Rey stood rooted in place for over an hour, waiting. She had seen Ben. For just a few seconds, but he had appeared right in front of her. She was hoping and praying to all the powers in the universe that he would come back. She had started to wonder if Yoda was right, that Ben might not come. Maybe he couldn't come. While she waited, she attempted to locate their old dyad bond. If the book was right, it was still there.

"Are you OK?" said the Mandalorian.

Rey started, so distracted she hadn't heard him approach.

"You look like you saw a ghost," he said.

"Mm." She was still hesitant to take her eyes off of that spot.

"We're going to survey this planet."

"It's mostly water. Do you spar? I don't have a partner here, and I don't think a match between your son and I is fair yet. I'm assuming you're planing to stay, at least for a while."

"I spar. We'll stay."

"Good."

The Mandalorian left without another comment. He was the most taciturn person she had encountered in a long time.

Rey watched the Razor Crest lift off and head east over the choppy sea. She hadn't had time to think about how to approach the sordid history of the Mandalorians and Jedi. This Mandalorian certainly knew it. The Jedi had effectively destroyed his people's home world of Mandalore. The Mandalorians had a long history of violence. At some point, Jedi had also become Mandalorians. She had decided to rely the man's obvious devotion to his Force-sensitive ward and trust him. Poe would not approve. She smiled at that thought.

"New friend?"

Rey whipped around. Ben was there again. She ran toward him, and stopped just in front of him. He smiled, and she lifted a shaking hand and reached toward him. Her hand passed through his chest, and he grimaced.

"Are you OK?" she said. "I saw you, and then you disappeared."

He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I might not have long this time, either. I can't control it."

"Tell me everything, then. Quickly."

"I'm supposed to train you. I don't have much to say."

"How did you get here?"

"It's complicated. I don't know. I can't understand the mechanics of it."

"Is it horrible? In the other place?"

Rey had imagined all sorts of awful scenarios for the afterlife the former Jedi resided in. Surely the Force would be kind to its dedicates?

Ben dropped down to his knees in front of her. "Before anything else happens, I need to apologise for the harm I caused you. It was wrong. Because of me, you suffered. I'm sorry, Rey. Will you forgive me?"

"Of course."

He really had shed Kylo Ren. The lingering, nagging worry about the nature of his transformation went up like a puff of smoke.

"Thank you."

"Why did you do it?" Her voice trembled, and she thought of the buckets of tears she had shed over his death. Things were better now. She could see him and talk to him. But it still felt awful.

"It was the right thing to do."

He rubbed his face and stood. She reached out to touch him again, but her hand passed right through. He could touch himself, though. That's interesting. Probably a good question for Yoda. Speaking of Yoda...

"Did Yoda ever have any children?"

"That's the last thing I would ever expect you to ask."

"Just curious. I met a child of his species. The Jedi have had relationships, haven't they?"

"Luke did. My mother wasn't technically a Jedi, but maybe that's all wrong. She's stuck with the rest of us. The Jedi aren't supposed to fu," he cut himself off and coughed. "They aren't supposed to engage in child-producing activities or that type of relationship. Yoda is the last one I would suspect of breaking the Jedi code. Have you asked him?"

Rey cringed. "He's not very direct about answering my questions. I can't quite figure out how to pose that one. 'So Yoda, were you engaged in child-producing activities prior to your death?' What do you think he would do if I asked?"

Ben laughed. "Please do. It's my first assignment as your new Master."

She hoped he was kidding.

"I've been studying the Jedi texts. I found a passage about the dyad bond."

He sobered immediately. "Oh?"

"I think it might still be in tact."

Ben frowned. It was amazing how this frown was so different from his moody, angry Kylo Ren frown. "Have you tried to use it?"

"A little. I didn't realize it might still be there."

"Not to disappoint, but don't put too much hope in it."

"I know. It's just, before, we could interact, even though our bodies weren't in the same space. That's not much different than now."

The little, normal movements he displayed even in ghost form stilled. He looked down into her eyes. She held his gaze. Let him see what she really felt. It was ridiculous, but true, regardless of the circumstances.

"That would be nice," he said carefully. "We should explore it further."

"I don't mean to be too hopeful. I just thought it might be worth a try."

"It would help with your training."

"Of course. My training is important."

Rey wasn't sure what was going on. Had she misread him? She didn't think so. But Ben Solo was not the man she had interacted with before Exegol. That man, Kylo Ren, had seemed more than interested in something beyond a platonic relationship with her. This man, Ben Solo, was hard to read. He was wholly focused on her, but thinking back through their conversation she couldn't point to anything specific that indicated he was trying to be more than a friend or master.

But of course he wasn't. Because he had sense. And he was dead.

Dead. Rey shivered.

He had kissed her though. Just that once. She wanted to ask him about it, but didn't want their relationship now to be awkward. He was right. It was unlikely their bond still existed. She needed to be happy with what she had. The funny thing about hope was that it didn't care much about things like rules or death. So she smiled, and nodded.

"I'll come back as soon as I can," Ben blurted out, and then he vanished.

Rey sighed. Then she went to find some staves to spar with the Mandalorian. There was no way she was going to swing a lightsaber at him, and she didn't want anything to do with the pronged blade he carried. They could accidentally restart the Mandalorian-Jedi War if they weren't careful.