General Leia Organa sat at a table within the Resistance headquarters, within the depths of the temple. Looking to her left sat her second in command Poe Dameron. General Ematt, Admiral Nunb, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, Maz Kanata and Zorii Bliss sat at the table all veterans of this conflict like herself. Commander Finn and Rose, Jannah Calrissian, Commander Connix all young fresh and efficient. Commander Snap Wexley, Commander D'Acy and Admiral Statura were also present, all seasoned and committed. At the other end of the table sat her son, Ben Solo, Kylo Ren looking particularly awkward and behind him stood Rey, her hand on his chair. She smiled in memory of how she and Han had sat similarly with a pretence of being friends when they had never been friends. Out of love, Leia had travelled light years to find Han risking her own life. These two clearly felt just as intensely as she and Han had.

Yesterday had not been a good day Leia's longtime droid companion was still a crumpled mess which Babu was trying his best to fix. Leia had never known a droid quite like 3P0, so human, R2-D2 came close, but she had never known a droid to complain as much as C-3P0 did and she missed it already. They had failed to decipher the Holocron, and that now seemed like a lost cause. They needed a new plan, and everyone was required to make it. Ben was going to share the information he had, and together the last battle would be decided.

"Ok," Leia stood and the eyes of all those present all around the table were on her, she waited for a palpable moment to ensure she had everyone's attention before continuing. "We have information to share and a new plan to formulate, let's get to business and see if we can come up with a solution. The First Order under the Contingency and it's designated leader the dark acolyte of Palpatine Letan Nex is preparing for an all-out war. They have greater numbers and greater weapons. We are outgunned and outnumbered. Ben."

Opposite Leia, Kylo sat leaning back in his chair with all the other leaders who were deliberating what was to be done next. He hadn't wanted the chair, but Rey had insisted over his preferred position of standing in a corner and hiding. He hadn't wanted to be present, and he hadn't wanted to be part of these discussions. He didn't have the right to sit at this table, but Rey had reasoned his point of view was valid and necessary, and so here he sat. Kylo rested his head in his hands, feeling more and more tense. He knew Rey could sense his emotions; she'd placed her hand on his chair, hoping it would calm him. It hadn't, and it would only be a matter of time before the others around the table would feel it too.

"Ben?"

Kylo heard his name and looked up from under his lowered brow.

"Ben, what do you have to tell us?" his mother asked again. He could see a mildly nervous expression, one he recognised from being a child- don't lose your temper and do not embarrass me. Kylo sighed heavily nothing he was about to say was going to be accepted readily, by anyone.

"I have already begun to acquire allies to increase our numbers and our chances from within the First Order."

"Within the First Order, are you insane?" Dameron shouted.

"No. There are good decent people within the First Order, military strategists who made their way due to their skills. The stormtroopers of the First Order aren't clones they're people, people following orders. Conscripted as children, they are almost prisoners themselves, they had no choice, and they aren't inherently bad or evil. Deserting the First Order isn't possible- he's the only one who's managed." Kylo gestured to Finn. The room had fallen quiet, and so Kylo continued. "It's time to let the past die. Those willing to join you are General Hux, Admiral Deltan, Colonel Kramer, General Targo and Captain Peavey. They do not want the Emperor to return, their ships, their troops are with us. Hux is working on others. Together you create a new order to bring down the Contingency."

"Well, that's good right?" Finn said.

"General Hux? Really?" Poe quipped, "Can he be trusted?"

"No, but you can trust that he doesn't want the Emperor controlling the First Order. He hates the Sith, all Force users in fact. As far as he's concerned, the First Order superseded the Empire. Those wishing to restore it are disillusioned and unable to see that the regime they serve is obsolete."

"Ok then, so our numbers easily just doubled." Snap Wexley added with positivity.

"It won't be enough," Kylo stated gravely. "A space station didn't destroy Kijimi it was decimated by a fleet, a vast armada of Imperial Star Destroyers. The Contingency has been constructing them in the unknown regions for decades, perhaps even before Palpatine ascended to Emperor. Clone Sith troopers operate them."

"How many?" Lando asked, his expression unrecognizably dire with concern.

Kylo shrugged apologetically. He had no answer.

"Hundreds, thousands. Their number was beyond measure. They are mobile; they can go anywhere. An armada the magnitude of which we have never seen."

The room became deathly silent, Kylo looked around at the blank faces of the Resistance.

"General Hux had an idea before I came here, one I believe we can use. We could not decipher the Holocron, but we can use it."

"Use it, use it how?" Zorii knew where this line of thought was going and disagreed.

"There is a Sith temple on Mustafar; the Holocron is its key. Placed inside, it becomes a weapon. We can use it against Sidious and destroy his fleet. Once the fleet is destroyed, I can destroy the Holocron."

"We have no idea if that temple still exists or if the Holocron we have will power it. We have no idea if it works if you can control it." Zorii countered.

"The temple exists, I've seen it, but it's useless without the Holocron," Kylo answered.

Poe stood and bent over the table, placing his palms flat on the table's surface and glared down at Kylo.

"You. A lot of this is resting on you and your word. How can we know you can be trusted. That you won't turn us over to Palpatine the first chance, you get?"

"Poe," Leia started, but her son raised his hand, he could defend himself and needed to. Kylo leaned forward in his seat meeting Poe's glare his eyes narrowed. Despite not standing, his ferocity caused silence to fall across the room. His look was genuinely menacing.

"You don't. I'm not a member of the Resistance, but I'm not a member of the First Order either, not anymore. You have no choice; it's me and the First Order defectors or annihilation. I'm the only one who can destroy the Holocron. Rey and I together are the only ones who can defeat Palpatine. You're just going to have to trust me." Kylo looked around the quiet table now, "You have a chance to change everything. You have to join the First Order in a truce and make it work. A long and lasting Peace."

"What you're not in charge of what happens in the future?" Poe asked sarcastically. "You appear to be calling the shots for everything else."

"Whatever world is created after this war, I don't get to live in it. You can't do the things I've done and get to live in that world."

The mood around the table was subdued and pessimistic. Admiral Statura, a keen scientist at heart, broke the dispirited quiet with military ideas, and everyone was grateful to be thinking less macabrely.

"So who goes to Mustafar with the Holocron? Where do the rest of us head?"

"Captain Finn, I think you should go to Mustafar, destroy the fleet. Beneath Darth Vader's castle is the Sith temple. There is an obelisk at the centre of the temple made of a spire of black obsidian. The Holocron sits within the obelisk and that powers up the temple to become a weapon. I'll meet you there to protect you, cause a distraction, the acolyte, my Knights they are all likely to be there. Once you've succeeded, you bring the Holocron to me, and I destroy it." Kylo answered.

Finn gulped, this was immense responsibility, and he wasn't sure why he'd been chosen.

"Ok, why me?"

"You've proven you're capable of fighting those with the Force and you'll always do what you believe is right," Kylo replied eyeing Finn intently it made Finn uncomfortable. No one else around the table disagreed, which made Finn feel pretty good about himself; however, that could be because it was a suicide mission. Good feelings gone.

"Ok, so we land on Mustafar and find this temple and destroy the fleet, sounds simple enough," Lando stated suavely.

"Mustafar is incredibly difficult to land on, there are perpetual storms that interfere with navigational equipment, then there's the volcanic surface and the electromagnetic field swamps," Kylo responded.

"I stand corrected, not so simple," Lando stated once more. "Still never been one to back down from a challenge, I'll pilot you to Mustafar Finn."

Chewie yowled at him.

"I didn't want to speak for you old friend."

"I'm coming too," Jannah interjected.

Finn rallied maybe not such a suicide mission.

"Ok. Where do the rest of us make our stand?" General Ematt asked.

"Endor system on the moon Kef-Bir. Letan Nex was heading to Mustafar to acquire enough Sith energy to be resurrected. Endor is where that happens," Kylo answered.

"So we go to Kef-Bir?" Rey asked, and Kylo nodded.

"So the fleet will go to Endor," Admiral Nien Nunb offered in his native tongue.

"Your First Order conspirators will join us at these locations?" General Ematt asked.

"Yes," Kylo confirmed.

"Our squadrons will protect you from above; they are trained and ready. BB8 how many X-Wings have we got? Enough for five squadrons?" Poe queried.

BB8 chirped and beeped that they had five rusty squadrons or four reasonable ones.

Rose piped in, "We've done what we can to maintain them, but some were just too damaged or too old, we've worked with worse."

Poe knew she was referring to the rusty V-4X-D Ski speeders they'd used on Crait.

"You'll have squadrons of Tie fighters to assist you, the fight will be a hard one but a fair one as long as the fleet is destroyed," Kylo assured them. "Once Hux makes his move against the First Order, their shields will be up. Then it'll be a case of who can outgun who quickest."

General Ematt stroked his bead "Garrisons in shuttles will be more efficient at taking down Dreadnoughts from the inside; it will also be an unexpected, more Resistance style of fighting."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"That's a plan then, let's gather our forces," Poe stated, and everyone in the room departed.

Leia wearily sat and smiled; finally, Commander Dameron was making the right calls, becoming the leader she knew he could be to replace her and that time she knew would be soon.

-X-

Rose was checking the X-wings over with Connix. Five squadrons was going to be tight, but the more, the better. General Ematt had been checking weapons, and Admiral Nunb with Admiral Statura had landed their large MC80 star cruisers to board their shuttles to Endor.

Finn had been training with the ground forces, blasters but also hand-to-hand weapons- staffs and Z6 riot control batons. Finn loved the riot batons they were manoeuvrable and could give a hefty hit by the ability to rotate it about and if that failed you could send your assailant a nasty electric shock. The Resistance didn't have the kind of weapons and armour that the First Order or Sith troopers had, but they'd done their best to provide their fighters with armour to protect them from enemy fire. Almost all armour was useless against blaster fire. Poe, along with the rest of the Resistance, Admiral Nunb and Admiral Statura would be dealing with the First Order Contingency in and around Endor.

Finn was currently walking through the trees towards two swirling lightsabers. It had been a while since he'd seen Rey fight with a saber. Her style had become aggressive and more powerful. Unlike Kylo, she utilised skills like flipping and jumping in an attempt to outmanoeuvre his brute strength. Finn recalled the battle in the snow how he had taken up a saber himself, Kylo had been injured, striking his side and dripping blood onto the snow but despite that, he'd been formidable, and Finn had been terribly injured, unconscious in medical for some time. Watching him and Rey training now Finn could see Kylo had held back. He bent backwards, crouched down low, jumped up and charged at Rey. The fire in his appearance wasn't the anger it had been when Finn had fought him. That fire had been sinister hate as he cruelly burnt Finn's shoulder and then slashed up his back. Rose liked his scars Finn smiled to himself. Finn was tolerating Kylo for several reasons; Rey had asked him, and also because of the plan. Finn had to admit Kylo was different around Rey; he would look at her calmly admiringly, his rage gone. Still didn't mean Finn had to like him. Finn watched as Kylo managed to disarm Rey and then stood over her.

-X-

Kylo looked down at Rey with a mildly amused smirk upon his face.

"Again," he said as using the Force he called her lightsaber to her which she deftly caught and as she gave him a wicked grin she ignited her saber and spun it into her starting position. Opposite Kylo's eyes glinted in anticipation of her challenge. He crouched one hand on the floor one leg straight out to the side and his lightsaber drawn in the other hand. He swung it at her legs, but she leapt over him entirely. He must've sensed her plan of attack because he spun on his feet to block her subsequent strike down and then he slowly stood still holding the block. Her arms began to shake with the pressure, and she knew what he was trying to prove, she needed to be cunning and use the Force. Her fighting style was skilled, but against Palpatine, it would not be enough. She extinguished the part of the lightsaber that was holding Kylo's saber, and she concurrently crouched down knocking his legs out from under him with hers and as Kylo fell forward losing his balance she used the Force to take his saber from him. He rolled over and looked at her from the ground as she stood over him with both lightsabers.

"Better."

She extinguished both lightsabers and attached hers to her belt and offered him her hand and he gratefully accepted it as he rose to his feet taking his saber and attaching it to his belt. He was gazing down at her, he was pleased with her progress, but she could see him struggling with a decision.

"Rey, I need you to promise me that you'll do whatever is necessary, whatever it takes should something go wrong to defeat Palpatine."

Rey gave him a wary look, "What do you mean?"

"Letan Nex is not the first acolyte within whom Palpatine has squatted. If we defeat the body, the essence may find another."

She raised her eyebrows at him disbelievingly.

"You're safe, you're of the light, but any darkside user nearby could be taken. You must do whatever is necessary should that happen."

"You mean if he takes you."

"As I recall, there was a time when you very much wanted to kill me, and you very nearly succeeded," Kylo stated.

"That was then; this is now. I will not fight you, no matter the reason."

He took her arm firmly, insistent, "Rey,"

"No, Ben. End of discussion."

Rey was determined and stubborn, and for now, Kylo could allow her misguided decision to slide.