CHAPTER 1

They hate each other.

They have since the moment they met in Medbay with Finn's unconscious form just a few feet away. Sure, they had seen each other on the tarmac outside the Millennium Falcon and in the briefing room when the map was finally put together, but they had never talked until they found themselves standing in the awkwardly sterile room. He had stumbled into it, not expecting her to be there and she had startled, angry with whomever interrupted her last moments with her friend before her departure.

His smart remark, which he had regretted as soon as it left his lips, had done nothing to help the situation. Her own equally harsh barb just made it worse. Mercifully, it had caused him to leave before more damage could be done, shaking his head with every step as he wondered how that was the woman his friend had risked his life to save and his droid incessantly fawned over.

Similarly, he shakes his head in the pilot seat of an ancient Y-wing, wondering what in the world it could be about her that causes Finn to want to journey to where she is, out on this practically abandoned planet. It could be the allure of meeting the legendary Luke Skywalker and hopefully bringing him back with them since that actually is the mission, but he knows that Finn only volunteered for it because she's with Skywalker. Technically they are supposed to bring back both Skywalker and his student, which Poe is less than thrilled about doing since it means that he will have to see her at the base on a regular basis. Thankfully, since she took the Millennium Falcon to get to the aging Jedi and this ship only holds two people anyway, he won't have to be in the same ship as her for the flight back. He pushes the bitter thoughts aside as he maneuvers to land in a clearing on the island.

Finn, who right now sits behind Poe, has an enthusiasm that is usually one of the things Poe enjoys about his friend. Right now, however, he wishes Finn wasn't so eager to see the young Jedi since Poe would rather put off the confrontation that is bound to happen once they exit the ship. Unfortunately, Finn jumping out before the canopy is actually all the way up and bounding toward the short brunette makes that an impossibility.

Poe is forced to follow suit, though he makes sure to lag behind as much as possible while Finn envelops her into a long hug. Instead of hurrying forward, Poe takes his time adjusting his dark brown jacket that he got as a replacement for the one that Finn now wears. He can tell she notices him and his delay when she scowls in his direction. He doesn't care if she's angry, though; he's only here because it was the only way the General would allow Finn to go on this mission since he's still recovering. So he takes his time meandering to where she stands with his friend.

"Why did you bring him?" Her anger is bubbling near the surface as she addresses her question to Finn and glares at Poe— she has to take a long, steady breath to rein it back in before she does or says something unbecoming of a Jedi apprentice. Finn looks back and forth between his two friends, confused.

"You two have met?"

"Briefly, in Medbay, right before I left to come here." She crosses her arms against her chest over the grey vest she wears, continuing to point her glare directly at Poe as he finally stops a few feet away.

"And somehow you hate each other from that?"

"Ask him about it." She raises her chin, pointing it at Poe.

"Poe, what happened?"

"Don't make it sound like I'm responsible for this; you were there, too." He's glaring back at Rey, not having moved his eyes off hers even while Finn spoke.

"OK, someone tell me why you hate each other." Finn looks back and forth between his two friends, confused and slightly annoyed.

"He started it."

"You perpetuated it."

"I'd rather be stuck in a room with a rathtar than be around you."

"Something we finally agree on, Jedi— I'd like you to be stuck in a room with a rathtar too. I'll even help arrange it."

"Stop it, both of you! Kriff, you two are ridiculous. Fine, neither of you are going to tell me what really happened; I can deal with that. But as long as I'm around you, you're going to be civil to each other."

"That's impossible." Rey huffs, turning away to walk up the steps that lead to the huts that she and Skywalker live in.

"Look, Poe," Finn turns to him then, his face very serious, "please don't antagonize her."

"Antagonize her? Wait, you can't seriously be saying you think what just happened is my fault— she started it!"

"It doesn't matter; just end it, OK? You're both my friends and I won't watch you pull each other apart. Just try, please?"

"Fine, but only while we're here." Just then BB-8 flies by them to follow her, a series of excited beeps and whirs in his wake. "Traitor!" He can't even trust his droid these days.

"If you give her a chance, you'll like her— I know it."

"Sure, Finn. Whatever you say." He suppresses the eye roll he'd much rather give his friend. There is no way he'll ever actually like that woman— Jedi, Finn's friend, or no— but he'll make it work for the rest of the day.

When Master Skywalker announces that they won't be able to leave for a couple of days, Poe swears the galaxy is conspiring against him. How else could it be explained? Agreeing to be civil while on this planet was easy when it would be for a maximum of twelve hours— most of which he hoped they would spend sleeping. Now that it becomes clear that it will be much longer than that, he is not so sure he can survive. He decides the only way to deal with this is to actually go talk to the woman in question.

She's sitting, cross legged, along a high cliff when he finally finds her. The wind is whipping her hair out of the elastics holding it back, causing strands of it to dance along its current. From ten feet behind her, with her hair like that and her grey clothing similarly rippling in the breeze, he imagines that if things were different maybe he would want to talk to her. If she wasn't herself and he wasn't himself, that is. They are themselves, however, so it doesn't matter.

He clears his throat, which makes her turn to him.

"Do you need something? I was meditating." Her voice holds a strong tinge of irritation as she speaks to him. It makes him instantly feel defensive.

"Look, I don't like being around you any more than you like being around me but as long as we're both stuck on this island, Finn has made me promise that we'll be civil."

"So he made you promise that, too?" He nods before walking to her side and finally sinking down to the ground next to her, letting his legs dangle off the edge of the cliff.

"Yeah, I don't know what it is about you but both he and BB-8 seem to want me to be nicer to you."

"Finn promises me that you're not as terrible of a guy as I think." The comment smarts— almost no one dislikes him— and he can feel his impatience breaking free.

"You're not exactly perfect, you know. Everything about you irritates me. It's as if you were created specifically for that purpose."

"How incredibly narcissistic of you. If I'm so awful then why were you a part of the crowd of officers and fighters who saw me off, cheering?" She almost shouts the words, her chest heaving.

"I was cheering that I wouldn't have to deal with you anymore." His voice rises in response; he knows this is heading nowhere good. At least Finn isn't around to chastise him for breaking his promise— even though she's breaking hers too, he's sure Finn will be angrier with him.

"The feeling is mutual. At least when we leave I won't have to be in the same ship as you."

"I was thinking the same thing. If it makes it any easier to avoid each other, I can teach you how to fly my fighter just in case." As soon as he sees her face contorting in anger he knows that was the exact wrong thing to say.

"I don't need you to teach me to fly anything. I'm a perfectly capable pilot— I've been flying the Falcon just fine and I can fly anything else."

"Have you actually flown anything else?"

"That doesn't matter."

"Yes it does."

Suddenly she moves to stand, dusting off her pants as she does.

"I need to help Master Luke with dinner." She begins walking away before he can say anything to stop her. "If you want to be helpful, you could accidentally slip on your way back so there's one less person to cook for."

Maybe he won't go back for dinner. That thought replays in his mind for the next two hours until the light has fully retreated from the planet around him and the darkness envelopes him instead. The grumble of his empty stomach wins out then and he resolves that he'll attempt civility in favor of a meal if he must.

BB-8 rolls around the small hut beeping happily while Finn sets the table. It's been a long time since Poe has seen something so decidedly domestic and even with not being able to tolerate someone in this enclosure it still tugs on his heartstrings to see such a display. It feels intrusive to wedge his way into the tiny space while the rest of them chatter and laugh but Poe does it nonetheless, skirting Rey as much as possible to keep her from registering his presence for as long as manageable.

"Don't bother trying to hide, Pilot, I can hear what you're thinking."

He stops short at her high voice calling out to him. She can hear what he's thinking? But he hasn't noticed any sensation of someone in his mind the way Kylo Ren had been when he had been captured. So how is this possible?

"You're projecting your thoughts so much that any Force user would be able to readily pick them up, making it unnecessary to forcefully read your mind." Master Skywalker offers as he turns to set a bowl of some green vegetation on the table.

"I never realized that was possible. I don't know that much about the Force."

The older Jedi chuckles lowly as he turns back to where Rey continues preparing something.

"Kes and Shara were always pretty confused by, sometimes even wary of, the Force as many people are. Rest assured, Poe, that you would know if someone was trying to read your mind just as I hear you did when Kylo Ren did read yours. While Jedi with a Force bond do communicate with each other telepathically, that particular use of the Force you are talking about is of the dark side; not the light. Jedi do not embrace that practice so you have nothing to fear from my padawan and I."

"Are there other things Jedi can't do or that dark side users can't do?"

"It's not a question of ability, per se, but rather a choice of how to wield the Force. The Jedi have restrictions on what the Force should be used to do that is determined by what side of the Force that particular power draws from- the dark side or the light- the same as the dark side users do. Thus Jedi are only trained in skills that Jedi embrace and the same vice versa. The main difference, however, is from what feelings the Force user draws their power. A Jedi draws from feelings of compassion, love, kindness. A dark side user- once, when I was younger, the Sith were the dark side users- they tap into things like greed, lust, anger, fear, and others. If a Jedi does not learn to control those dark feelings, they can fall to the dark side."

Chewie and Finn set more dishes of food on the table, effectively ending the conversation between Poe and the older Jedi for now. With a bit of shuffling they finally find a configuration for them all to sit for their meal- it unfortunately leaves Poe and Rey next to each other to angrily glare throughout it. Before they can actually begin, however, the screams of TIE fighters draw the group's attention above them.

"Is that what I think it is?" Finn asks, though the sound would be unmistakeable even if it hadn't been seared into his brain from infancy.

"Yes." Rey responds quietly, gripping the edge of the table hard enough that her knuckles are turning white. "We need to leave. Now."

She punctuates her statement by standing abruptly and beginning to move around the table toward the door. Luke is the only one who seems to comprehend what she said as he likewise rises hastily. The realization that they're under attack takes a moment to process through the rest of the group's minds and Rey is about to repeat herself more loudly until the others stand and begin following her as well. Poe feels a little embarrassed then— with all of the drills he's run, he freezes up in a moment like this?

"Don't waste time fetching things- we must hurry." Luke instructs as they reach the door. "Head toward the ships!" He has to shout over the incredible amount of noise from the incoming attack as the group begins to hurry down the stone stairs.

In the distance, through the fire of the TIE fighters, Rey sees a transport land in a clearing. She can sense the presence of at least fifty individuals within it- Stormtroopers, no doubt- and the beginnings of panic begin to set in. Her Master picks up on it immediately and follows her gaze over to it, alighting with his own concern that he pushes down.

"Control your feelings, padawan. Fear only leads to one place." He sets a comforting hand on her shoulder, reminding her of his calming presence and of her training. She turns to him as they stop about three hundred feet from where both the Falcon and Poe's Y-Wing sit, her eyes full of concern.

"You have to get Finn to the Falcon; he's not recovered enough to fight."

"And what are you going to do?"

"Hold them off so you can take off."

"Rey, you're not far enough along in your training to do this alone. You need my help."

"I know; you can help from closer to the Falcon until Chewie has it ready to leave. You haven't flown a ship in combat for years and Chewie has- your only choice is to go with them."

Before they can conclude their conversation a blaster bolt tears through the group, narrowly missing Rey's arm. That seems to jolt them all into movement again.

"Finn and Chewie, get to the Falcon immediately with R2 and begin preparing it to depart. I'll help Rey hold them off until the ship is ready to go. Poe, you and Rey will need to leave in your ship— don't let her convince you to leave without her."

While Poe knows they both dislike the arrangement, he nods his agreement to the older Jedi before he runs toward the incoming Stormtroopers, ready to hold them off so the rest have a chance to escape. He places himself a distance from the ships so he's positioned between the Stormtroopers and his friends, shooting into the middle of the group of white-clad combatants. He's followed by BB-8, who moves closer to the Y-Wing in preparation of being loaded behind the cockpit.

Instead of following Poe as well, Rey runs directly into the fray, lightsaber drawn and deflecting blaster bolts as she goes. Out of the corner of his eye, Poe sees another squad approaching from a different part of the island but it is met by the Jedi Master before they can venture closer to the ships or over toward where Rey fights.

The cloud of white armor grows over where the Jedi Master fights, alarming Poe enough that he turns his attention and his blaster in that direction as the Jedi is pushed back step-by-step by the group. The aging man's skill, however, is incredible- undoubtedly anyone else would long have been dead in such a situation, yet he has merely given some ground to them. As Poe surveys the battlefield before him, however, he realizes that they will quickly be swamped if they don't leave soon. That thought causes him to rush toward his ship to ensure that BB-8 is loaded and has instructions to prepare the ship for takeoff.

A short distance away, he hears the engine of the Falcon whir to life, now ready to leave once it's final occupant is on board. Skywalker clearly notices as he suddenly Force pushes the group of Stormtroopers enough to send the lot through the air and crashing into the ground at least fifty feet. He doesn't waste time and runs in the direction of the Falcon. Instead of immediately boarding, he approaches Poe.

"You need to get out of here with her."

"BB-8 is preparing the Y-Wing. I'll call to her in just a moment."

The Jedi shakes his head.

"You're going to have to physically go get her- she's not going to leave on her own. They're here for her so if she doesn't leave soon, they'll capture her to bring her to Snoke. She has to leave immediately. I knocked that group out temporarily," he nods in the direction of the group of fighters he had Force pushed, "but there will be more on the way very soon."

"OK." Poe nods and glances over to where the slight woman has cleared a circle around her, Stormtroopers strewn across the ground. How did that happen? "I'll go get her but you have to leave- she won't leave until you do."

"I know."

Poe runs toward where she continues fighting fiercely, wondering at the fact that more than half the squad now lies on the ground, useless. How one small woman could fight such is beyond him. As he approaches her, he realizes he's going to have to watch that he doesn't get caught in her attacks as well as those of their enemies'. Much to his surprise, however, she glances over to him and addresses him.

"I could sense you approaching." She shouts over the noise.

He comes up to her side and lays a large hand on her elbow, tugging her backwards as he shoots the incoming warriors.

"It's time to go, Rey." He says it loud enough for her to hear and hopefully not so loud that the others can.

He can feel her resisting for a few moments, still bent on beating them back, until she finally relents. Before she fully turns to run, however, she does the same as her Jedi Master and Force pushes the group so they fly back and crash into the ground. Satisfied that they have enough of a delay, they both sprint to the ship.

Instead of having boarded the Falcon, Poe sees the Jedi Master still battling with a few stormtroopers who must have recovered more quickly than their compatriots. Quickly, the aging Jedi manages to rid himself of his opponents and hurry in the direction of Poe and Rey, the latter of which had started running in the direction of her teacher. The two meet far enough away from Poe that he can't hear the words they exchange, though he can tell from their terse expressions that they are arguing about something. Finally, Rey nods and the Jedi's face softens before he embraces her and plants a short kiss to her forehead.

The pilot looks away, suddenly feeling as though he's intruded on something that wasn't meant for his eyes. In his over thirty years in this galaxy he has not felt as awkwardly bashful as he suddenly does. Pushing it aside, he focuses himself on doing one last check of the ship and keeping an eye out for more Stormtroopers while he waits.

Quickly enough, Rey reaches him and he waits for her to hoist herself up into the cockpit before also jumping in himself and closing the hatch. They're both hastily flipping switches and maneuvering to get into the air while buckling themselves in; both sets of actions important for their personal safety. They narrowly avoid devastating fire from both Stormtroopers and the TIE fighters before lifting off, the Falcon having done the same just moments before.

"Chewie, we'll split from you and draw any ships away so you can get back to base. We'll take the long way back and meet you there." Rey calls the words calmly over the comm and while it's exactly what Poe would do, the fact that she is the one making the decision sparks his irritation.

"Who said you could call the shots?" He had cut the comm with the Falcon before he spoke the words so Rey is the only one who can hear him. Even if he is the best pilot in the Resistance and legendary for resisting the First Order's torture, he has enough sense to be nervous of a Jedi Master's abilities and a wookie's temper.

"Jedi stand separate from the Republic and separate from the Resistance; part of my duty as a padawan is to ensure that at least one Force user from the light stays alive to carry it on, so Luke and I can't be in such a precarious position right now as us both be able to be blown up at the same time."

"I guess that makes sense. You two do seem very…close from what I saw."

"You don't know what you saw, idiot." Rey snaps back barely as soon as he's gotten his own words out.

Just as they break from the planet's atmosphere, a group of TIE fighters come into view.

"What I see right now, however, is a bunch of guys that want us dead. Focus on them." He pauses for a moment before adding, "you know how to operate the artillery on this, right?"

"Of course. I can take apart and rebuild a Y-Wing in a single afternoon; I can manage something as simple as its guns. You just point and shoot."

"It's a bit more complicated than that." He mutters it under his breath, hoping that she doesn't register the words; the last thing either of them needs is to be distracted by their own bickering.

To his surprise, Rey proves that she does know her way around the ship's weaponry and makes quick work of the TIE fighters. Perhaps he shouldn't be that surprised considering her combat skills on the ground, he thinks briefly to himself. Quickly, he shakes his head free of the thought, reminding himself that this is that irritating girl he's thinking of; there's nothing redeeming or positive about her.

Their mutual elation at being free of the TIE fighters is short lived, however, as they both feel the controls being taken over by another force.

"Rey, are you doing one of your Jedi tricks?" His voice cracks embarrassingly with his own nerves—he's actually quite positive that she's not using any of her abilities but right now he'd really like to be wrong.

"No, I'm not." She sighs heavily. "It's a tractor beam."

"From what? There's nothing here."

Out of nowhere a Star Destroyer materializes in front of them.

"Is that a…" He trails off in disbelief.

"A Star Destroyer? Yes. Don't tell me that you've never seen one before."

"No, I have. It's just…that wasn't there a moment ago. It didn't show up on our scans at all. For it to do that it would have to…"

"Approach at light speed and come out of it at precisely the right moment? I know."

"But how?"

"If you have a powerful Force user on board who is afflicted with a twinge of psychosis and a very acute ability to sense others— especially other Force users— you can pinpoint a place, thing, or person and make it happen if you're close enough." She pauses before her voice sounds again, this time her words are heavy with guilt. "I'm so sorry that you're caught in this Poe; he's here for me. I can feel it. I don't think he knew you would be here but at this point it's just a bonus for him."

"You mean Kylo Ren?"

"Yes."