"You're seeing him again, aren't you?" Poe asked as Rey climbed aboard her X-wing. She ignored her friend's question, placing a parcel on the floor and securing it with straps.

"Rey," She turned around, determined not to change her mind on the matter but at the same time heeding the concern in her friend's voice. "It's not safe out there," Poe gestured to the glowing planets behind the clouds. "You know just as well as I do how the First Order has sleeper agents on various bases. Our enemy could be anywhere,"

"It's not safe here either," Rey countered, thinking of the massive attack orchestrated by Captain Phasma just a few days ago. "These days we're constantly on the move, so I don't see why a one day trip should be any different,"

"Shouldn't be any different?" Poe asked in disbelief. "The difference here is that the planet you are visiting has Kylo Ren sitting on it,"

"Ben," Rey snapped, sounding more cross than she had intended. "His name is Ben,"

Poe shook his head. "It doesn't matter what he calls himself. He's dangerous,"

"Dangerous isn't what I'd call the man who saved me from Snoke," Rey said, "And betrayed the First Order,"

"All that proves is that he's unpredictable," Poe said. BB-8 twittered an agreement at Poe's feet, popping out his little lighter to indicate how he felt about the matter.

"Not you too," Rey grumbled to the little droid.

R2-D2 sputtered a remark from his holster on the X-wing, trying to hurry the conversation so they could get going.

"Right," Rey looked at Poe. "I'll be back before midday tomorrow. And if it helps any, I've memorized the next ten rendezvous planets and bases. If I can't find you at one of them, I'll send an encrypted transmission and let you know of my location,"

"You're crazy, you know that?" Poe said as Rey hopped out of the spacecraft and onto the floor. "You're too important to the Resistance to be pulling something like this,"

"I'm just one person," Rey said, "Not an army,"

"But you're a Jedi," Poe persisted.

"Not yet,"

Rey knew Poe would keep pushing his unending laundry list of why she shouldn't take her leave, but Rey knew deep down she was doing the right thing. Ever since she and Ben shared a moment in the forest, she'd been more open to what the Force had been whispering in her ear. And when she opened herself to the knowledge it provided, she was touched in ways she never thought possible.

The evil that came from the dark side had left in Ben an un-fillable void, one that constantly demanded power. But when Rey entered his life, she planted the seeds of doubt for all that Kylo Ren stood for. At first Ben despised this wholesome feeling, believing the doubt made him weak. He tried to prove himself wrong, tunneling so far into the darkness that he murdered both his parents in the process. It was only when he realized the two people who truly cared about his well-being were gone that he began to perceive his so-called weakens as strength. There had to be more to the Force than death and destruction, and it had all started with the girl in the beige sash.

As the wars in the stars raged on, the reverse could be said about Rey. At one point she felt that all hope with the Rebels was lost, and she went so far as to call upon the dark side for strength. The power she received was like a sweet wine, but it quickly threatened her with drunkenness, a stupor that would be almost impossible to pull out of. If it hadn't been for Luke's intervention, all that she stood for may have been lost.

This, Rey realized, was what she respected about Ben. He'd all but drowned in the dark side, only to be resurrected in a redemption nobody thought possible.

"Could you quit acting like a worried older brother and hand me that wrench?" Rey asked. Poe folded his arms, refusing to move. "Fine," Rey stalked past him, picked up the tool, and began a minor adjustment to the spacecraft's lower right wing. "If you're not going to help, then you may as well leave. Nothing you say can make me change my mind,"

"What about Finn?" Poe asked softly. "What would he say about all this?"

Rey paused. "Finn isn't with us anymore," she said slowly. "If he was, things would have turned out differently,"

"I'm sure they would have," Poe agreed. "You would be in his arms instead,"

Rey felt tears welling up in her eyes. She knew Poe was right. Ever since her first encounter with him on Jakku, Finn was the first person who'd truly given her hope, even if it was initially a false hope that he was with the Resistance. But he was a beautiful human being, both loyal and kind, even to the end.

"Stay with us," Poe placed his hand on Rey's shoulder. "Help us relocate to another base. You mean so much to the Resistance. If we lost you, I don't know what we'd do,"

The temptation was certainly there; Rey knew she could never abandon her friends, especially in their time of need. But they were in no immediate danger; Ben, on the other hand, was. At one time Ben thought he may be safe within the isolated Ewok colony on Endor, but these days even Ewoks could be bought out.

Rey also knew what it was like to wait, alone, for the return of someone who may never show up. To leave anyone in such an uncertain state would be cruel, and she could not betray Ben like that, not after all he'd done for her.

"I'm sorry," Rey apologized to Poe, "But I have to check in to make sure he is okay. I'm not your only hope,"