The Supreme Leader sat back in his throne, lost in his maliciously twisted mind. Much sooner than expected had the things he wished for come to pass, and now all that was left was to finish training the girl, let her kill her cousin, and then kill her. Simple. All that stood in his way, and not for the first time, was Skywalker. His father had also been a thorn in the side when it came to evil plans, which was why Snoke had ordered his apprentice, Sidious, to push him to become a Sith. Which had become beneficial, seeing as how the two had ultimately eliminated each other. After all, there could be only one.

Sighing, he smiled coldly to himself. After so many long years, so many carefully planned betrayals and wars, his dreams were finally coming to pass. He may have been ridiculed by the others when Plagueis' apprentice, but now he was master of the Knights of Ren, and the universe. He was especially proud of his handiwork with Kylo Ren. His lineage and personal insecurities had made him the perfect bait. Now, all he had to do was eliminate Skywalker, but that he would leave to Darth Kreia, the Jedi's own daughter.

Everything would turn out perfectly.

)(0)(

Finn's grip was so tight on the controls that he was surprised something hadn't snapped by now. Any second, he was sure that a First Order or Resistance ship would find and obliterate him. True, Luke had said he would do his best, but now, all alone, those words didn't seem to offer much comfort. So much had happened in the last week alone that he felt as though his brain would overload with all the information.

A small (okay, really big) part of him was still gnawing with guilt at having left his new-found father and friends, but Rey felt more important, somehow. Which made him wonder if that made him disloyal to the Resistance. Still, Luke hadn't been mad, even encouraging him to go, but still. Did loyalty count when it puts your family and friends at risk?

Somewhere, far beyond Finn's comprehension, stood Anakin Skywalker, gazing steadily at the ex-trooper. "No," he whispered silently, vainly, knowing that only the stars would ever hear. "No, it doesn't."

)(0)(

Poe sat numbly at the Dejarik table, lost in thought. Briefly he wondered what his parents would think of him now, bailing on a mission like this. His father would certainly . . .

Father!

Poe mentally slapped himself, unable to believe that he'd forgotten about Vader being the father of some unlucky kid(s?). Ben, who was sitting next to him, looked vaguely concerned. "Poe? You okay?"

Poe mentally slapped himself again. Dammit, he was such an idiot. Now he'd have to tell Ben, or the Jedi wouldn't let him have any rest. Oh, Poe knew his friend.

Poe took in a deep breath, then turned to face him. "Vader had kids."

All of the color drained from Ben's face. "No," he whispered.

Poe nodded grimly, mistaking his friend's reaction for horror. "Yeah." His voice sunk. "I know."

Ben just shook his head. "No."

)(0)(

"Shh," she hissed. "Do you want everyone to hear?"

Han breathed in and out deeply, eyes closed and heart racing fast enough the win a pod race. "Maz, what the hell are you doing here?" He spoke each word slowly, punctuating every syllable. "And how long have you been here?"

The little alien smiled broadly. "About twenty-seven hours."

Han stared down at her, not in the least amused. "Maz, I know this may not be one of your strong suits, but I want a clean, honest answer. What the hell are you doing here?!"

If Maz was annoyed at Han's overblown reaction, she didn't show it. "I thought it would be nice to tag along. Stretch my legs for a bit."

The taller smuggler crossed his arms tightly across his chest, clearly not buying it. The alien sighed heavily, then raised her eyes to meet his. "Han, the prophesy of the two, one of light, one of dark, heirs of both, is coming - is happening. You must let your son fulfill his destiny!"

If Han was moved at all by her words, he didn't show it. "Maz, you don't know for sure it's them. It could be-"

"No. I am certain."

Han sighed, letting his gaze drift though the Falcon's grimy corridors. "I can't," he finally managed."

Maz held his gaze steadily. "You must."

Han stared down at his boots.

)(0)(

Vice Admiral Holdo strode swiftly through the gleaming halls of the ship, careful not to initiate contact with any of the guards or personnel. Inside a pocket in her jacket was a chip.

At last, she reached her destination. Hastily she entered the code, walked into the room, then locked the door. Clumsily she snatched the chip from her jacket and plugged it into the mainframe. At last, the download was complete.

Before leaving, she took out her blaster, pointed it at the computer, and pulled the trigger.

It was time to initiate her plan.

)(0)(

General Hux kneeled before his leader, Darth Kreia standing silently by his side. Snoke was giving him orders, and Hux did his best to commit them all to memory. Personally, he thought that the Supreme Leader looked so drunk from his own power that his mind wasn't . . . there. Indeed, Snoke hadn't said anything about Hux not paying close enough attention, which in itself was odd.

Still, he couldn't complain.

A/N - I apologize for the long wait as well as the short chapter. School starts next week, and I've been pretty busy. Check out my Write the World account, stripedfly1001. Oh, and I've pretty much given up on getting many more reviews, so please don't feel like you have to anymore. Here's a cat. =^. .^=