Author's Note: Oh, why hello there. It's been a while. Grab a drink, pull up a chair and let's get this space opera started.

I tried so hard to begin a different story, but somehow we ended up back here. For some reason, I feel like Ash's story just isn't done yet and I'm not ready to let go! Hope that's cool with y'all?

Welcome back if you've read The Commander and the Mechanic. Thank you so much for coming back and trusting me with another crazy adventure. I promise, this one will be quite the doozy.

If you are super confused and have no idea what's going on... you probably haven't read part one. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU DO SO BECAUSE THIS IS JUST COMPLETELY OFF CANON AND CRAZY AND IM SORRY.

Remember to review and of course, we have a twitter so you can keep up with updates. We are CommandMech

Shall we get started?

Her eyelids fluttered open, greeting the early morning sun as it illuminated the master bedroom. The sheer, black curtain moving softly against the warm summer breeze from the balcony. Her lips forming a thin lined as she frowned slightly, she would have liked to have slept just a little longer. Something easier said than done these last few weeks.

In front of her and wrapped securely under her arms was the small, dark haired boy. A miniature version of his father that was hard to ignore at times. With the same familiar features and bright, golden orbs. Yet, ultimately inheriting his mother's curiosity, stubbornness and overall kindness. He had curled up next to her in the large and partially empty bed. A ritual the two shared while the man in question had been away.

Smiling to herself now, she began to slowly brush the dark locks of her son as he slept soundly. If it weren't for him, she didn't know how she'd make it through the long and lonely days. He began to stir, his hands finding his eyes before rubbing them sleepily. With a yawn, he tilted his head up to see his mother before smiling brightly. "Morning, my love." She greeted him softly.

"Morning." The ten-year-old replied sleepily before yawning again.

"How about we make some breakfast and start our day?" She suggested, knowing it was time to start their day.

A tired nod followed by a quick squeeze from the red haired woman behind him, he wiggled his way out of the bed. And in child-like fashion, a burst of energy surging through him as he ran out of the master bedroom and towards the kitchen.

Her smile was small as she slowly sat up; feet dangling off the side as she looked around the room. Stars, she was missing him in the worst of ways today. The hardest part was never the first few days he was gone, but the time when he was returning. It always, for some reason, felt longer than it should.

Ashlyn Solo was living a life she hadn't been prepared for in any way, shape or form and yet melded into it almost gracefully. Of course, there were many times where things were hectic and quite frankly, awful. Times where she found herself fighting more and more with her husband over making it work. Yet, more often than not, she found her place alongside the Leader of the New Order. Her husband; Kylo Ren.

He had gone on a two-week mission across the stars, leaving his wife and young son behind. While the separation always took a toll on them, it was in the return that truly reminded them exactly where they belonged. Ash knew in her entire being she belonged here with him and with their son, Jacen. However, she wished there could be some simplicity in their daily routine.

Even on Chandrila, Ash was expected to maintain certain protocol and procedures. On days she was not simply Ashlyn Solo, mother to Jacen Solo and Grey User, she was teaching lectures on mechanical maintenance. Then there was the outreach program for the upcoming Force Users, she oversaw most of the dealings when it came to the political aspect. While her dear friend Rey had the more "fun" job at teaching the new Users. And of course, finding time to continue combat training. She was leading a very busy life. Yet, today was all about her and the ten-year-old running around the kitchen.

With a small smile, she quickly dressed for the day in a long, grey summer dress that wrapped around her like a greek goddess; hugging her curves exactly where it needed to. She braided her long, red hair and made her way to the kitchen.

Jacen had been setting up the kitchen, moving bowls around with the Force (although, that was something Kylo Ren wasn't particularly fond of considering his son was still learning. They lost more bowls this way). "Jay-" She reminded him of his father's rule authoritatively, using her nickname for him.

He smiled; a mischievous smile that was so reminiscent of Ren that she swore she was staring at a miniature him. "Sorry, mom."

It was too late then, Ash was already over to where the levitating bowl was before snatching out of mid-air and gently placing it on the counter. She gave him a knowing smile, one that held amusement as she turned her attention to the refrigerator and began rummaging for anything to make breakfast with. "How about-" She hummed contemplatively before pulling out a bowl of fruit, milk and some butter and eggs. However, unlike Jacen (and somewhat contradictory) she was levitating the excess ingredients over to the counter. "Pancakes and some fruit?" Jacen beamed approvingly. "Thought you'd like that. Get me the flour please?"

Without any hesitation to the simple request, Jacen bounced his way over to the flour and returned to his mother's side at the counter. He opened the bottom cabinet where a step stool ha been waiting for him and pulled it out before climbing up it to be just a little taller.

"Want to crack the egg?" She offered, rolling the two eggs over to him. Jacen graciously snatched it from the counter and gently tapped it onto the bowl, pouring the contents into the bowl as Ash added the flour and milk. She handed her son the wooden spoon and immediately he began stirring the mixture as Ash prepped the stovetop.

"Does dad come back today?" He asked, turning to see Ash was focused on the stove before he turned back to the bowl. He stopped mixing by hand and began to concentrate on the spoon, using the Force to have it mix on its own.

"As far as I know." Ash answered, sensing her son's new trick before smiling. "He'll be happy to hear about your new mixing ability." She said knowingly, looking over to Jacen as he jumped for the spoon, acting as though he hadn't just been doing exactly what his mother caught him doing. He merely grimaced as Ash smirked before nodding to the bowl. "But, since he isn't here yet… Show me what you can do, love."

Jacen's eyes lit up at the permission before looking back at the bowl. His expression scrunching to a frown, focusing on the object as he hand reached out for it. Slowly, the bowl began to shake and soon levitated off the counter and towards his mother. Ash had been ready to catch it should she need to, however, she was ultimately impressed at how well her son was advancing in the art of the Force.

His smile only brightened when he managed to successfully lift the bowl to Ashlyn. She smiled back at him, pouring some of the batter from the bowl into the hot pan and placing it down on the side. "I'm proud of you, Jay."

Jacen hopped off the step stool and over to his mother to watch the pancakes cook. "Yeah, but won't dad be mad at what I did?"

"I won't tell him if you won't." Ash winked. In her mind, she'd rather him levitate the more breakable objects when she was around to help. Also, she knew that deep down allowing him to do this would keep his mind from fogging over the absence of his father.

When the pancakes were done, Ashlyn carried the plate over to the table where Jacen sat eagerly awaiting breakfast as he eyed the mountain of pancakes. Ash gave him a knowing look as he dove right in and plopped two of the largest pancakes onto his plate. He surely had his father's appetite too.

Ashlyn sat down next to him, grabbing a pancake of her own and began to cut it into awkward shapes as she glanced to her son every so often.

"Hey, mom?" He asked, his mouth full of pancakes. She hummed in reply as she took her first bite. There was no way she was catching up to this kid. "What does dad do?"

An odd question as Ash made a face, looking fully at her son now. "You know what he does, love."

"He's the Galactic Leader, but what does he do?" Jacen restated. "Why does he always leave?"

Suddenly, Ash wasn't very hungry anymore. Granted, she really hadn't been. The question was valid, but still uncomfortable for the red haired woman at the table. While she understood the need to learn more from her son, and even though there was nothing wrong to be asking, it still left a bad taste in her mouth. Perhaps because of the way it was said? And even though Kylo Ren was off among the stars for the betterment of the Galaxy as a whole, the weight of his absence was being felt here. Now his son was asking about his absence, more so than the real reason why. Where did she begin here?

"Well-" Ash began. "You know how things are really good here? You get to have breakfast every morning and train with the Force and have the freedom to do so?" Jacen blinked a few times, unsure where his mother was going with this. "A lot of that is because of what your dad and Vice Leader Hux have created. They've worked hard for a better Galaxy for everyone. Sometimes that means he has to go away to make sure everyone is still following that idea."

"What happens if other planets don't?"

"That's why he leaves." Ash explained, exhaling somewhat sharply. "Some planets are a little harder to convince to join our Galactic government. There's some resistance, mostly with very bad people, who don't want to abide by laws. They want everything for themselves and not for the betterment of others." She looked down at the pancakes she clearly wasn't going to be eating. "He leaves because those planets need his help to enforce the new laws."

Jacen frowned contemplatively, clearly he had something more to say. Instead, he took one last bite of his pancakes and smiled in the way only innocence could. "Well, hopefully someday he won't have to go away anymore."

Ash forced a smile, looking back at her son and gently placing her hand on top of his; squeezing it slightly. "I hope so too, kid." She nodded towards the bedrooms. "Go get your staff, Phasma wants to train today."

Jacen beamed as he quickly removed himself from the table and ran to his room. Ash continued to sit there at the table for a moment longer, knowing once Jacen was out of the room her smile could fade.

For the first few years, it never seemed to get any easier. Ren would leave and Ash found herself being a single parent. She took care of their son and the little things that needed a watchful eye on Chandrila. And even as the years went on and this became a regular occurrence, it didn't change the fact at how much it hurt. Did she expect her life to be different? Certainly. Yet, this was the hand she was dealt and there was a very happy ten year old returning to the kitchen area. She took a deep breath, found her smile and finally stood from the table as Jacen reappeared.

"Mind clearing the table while I grab my things?" Jacen groaned as any ten year old would that wanted to do something completely different than chores. Ash gave him a knowing look. "Jay-"

"Okay, okay." He grumbled; that attitude he most certainly did not get from her peeking through as Ash silently excused herself to her bedroom to start yet another day without Kylo Ren.

The camp had been completely cleared out as the Troopers rushed through trying to find any remnants of the Crime Lords on Ord Mantell. They had hoped to catch the leaders of the Black Order; a group of Crime Lords that had been causing a lot of trouble in the Outer Rim. Another planet that wouldn't cooperate and tried to cause chaos. Then again, the Crime Lords had had it good prior to Kylo Ren's reign. Why would they want to give up that power now?

A struggle within the last ten years, Ren had pushed forward in an attempt to squash the problem first hand. Within his first two years he dismantled the Hutt Cartel and made a name for himself. However, it seemed any time he removed one corrupt being from the Galaxy, more would rise from the depths. It was never ending, but he was determined. He had to be.

Yet, something else was bothering the Force User as he stood outside one of the mines. His dark eyes locking with graffiti on the outer wall as the commotion behind him continued.

"This place was completely emptied." The ginger informed him as he wandered over with his datapad. "No Crime Lords; no intel. Everything was burned. They knew we were coming." He was skimming through a document involving trade negotiations before his eyes locked on the graffiti. While his face gave away nothing, his tone was unimpressed. "Another one?"

"Third one this week." Ren confirmed, not looking away. "Seven all-together."

"What do you think it means?" Hux asked.

Ren dodged the question overall and countered with his own. "Are we done here?"

Hux's lips pursed as he raised his datapad towards the graffiti, scanning it and capturing its image to view at a later date. Another one to add to his now growing collection. "We can leave when you're ready."

He stared at the graffiti a little longer, his eyes narrowing as he did. It was the third one they had found on this particular mission. Each varying in saying, however the image was still the same. It was intentional and done by the same person or persons.

At first, it didn't bother him. Yet knowing now that it was deliberate and someone was calling him out was cause for alarm. The graffiti was all black, shaping into his old mask. The same mask he wore back on StarKiller. The helmet that was destroyed so long ago. The graffiti replicated it with the saying 'Supreme Leader' above. It made him feel sick; something he wouldn't show on the outside. Instead, Kylo Ren turned and stormed back towards his ship. He wanted nothing more than to leave this disgusting planet and never look back.

Final Thought: I know it's short, but we're just getting started. Remember to review and let's buckle up for another crazy adventure. See y'all in the next chapter!