Chapter Text
Far, far away in the galaxy’s Outer Rim lay a small, verdant world known as Ajan Kloss. Rivers braided through endless jungles; the island-like forests hosted a startling variety of life. Though the planet was modest in size, its flora and fauna ranged from majestic giants to the most insidious of tiny creatures — many of them deadly. Deep within the equatorial jungles, the Resistance discovered a hidden oasis and claimed it as a new refuge.
Many large and small starships circled the planet, some patrolling the perimeter while others trained new recruits. Most of them had arrived after the Battle of Exegol. Even three months later, the Resistance was still celebrating the Emperor’s death. Yet beneath the laughter and chatter, everyone whispered about "her"—the Last Jedi. The only one who had stayed with them from the very beginning. "The Saint One." Rey.
Some claimed she was the greatest healer in galactic history. Others called her the hero of Exegol, the heir of General Organa, and the future Headmaster of a new Jedi Order—a legend reborn.
Meanwhile, the legend herself spent her days alone in the jungle, meditating and training. No new missions, no new friends, no duties. Whenever someone glimpsed her, she seemed distant—lost in thought. People were both fearful and fascinated, so no one dared to approach her.
It was an ordinary morning. Rey ran through the forest, leaping from rock to rock across the river, barely noticing the world around her. It was her usual path to the training grounds. Memories drifted through her mind…
Exegol—the place of death and despair. The throne of the Sith. The home of her grandfather. Her friends were fighting in the skies above. She was half-dead when he came… Kylo Ren. He came to save her.
The First Order’s ships attacked the Emperor’s fleet. Lying on the cold floor, wounded by his lightning, she saw Kylo kneeling beside her. Anger filled the Force—his anger. But beneath it she sensed something else: desperation.
The Knights of Ren clashed with the red guards as the Emperor shouted commands, but the noise vanished the moment Rey met Kylo’s eyes—pleading, terrified eyes—and heard the whisper:
“Please… don’t die. Rey, please don’t go. Stay with me.”
“You came…”
She felt his hand on her abdomen—a warm, steady pressure—and then the healing warmth of the Force.
Then a flash of light—Palpatine hurled lightning at them. Kylo ignited his lightsaber, straining against the power. But the Emperor was stronger… stronger than both of them. Unless—unless the Dyad could stand together.
Rey rose on shaking legs, grabbed Leia’s lightsaber, and crossed it with Kylo’s blade. Together they pushed the lightning back. Cultists screamed. Palpatine’s snarl twisted into panic.
“Die! Worthless children!”
But then his expression changed—fear, disbelief.
“A Dyad?!”
And he was consumed by his own power.
Rey collapsed, and Kylo caught her. He was bleeding, just as she was, but his touch was gentle. Her eyes closed. She heard him speak one last time:
“Rey… of course I came. I love—”
Darkness.
She awoke aboard a Resistance ship beside General Organa. Leia told her that the First Order had suddenly turned against the Sith Eternal fleet, joining the battle without warning. Thousands of ships arrived, and within an hour the war was over. Palpatine was dead.
Rey’s X-wing had been found drifting above the ruins of the Sith temple. No one knew how she got there, but everyone chose to believe she had survived by miracle. Soon she was celebrated as the Saint One. No matter what she said, people insisted she had killed the Emperor alone.
The First Order vanished into its territory. There were only rumors—whispers that Supreme Leader Kylo Ren was changing something.
The thoughts were useless. She was alone again. The silence after the battle stretched endlessly. No missions, no close friends nearby. Poe was busy with his new squadron after losing his old one. Finn was occupied with Jannah and the former stormtroopers, who were trying to figure out what to do. Rose was helping him, while General Organa focused on forging new alliances and laying the foundations of the new Republic. Surviving senators from the Hosnian Prime system came seeking guidance. Everyone was busy.
Rey sighed in frustration as she joined the line for breakfast. When a new recruit saw her, he stepped aside politely. The next one did the same. She picked up a tray full of delicious food, with the cook complimenting her as if she were a princess. She smiled and thanked him, enjoying the brief moment of normalcy. For ten minutes, she was just Rey. Nothing more.
Then she glanced back and saw their eyes. Dozens of eyes, all seeing a symbol of hope in her. A Jedi. A hero. A legend.
She realized they had been expecting something from her even before she arrived on the planet. They wanted the lost legend to live in her—the myth of the Jedi, the peacekeepers. She passed them quickly, not meeting their gaze.
It was the same feeling Luke had felt, she realized. Everyone on the base saw a miracle in her presence. They expected her to be wise and smart, peaceful and beautiful, calm and lovely. But they did not see her. They did not see Rey.
The only one who could see her true self was him… Ben Solo, or Kylo Ren. The Force Bond after Exegol had gone silent as well. The shield she had built was thin and fragile; if he had wanted to speak, it would have vanished in an instant.
Sometimes she sensed his presence circling in her mind, but whenever she reached out carefully, the feeling disappeared. She had tried to come to him once, but his shields were strong, trembling with emotions: Hate, then Anger, Fear, Sadness, and Pain. She touched the barrier between their minds lightly, but it solidified, leaving her unable to feel anything.
General Organa still maintained their apprentice-master bond. She always listened when Rey came for advice. But Rey had noticed that Leia seemed to know something about her bond with her son. She had never asked, yet Leia’s eyes sometimes held a strange, searching look. Leia had always been gentle, tender, and patient with Rey, understanding her past as an orphan from Jakku. But since Exegol, Rey noticed Leia’s long, watchful gaze, as if she expected something from her.
Rey halted abruptly in the middle of the forest. A faint hum reached her ears — the rising whine of a speeder. Someone was approaching.
An instant later, Finn burst out of the bushes on a speeder bike. He skidded to a stop in front of her.
“Rey! It’s urgent — General Organa is calling you!”
“What? What happened? Do we have any news?” Rey fired questions at him while climbing onto the seat behind him.
Finn swung the speeder around and accelerated back toward the base.
“You need to hear it from her yourself,” he said.
In the center of the military outpost, General Organa sat with a cane in her hand. Officers and staff hurried to gather around the main table. The ancient temple that now served as their base was still dirty and worn despite weeks of repairs and cleaning. Hand-carved chairs were filled with commanders and other high-ranking officers, while several holograms of fleet leaders flickered patiently in the background.
Rey chose to stand near Admiral Holdo’s projection — it was closest to the door, and she had always liked her.
Leia glanced at Rey once as she entered, then turned back to the table.
“Let’s begin,” she announced. The room fell silent.
Poe tapped a few buttons, and a hologram activated.
A blue silhouette of Kylo Ren filled the room — masked, rigid, and facing Leia directly.
“General Organa,” he said, his voice cold.
“Supreme Leader,” she replied in the same tone. “Why did you request a direct call to the Resistance?”
“I have a matter worth discussing.”
“Are you surrendering?” she asked with thin sarcasm. Rey sensed Leia trying to appear braver than she truly felt. The Force around her trembled with concentrated emotion — longing, fear, anger… and hope. Leia narrowed her eyes, holding her composure. “We haven’t heard much from the First Order since… Exegol. I don’t know what happened between your First Order and the Last Order, but as far as I know, you lost many ships in that battle.”
“No… and yes,” he answered slowly, tilting his head slightly. “I assume you have a competent spy within my fleet. But let’s talk about my proposition.”
“What can you possibly offer?” Poe muttered with a scowl. “After everything you’ve done, you can’t—”
“Poe.” Leia cut him off sharply. “Quiet.”
Kylo Ren did not turn toward Poe; his mask faced Leia alone.
“You’re exceeding your food limits, aren’t you? You’re also running low on fuel. The people you’ve gathered lack discipline and order for a real army.” His tone was stern, unforgiving.
Leia’s expression froze. Her lips thinned.
“And it seems you have a good spy among my people,” she replied.
“Indeed. Which brings me to the proposal I believe you’ll find… beneficial.”
The room grew tense. All eyes were fixed on him — Poe’s especially, full of suspicion.
“I want to end the war that has lasted fifty years. The Resistance, the Rebel Alliance, the Republic — old and new — the Empire, the Separatists. The Jedi and the Sith, the Acolytes, the Knights of Ren, the Witches of Dathomir, and every Force-sensitive faction that has risen and fallen, leaving destruction behind.
I want a peaceful galaxy.
I want to unite our factions and end them all.
I propose that we unite our people. My intention is to end every war.”
“WHAT?!”
Voices exploded at once.
“Liar!”
“Why would you—?”
“It’s impossible!”
“It’s a trap!”
“He’s insane!”
“General, we can’t trust him!”
“SILENCE!” Leia shouted. The room fell quiet again.
“You truly believe we can trust you? After everything you’ve done? You destroyed Hosnian Prime — the Senate. Do you expect us to believe you want peace after everything the First Order stands for? The power—”
“First of all,” Kylo Ren interrupted calmly, “Snoke ordered the destruction of Hosnian Prime. Not me.
And tell me, Leia — have I ever lied to you?”
Leia’s voice softened. “No.” Her hands tightened together.
“I want our factions united. And let’s be honest — you need what the First Order has. Food. Soldiers. Weapons. Ships. Fuel.”
“And what do you need from us?” Holdo asked firmly.
Kylo Ren turned slightly toward her hologram.
“Hope.
I know the ideals your Resistance fights for — a peaceful galaxy where people aren’t abandoned by a government that doesn’t care. The Core has always drained resources while the Outer Rim starves. Was that fair?
I want a galaxy free of slavery, war, and suffering.”
“So you want us to forget decades of violence and simply say, ‘Let’s be friends?’” Finn called from the back. He had no formal rank, but his knowledge of the First Order earned him a place in the room. Several officers nodded.
Kylo Ren tilted his mask. “You prefer to continue the war?”
“Yes!” Finn shouted. “We’ll win and build the world we believe in. You’ll lose.”
“Maybe. Either the First Order or the Resistance — eventually, one of us will end this war.
But at what cost? Will we fight until there’s nothing left? How many will die?”
“As many as needed.”
Kylo’s voice sharpened. “Even your old friends?”
Finn stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“The stormtroopers. Have you forgotten how they were made?”
Finn went pale. Rey understood — the stormtroopers were stolen children, taken from worlds the New Republic failed to protect. Some officers in the room grew ashen as well — many had joined the Resistance hoping to find their missing sons and daughters.
Silence spread across the room.
Leia looked back at Kylo Ren.
“What guarantee can you offer us? You must understand — we cannot trust you outright.”
Kylo Ren breathed deeply. Rey wished she could read his emotions, but the mask hid everything; he’d always been transparent without it.
“I propose an engagement — and later, marriage. Between myself and the last Jedi of the Resistance: Rey.
Together, we can create a new place for Force-sensitive people. A new Jedi Order — one that teaches both sides of the Force, not denying the light or the dark as the old Jedi and Sith did.
She would have equal status among my people.”
Leia went pale. Her eyes immediately found Rey’s. Poe, Finn — everyone — stared at her. Whispering filled the room. Rey’s heart pounded so violently she thought her knees might give out. The world spun.
Leia turned slowly back to the hologram.
“We need time to consider your proposal.”
The hologram blinked out.
Chaos erupted instantly — shouting, arguing, disbelief.
Rey slipped out of the room, barely feeling her legs.
She needed to sit down.