Your not alone
Chapter 1:
Two months. It had been two months since they had finally defeated Palpatine and The Last Order. Two months since the two of them had thought, finally side by side. Two halves united as one.
Rey had almost lost hope that Ben Solo could be redeemed. And yet, beyond all hope, he had come to her. After all of the fighting, the pain, he had joined her. He had come back to the light. She had finished the task that Han had died for. That Leia had fought for until her dying breath.
Rey thought that finally, they could be together. She was ready to finally take his hand and bring balance to the galaxy, together. And so they had done.
And then he had fallen down the hole.
Rey had been overcome with grief. She was being overpowered. Then, she heard the voices of all of the past Jedi. She put all of her energy into pushing back against Palpatine. Finally, with the strength of all of the Jedi behind her, she was able to defeat him.
But it had been to much for her. She could feel herself slipping away. Her only regret was that she was unable to tell Ben how she truly felt. She hoped he could sense it through their strange bond.
But then, by some miracle, she could feel herself in someone's arms. She felt life being pored back into her. When she gained full awareness, she saw that Ben had pulled himself out of the pit and had used the force to heel her.
But it had been too much.
Ben was now completely drained. In that moment, she new that she was still going to loose him. The kiss they shared was full of emotion. Joy from their victory. Happiness at being together at last. But also grief that this moment could not last for much longer.
Rey felt her heart break as she saw Ben Solo fade into the force.
Over the past two months she and the rest of the resistance had been trying to fix the Galaxy. Everything had been so busy, that she had had hardly any time to talk to any of her friends. She thought that this might have been a good thing, as she was still morning after Ben.
Though for a long time they had thought against each other, there were still moments when there was more than just fighting. Moments when she saw beyond Kylo Ren, to the person under the mask. The man who's entire being radiated conflict.
She remembered that night in the cave, when she had attempted to find out more about her parents. She had felt so alone.
"You're not alone."
He had said. In that moment, she did not feel alone.
Now, she felt all so alone. How cruel fait was. For them to finally be united, only to be torn apart.
Rey was now in The Falcon. She was in her sleeping quoters, alone and attempting to meditate.
She had been travelling around the Galaxy, trying to gather more information about the old Jedi. She wished to find where they had succeeded and where they had failed, so she might be able to build a new order, free of their old faults. However, she still had so much to learn, and nothing but her old books to learn from.
Lately, she had been feeling strange. She did not know why, and she was trying to find out.
As she meditated, she looked inward. She could feel something inside of her. Something strange, new, powerful... Life?
How was this possible? The closest she had ever been with someone had been Ben, but they had never...
She looked for answers in the force.
Her vision flashed to the aftermath of the battle, when Ben had used his own life energy to save her. He had put so much... Could it be that he put too much.... Enough to create, more life...?
She looked more carefully at the life within her. The force signature, it felt so much like her own... And yet it also felt like his...
It couldn't be...
And yet... She new the truth.
When Ben had given all of his life energy to her to save her life, he had put too much for one person. So the remaining energy manifested into new life. A child. Their child.
Rey felt tears filling her eyes. This was incredible. A part of Ben still lived on. Growing inside of her.
She couldn't tell anyone. There were still many in the Galaxy that saw only Kylo Ren and the first order. She had to keep this child a secret, for all of their safety.
She put a hand on her stomach and felt again through the force the life that was growing inside of her.
For the next seven months, Rey mostly stuck to the Outer-Rim systems where it was less likely for her to be recognised. She had to constantly restock on supplies, as she found that her little Solo caused her to need constant nourishment. Whenever Poe or Finn asked her where she was, she would always say she was on a really important self appointed mission. When they asked what it was, she would say it was Jedi business. She did not like having to deceive her friends, but it was necessary to keep her child safe.
Rey could sense through the force that the child was going to be a boy. She had taken to calling him Her Little Solo. She could already sense he would take after his father and grandfather, if the amount of kicking was anything to go by. She had decided he would have Ben's last name, to honor the father he would never know.
She had also decided to tell him the truth once he was old enough. She did not want him to find out the truth of his heritage in a horrific manner, just as she and Luke had.
Finally, the fateful day came.
She had put the Falcon into auto-piolet, and was about to go to sleep. She was on her way to a safe system where she could give birth in peace. Once he was born, Rey was planning to show her son to Finn and Poe. Hopefully, they would help her conceal his true identity.
However, she was not expecting the child to come, a week before scheduled. She was woken up by sudden cramps. The next few hours were extremely painful for Rey. But finally, she heard her son's cries for the first time.
She gathered all of the medical supplies on the ship that she needed and proceeded to cut the cord and clean her baby. She rapped him in a blanket and crawled him in her arms.
She tiredly looked down at her baby for the first time.
His hair was jet black and messy, much like Ben's had been. She smiled as she saw that he had inherited much of his father's appearance. Even with all of the baby fat, Rey could tell that he would grow up to strongly resemble Ben Solo.
But the most striking part of him were his eyes. When his eyes first flickered open, Rey's breath hitched.
They were a brilliant emerald green. Those bright orbs glowed with the force. It was beautiful and breath-taking.
Rey could sense without trying that he was power. She stroked his hair. This child represented so much. The union of two powerful force users, descended from two families who were strong in The Force. The rise of a new order. The beginning of a new age in the Galaxy.
Rey closed her eyes. She had made so many plans over the last seven months. And yet, she had forgotten one thing. A name. What was she to call her little Solo?
Through the force, a name came to her.
Harry.
She had no idea where the name came from, but somehow she new this was the right name for him.
"Well," She said. "Harry Solo it is."
Harry gave her a gummy smile.
Rey smiled in return. She went to lay down, her child in her arms and a smile on her face.
Suddenly, Rey received a vision through The Force.
She saw darkness, but also light.
She saw dark hooded figures, fighting strange light out of sticks. She saw the figures being pushed back by others, but these others were not strong enough.
Suddenly, a new figure joined the fray. She saw he was a young man with mess dark hair. In one hand was another strange stick, but in the other was a glowing lightsaber.
Suddenly the vision change.
A snake faced figure was now facing against an old man. The snake faced figure radiated the dark side. The old man the light side.
And then, the young man again.
He radiated not the light, not the dark, but both. He was balanced in the force and stronger for it.
The vision changed again.
She was on the grounds of a castle. It was dark. She felt so alone.
Suddenly, there was light.
Three stars sawed over in the dark sky. They appeared to separate for a long time. But then they came back together in a flash of light.
"Rey!"
She turned. Directly behind her, close enough to touch, was Ben.
"Ben." She breathed, hardly believe what she was seeing.
Ben reached for her as he had done so many times before.
"Your not alone."
She took his hand.
Suddenly, she was awoken.
She sat up, gasping. She heard a cry, and looked down to see that she had woken up Harry.
"Shhh." She hushed him, clutched the child to her breast.
As she rocked the child gently, Rey thought about her dream.
What had it meant? Was it some sort of warning through the force? Why was Ben their? And most importantly, who was that young man with the lightsaber?
For the next few days she meditated, seeking answers to her questions through The Force.
Finally, she had an unexpected visitor in the form of a Force Ghost.
She had just put Harry to sleep and was preparing to meditate once again, when she saw him.
The Force Ghost of Luke Skywalker stood their, watching her.
"Hello Rey." He greeted.
"Luke." She breathed.
"I'm hear to talk to you about your son."
Rey sucked in a breath.
"What about him?" She asked.
"Just after he was born, you received a vision through The Force."
"Yes, and I've been trying to decipher it ever since." Rey replied.
Luke seemed to sigh.
"Rey, there is something very important you need to know."
He gestured for her to sit down.
Once Rey was seated, he continued.
In the far Outer-Rim, there exists a planet where The Force has manifested in an... Unusual way. While there are a large number of people who are strong in The Force, they a learnt to rely on channeling there power through sticks which they call wands. Very recently, a dark Force user has risen to power."
"What does this have to do with Harry?" Rey asked.
Luke sighed.
"You see, this Force user only fears one person. A very powerful light Force user. However, these two are currently in a stalemate. If either side wins over the other, then The Force in this world will be imbalanced. If this were to happen, then it will spread to the rest of the Galaxy. However, there is a way to stop it."
"Your not say...?" Rey asked incredulously. Harry was just a baby. He couldn't bring balance to The Force.
"Harry is destined to grow and bring balance to The Force, just as all of the Skywalker bloodline of done." Luke continued. "However, he will not be alone."
Rey thought over her vision.
"Three shooting stars..."
"Yes." Luke said. "Three shooting stars. Though the three of you must be separated, you will reunite when the time is right."
Rey blinked. He had said "you", as if he were talking to her. But if she was one, and Harry was another, then who was the third shooting star? She thought over her vision again. The only other person she had seen that it could possibly be was...
"But... You can't mean..."
Luke nodded.
"But Ben is... He is dead."
Luke shrugged.
"The Force works in mysterious ways."
Rey thought over the situation.
"What do I have to do?" She finally asked.
Luke looked down, not meeting her eyes.
"You have to go to this planet, and take Harry to where The Force tells you to. And then you must leave him there so that he can learn the ways of this planet's Force Users."
"No!" Rey replied, angered. "No, I can't just..."
"Rey." Luke said. "You must. If the balance is to be kept, then you must make this sacrifice."
Tears came to Rey's eyes.
"I can't." She said. "I can't abandon him."
She remembered her own life, growing up on Jakku with no one to care about her.
Luke walked over to her and seemed to try and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It will be alright." He said. "This must be done."
Rey could sense that this was true. The Force was telling her that for her vision to come to fruition, she had to make the hard choice.
"Do not worry Rey." Luke said. "You will see him again."
For the next three months, Rey traveled to where Luke had directed her to. She spent the time, when not piloting the Falcon, spending as much time as possible with Harry.
She wanted to make the most of the limited time she had with him.
One of their favourite games was for Rey to use the force to levitate small objects in the air over Harry and him to try and hit them with his small baby hands.
All too soon, Rey could see the planet, Earth, which Luke and described.
Rey took a deep breath.
"This is it." She said to Harry.
She let The Force guide her to where she needed to take her little Solo.
Upon landing, Rey lifted her little bundle into her arms and departed The Falcon. She walked down the ramp onto the cool soil. It was the middle of the night. Rey appeared to be on the outskirts of a small village.
As The Force led Rey down the streets, she noted that the technology seemed far less advanced than the rest of the galaxy. However, she could also feel that The Force was extremely powerful in this world. She hoped that Harry would be safe hear.
Finally, Rey found herself in front of a house, with lights coming through the window.
She drew a piece of old paper from her pocket. When she had been in the process of moving the ancient Jedi texts into The Falcon, she had noticed several old writing implements, such as old worn paper and bottles of ink. Until recently she had been using them to take down notes of any information she find in her travels. Now however, she used it to write a small letter addressed to whom ever became the guardians of her son.
She walked up to the front door. With every step her heart felt heavier. It hurt so much. She had carried this child inside of her for so long. Felt him through the force as he grew within her.
For as long as she could remember she sort her family. This child was all the blood family she had, and she was just giving him away?
Just as she reached the door, she hesitated. What if she was making a mistake? What if Harry became as alone as she had been... Have she still felt at times.
"You are not alone, and neither is he."
Rey turned. For a second she thought she had heard...
She shook her head. She had to do this. If what Luke had said was true, then The Force would be in danger of becoming unbalanced again if she did not do this.
So with a heavy heart and tears in her eyes, she laid her child down on the door step and placed her short letter on top of him. She nocked once. Then she nocked again until she could sense someone coming to the door. Quickly, she ran to the street. She hid behind a fence and watched as a young red-haired woman opened the door. She watched as her little Solo was picked up and carried inside of the house.
"The Force will be with you Harry." She whispered. "Always."
And with one final look, Rey departed from the primitive world where The Force ran so strongly. As The Falcon left the atmosphere, she finally let her tears fall.
"Do not worry Harry." She said to herself. "You're not alone."
Rey did not know if she imagined it, but she could have swan she heard an all too familiar voice.
"Neither are you."