Force Destiny

Early Memories

Rey realized the Force had dragged her into a vision, and she was seeing the galaxy through the eyes of a little boy. She saw younger versions of Han and Leia. She quickly understood that this wasn't a vision, but memories. It was Kylo before he had turned. It was Ben. There were quick snippets of memories as if only fragments of the memories remained. He laughed with his father in the cockpit of the Falcon ... his mother sat on his bed and lovingly tousled his hair... he giggled as he showed a room full of people a pair of golden sabaac dice... his father playfully tossed him to his mother in a lake... he walked through a crowd on top of Chewbacca's tall shoulders... and laughed as the Wookiee chased him through the Falcon ... a man he referred to as "Unca Wanwo" threw him playfully into the air as he donned a long, extravagant cloak... his father patiently taught him how to shoot a blaster... his mother read to him... Rey heard his laughter, felt the bright, beaming warmth of his happiness. His light was overwhelming. It was everything she had imagined when she wondered why he had thrown it all away.

How did that boy kill his own father... and my parents?

It was everything she had ever dreamed of in a family. Old pangs of hunger found her from her life on Jakku. Not the hunger for food, no, this was deeper, this carried her through the darkest nights. It was the yearning for a family. When she shared in his happy memories, even for a moment, she felt as if she had found the belonging she had always been searching for. That little boy with everything he could ever want, grew up and took everything from her. She had never wanted to hate someone so much in her life.

Then the happy memories faded into a new one.

She saw the world through the eyes of the same little boy, but this memory was different. The memory was hazy and incomplete, with more images and emotions than a typical memory. Ben was sobbing, though she felt the cause was insignificant, as he couldn't even remember why he was crying. Rey was not the best judge of a child's age, but by the sound of his voice and the small hands covering his face, he couldn't have been more than a couple years old. There was a tingling down the back of his neck. Rey recognized it for what it was; a warning in the Force. Ben may have been naïve to what it meant, but she felt his visceral fear.

Run, Ben.

Startling at the sound of his own name in his head, he spun around. He felt something inside of him guiding him to where he should fix his attention. His eyes focused on the arm of the droid, which had unfolded into a sharp blade. He didn't know why, but he knew he should be afraid. Ben threw his hands out to protect himself when his fear exploded from inside him. A bright white light exploded from his hands, and he recoiled in terror.

His hands were shaking, soft whimpers escaping his throat as he huddled in the corner. His vision blurred as he stared up at the kitchen droid, eyes wide as he awaited his fate. The droid's arm retracted, the serrated blade disappearing inside the mechanism. The droid began chattering about returning to the kitchen and fixing the young Ben caf.

Though Rey realized that the danger had passed, Ben did not. He stayed shaking in the corner, knowing instinctively the droid had intended to hurt him, but not why. Rey knew he didn't understand what had happened. The only thing he knew was that he was afraid and there was no one there to comfort him. He was alone. Biting his lip until he drew blood, both hands over his mouth, he tried not to cry in fear that the droid would come back.

It's okay, Ben; you're safe now.

The memory faded with his muffled whimpers, and a new memory emerged. His hand was outstretched toward the heavens, screaming, as the Millennium Falcon rocketed out of the atmosphere. She shuddered as it mirrored that fateful day from her own childhood. The day he took them from me. Ben fell to his knees and cried. He pulled the pair of golden dice from his pocket, letting the light catch them as he dangled them between his fingers, then grasped onto them in a trembling fist. "Don't go!" Rey could feel his longing for his family. His thoughts centered on his father's broken promise that this time he would take Ben with him. He wondered what he had done wrong, why he had been left behind again. His torment radiated through the bond. She knew that loneliness all too well. "I wanna go too!"