Chapter Text
Played Straight:
It seemed like all roads were leading towards that moment, and Luke hated it. Even as he stumbled towards the flaming ruins of the Academy, even as he saw Ben standing at the ruins…
He knew exactly what happened, and it wasn’t that Ben had done this. Ben was unfailingly loyal. Kind. Luke knew he would never do something like this willingly.
He wasn’t that type. He wasn’t that way. Even when he had ultimately refused to ignite his lightsaber that horrible night in Ben’s hut (a night that must have saved the worse consequences for the following day), Luke had refused because ultimately, Ben was not a monster.
“You didn’t betray me,” Luke said. “I know it. And I trust you.”
Ben shook his head. “I don’t even know what happened,” he finally said. “That freak storm…it just came out of nowhere…"
”I think that’s something worth much more investigating,” Luke finally said. “Ben, come on. We need to get you to your family. It’s — they have a right to know. And you have a right to see them. And Poe."
Ben’s exhale suggested he didn’t even realize how angry and exhausted he was, how devastated. “Thank you,” he said. "Truly."
Played Straight Version 2:
If one was to ask where Captain Phasma came from, she had no idea any more than they did. She hadn’t used to be a Captain. She’d, long ago, been a lowly grunt taken from her family at a young age and working as PH-2015. It was mostly a combination of ruthlessness and skill that got her as far as she did.
As far as she knew, kidnapping the other troopers — that was only what outsiders called it. She, Phasma, was just repeating what she had been taught. Besides, compared to planets like Tatooine, Nar Shaddaa, whatnot, was it really that bad in the First Order? There were creatures scarier than they. Crimelords. Slavers. If they stood between other institutions that would exploit children for their own gain, was the First Order really so terrible? At least they weren’t Proxima’s scumrats.
Maybe she too had been spared that fate. Maybe she had been taken away from a life of cruelty, and if renouncing her name for a number and later a nickname was the price to pay, it was a small price. FN-2187 had no idea how fortunate he was. How Phasma had given him a better life, as she had been given.
It had taken time before she earned the privilege of being a confidant to General Hux, and marching alongside Kylo Ren on his missions. But it was an honor, and she would not waste it whatsoever. That much was clear.