipse the light as the light endeavoured to illuminate the dark. Equals. To think: Rey, his equal. If someone several weeks ago had suggested a mere 'scavenger' would best him in combat, he'd have run them through with his saber for their ignorance. The corners of his mouth quirked.

Run them through with his saber.

He lifted his hand to his cheek. His fingertips grazed the scar now filmed together with slight-raised tissue. Then his hand was not his own, morphing to a more haggard version in his mind's eye. Watery blue grey eyes framed within a lined face much like his own soon appeared, twisted by fear, love. Love. His throat thickened.

His head conjured Rey. Her biceps rippled as she swung his grandfather's and uncle's saber upwards in a smooth arc. A gasp, seared tissue, pain. Shock when he observed her from across a widening chasm, the Force a chain between them. He felt it still. A thread of something, but what? He'd sensed its presence in the interrogation chamber, then once more in the clash of their sabers. He seized on this thread. Faint impressions of laughter, food, and names of people unknown to him tickled his awareness, joined by flashes of stone-jagged terrain and grey oceans endless, curling beneath a bitter wind. A robe weaved heavy with the ocean's same shade. The images melded into an abode littered with discarded droid parts, archaic hologram devices, and plants hoisted from the roof, framed by a modest mattress and blankets to the side. The Force pinpricked his skin. This dwelling weighed heavy with it. Then—

His uncle speaking to a tall, hairy creature. Chewie. It had to be. To his left, a rusted yet blue and white droid. R2D2. A giggle, light and melodious—feminine?—broke from his lips.

Luke's eyes snapped to him.

An indistinct voice tore him back to reality. Fists clenching, he turned to glare at whatever imbecile had disturbed him. His glare landed on an unfamiliar human male donning a First Order medic uniform.

'Yes?' Ren barked.

'A-Ah, Commander Kylo, sir, Supreme Leader Snoke requests your presence.'

He glared, and the medic shrunk back. 'That's rather hard with the extent of my wound,' he intoned. 'Why have you been sent and not either your superior or General Hux?'

'Um, G-General Hux is otherwise occupied but passed this command to my superior. She sent me to you here to relay that message and another, as well.'

'And what was that other message?'

The medic squared his shoulders. 'That Supreme Leader Snoke said, "He will train while the Force heals him".'

Ah, it was to humiliate him, then. The Force, unless wielded with intent to achieve the end, did no such thing. The thought of healing as a significant part of his training was laughable. 'Understood. You may go now.'

Ren grimaced. Some time flitted by before he glanced up to see the medic hesitating and peering back at him. His grimace turned to a scowl. 'I am fine. Return to your duties.'

So, the Supreme Leader began his training with a lesson in humility. Expected him to tear his wound with every arc of his saber, kneading his concentration for weaknesses to distract. Fail, and he became the example. Exacerbate the vulnerability to anger, to keep in line. He knew within himself that his emotional volatility left him compromised. It weakened as much as strengthened him, but the power it supplied proved superficial when it allowed outside influences to burrow into his core. No, he needed his grandfather's cold fury, the weaponisation of logic and passion, lacerating like tempered steel at all that stood in his way. Then, and maybe only then, could Snoke recognise his worthiness and prowess beyond his bloodline.

None of that matters. Snoke'll get rid of you when he's done, whispered a voice. His father.

He balled his fists and focused on pooling the rage these thoughts evoked to rise to his feet.

Snoke awaited.

The small child within him cowered at the notion, and Ren sneered.

A/N: If you've made it this far, I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's quite an accomplishment for me to have finished this at all as I haven't written for almost two years due to a lack of confidence. But then I watched Star Wars: the Force Awakens, and the inspiration writing bug swelled and dragged me under once more. So here I am.

I also know that at the movie's end, Chewie isn't actually carrying R2D2. For the story's sake, I decided to add in that little detail. How else would that gorgeous droid climb those horrid steps?

Just a note for future chapters: I will be taking liberally from the Expanded Universe. I won't say what elements, of course, for plot reasons, but I wanted to highlight this for any readers in case they catch any farts I might make with the lore. I won't lie. I'm a newbie to this universe, so please, if you notice anything, either PM me or review to let me know what I got wrong. With the extensiveness of the EU, holes in research are very likely!

Thank you again for reading. If you want to stay on, the fic should be updated fortnightly. Until next time!