STAR WARS • Double Agent Kylo AU

[forceshadowed]

CAST LIST
LUKE (r!63 Leia) keeponfighting	HANNAH (r!63 Han) parsec
BEN / KYLO REN fullfillourdestiny	REY goazon
BENEDICT / "SMALL BEN" shadowheir	HANA / "GIRL BEN" forcepilot
JANE (r!63 Jacen) / CAEDUS forceshadowed	JON / AEGON scaledwolf
ALLANA darkerdragon	AZOR darthdragon
AMELIA lightwolf	CASHMERE 64th
THREADS
BEFORE THE FALL ↠ when Jon and Jane were still learning to suck each other's faces (Ben says yuck) ↠ parenting 101 Hannah Solo style: if your kid amputates someone, take them to a casino and teach them sabacc ↠ what happened that night at the temple THE DARK AGES ↠ Luke and Hannah actually miss each other ↠ Cash and Jane talk about how cool Hannah is ↠ so Hannah was right all along because someone's clearly not dead THE FORCE AWAKENS... AND MORE ↠ Jane tries to talk Hannah out of doing something dumb ↠ Luke does not like Hannah going to Starkiller ↠ Jane decides to come out of hiding and join the Resistance, but she comes with a +1 (and a Loth-wolf) ↠ Hannah leads the Starkiller op and brings back way too many people ↠ so dinner was a disaster ↠ while the boys are busy with meetings, the girls drink because what else is there to do ↠ Ben and Rey return from Ahch-to after trying to talk some sense into Leia ↠ preemptive blanket apology ↠ there's contraception you know ↠ mom talk

Comments

Resistance base, D’Qar • before the Starkiller mission • Luke & Hannah, maybe with Jane & Jon

[keeponfighting]

It’s way too early for anyone to be up and about, but when was the last time the General had gotten a good night’s sleep? Too long, he’d say if asked, and that he’s already used to it, running on empty for hours on end. There’s plenty of time for sleeping once they’re dead, after all.

It’s quiet in the command center, save for the steady beeps and whirrs of the droids and the other mechanical equipment. Holding a warm cup of caf with both hands, Luke stares up at the reconstructed hologram of Starkiller Base for what’s probably the millionth time, as though if he looks hard enough, he’ll see something different. Some other way in, some other means of destroying the planet-killer that didn’t involve Hannah going on a suicide mission.

That’s really what’s weighing heavily on his mind. Not the superweapon’s threat, not the First Order’s destruction of Hosnian Prime, but his wife going off to confront Kylo Ren. Their son. And it frustrates him that he can’t go himself because he’s lost too many women in his life already. Force knows where his sister Leia had gone after the incident at the Jedi academy six years ago; the very same tragedy that killed his youngest child and only daughter, Jane. Must he lose Hannah now, too?

[parsec]

Finding Luke is easy - there's only one place on the base that's even worth checking for him. She's silent as she crosses the command center, slipping up next to him and reaching to take his cup of caf. "Did you put anything in it? You know I like mine black."

Like him, there's been a lot weighing on her since she told Luke about the intel and insisted on going on the mission. That's especially true now that she knows Jane and Jon are en route - something she hasn't been able to bring herself to tell Luke yet. Everything she wants to tell him feels caught in her throat: how she's sorry that she's put him in a position to lose the last of his family, how it's her own guilt that's pushing her to go after Ben, and how much she loves him despite the fact that their marriage has had more than a few bumps along the way. Hannah's never had an easy time saying what she feels - but making jokes she can do.

As much as she wants to put it off, she knows she has to say something serious while they still have a chance to talk privately. "I'm bringing him back, Luke." her voice is soft and she hopes it sounds more confident than she feels. "I'm going to get Ben and we're going to figure everything out." Maybe if she says it enough times it'll come true.

[keeponfighting]

"Do I ever," Luke mumbles, holding out his hand so she can take the cup. He's long since taken his coffee black, all the way to his teenage years in Alderaan; Bail had tried to discourage him, but he'd said it wasn't as if it could affect his height any further. Then Hannah came, and she plucked drinks out of his hands often enough that he hadn't bothered to change the way he took his coffee.

Habit aside, it's a silent admission, too, that despite all that's come between them, there are things about them that haven't changed. He still knows her. And he still loves her, so much.

He glances at her, at her face, but something about the way she looks right now makes his chest tighten as though they're squeezed by invisible fingers. So he turns his gaze back to the hologram, jaw tightening as he thinks about what to say. He's never had an easy time saying what he feels, either. "He's always listened to you more than me," he admits, his voice just as soft. There's no resentment though, only regret and resignation. "Both of them."

[parsec]

Another time when the stakes weren't so high she'd have teased him that the kids listened to her because she was the fun parent, or because of her tendency to bend the rules when it suited her. Instead she reaches out with her free hand and brushes her fingers across his hand before lacing their fingers together. She smiles half-heartedly. "We raised two very stubborn, passionate children." They're both responsible for that.

She tries to catch his gaze. "I wouldn't be going if I thought there was another way. You're needed here. It doesn't feel right sending people if one of isn't there." It's going to take everyone working together to disable or destroy Starkiller and this might be their last and only chance to get close to their son. "I've been doing stupid things since we met. What's one more?"

[keeponfighting]

He sighs at the mention of their children. “They were, weren’t they?” He knows Ben isn’t dead, but sometimes it’s easier to compartmentalize, to not think of him as Kylo Ren. Of course, the illusion never lasts long.

He squeezes her hand. “At least take someone else with you.” Chewie will be there by her side, as always, but just the two of them plunging into the heart of enemy territory? It’s not just stupid, it’s suicidal.

[parsec]

There were brief moments when both kids were young that Hannah could believe they'd have some sort of normal life, that they could protect the children from the difficulties Hannah had known as a child and the horrors both Hannah and Luke had faced as young adults. She'd never in her worst nightmares imagined life would unfold like it did, learning that there's no pain greater than losing your child, even if she'd spent years telling herself Jane could still be out there.

She sighs heavily. Ideally, Hannah would wait until Jane and Jon showed up to explain everything, banking on the fact that Luke would be too overwhelmed with joy to realize she'd been keeping an enormous secret from him. Telling now is the kinder way to handle it, not to mention safer for Jane approaching in her all too familiar ship.

"About that - I have someone in mind. It wasn't safe for me to tell you before. I wanted to, believe me, it killed me not to. I would never keep anything like this from you unless to was to protect- " she's starting to ramble, and catches herself. She wants to look away but forces herself to give the news directly to him instead of to the empty distance behind him. "Let me explain. When I went to meet with the Targaryen Twins I saw someone we know. We were wrong about what happened at the temple."

Her heart is pound and she takes a moment to compose herself, half-hoping Luke will somehow fill in the gaps and already know what she's about to say. "Jane is alive."

Starkiller base | Hannah & Ben + probs Jane at some point?

[parsec]

Against her better judgement, Hannah's found her way on to the base. She's barely slept the last few days and it shows in her face. As tired as she should be, all that exhaustion has been pushed aside for nervous energy. Despite the many times as she's repeated that everything will be fine and she's going to bring Ben home, Hannah's not convinced of that herself and she's very aware that there's a good chance this is a suicide mission. Even as slim as her chances are, she knows she has to try. Ben is her son and she'd never forgive herself if she gave up on him. It was hard being pregnant with him, hard to have an infant, hard to have a child with a temper that outdid her and Luke combined... but they always found a way to make it work. This is just one more hurdle.

She's already said her goodbyes to Jane, who is watching from a distance in case things go sideways and Hannah needs help. Can her children sense each other or is Jane still hidden from the Force? Maybe Ben won't even deal with Hannah knowing his sister's within his reach. As smart as strong as Jane is, she knows Kylo Ren wouldn't pass up a chance to finish what he started.

Hannah had expected Ben to come to her once she set foot on the Starkiller Base. Instead it seems like she's seeking him out. She tries to silence the voice in the back of her head that says she's being led into a trap. She reminds herself that he's dangerous but she's still a Solo. It wouldn't be the first trap she's gotten herself out of.

Finally, she sees his figure ahead in the shadows and feels her heart skip like it's dropped clear out of her chest. She stops in her tracks and says his name. She doesn't yell it because she knows he already knows she's there. "I came for you."

[fulfillourdestiny]

He senses them through the Force before he sees them. Well, of course he does, he's always been able to find his family in the Force - before he could do anything else, he could pick out each of them. There was an urge to run to them, to tell them that they were being idiots and to get off-planet before the weapon was ready. Neither of them would listen to him, of course, thinking it just another plan of Snoke's

So he didn't go. Didn't stop her from seeking him out, and he really wished she hadn't. Not after that order had been given. He knew what he had to to, he knew it was important to keep someone on the inside, but he wished that the burden of it did not fall on him. That someone else had to deal with being the 'apprentice' of Snoke. But who would he wish that on? No one.

He squared his shoulders, and did not turn round.

"...You came for the girl."

[parsec]

Hannah would absolutely agree that they're being idiots. This is one of the more foolish things she's ever done - and there's a long list of events to choose from on that list. The Resistance's survival depends on destroying the base (with or without her on it!) but having the chance to talk to Ben is just as important for Hannah. When the temple was destroyed she didn't have the chance to step in and intervene, making this the only opportunity she might get to sway her son.

"I'm going to take her with me but I've been waiting to bring you back home for a long time." She's regretted ever agreeing to allow him to go off to train with Leia. Maybe if he'd stayed home they could have protected him and Jane too.

She watches him carefully, keeping the distance between them. "I know you. This isn't you and this isn't where you belong. Snoke can't be trusted."

[fulfillourdestiny]

Ben could probably add quite a few items to that list that Hannah would never consider as foolish. Top of it might be this moment here, but then again he would hope that the woman would actually see this act for what it was.

The words hurt though. They're everything he wanted to hear, years ago, before he had committed to this. Leia told them, right, they knew what depths he would need to sink to?

"I follow an important path," he said evenly. There, no way that could be misinterpretated."

[parsec]

If only Hannah knew the real reason for his actions. Leia's failure to communicate the plan to the rest of the family set them all up for heartbreak and changed their lives forever. That lack of information might be what finally causes Hannah's recklessness to catch up with her.

Her brow furrows and she shakes her head. Hannah does the best to keep anger from slipping into her voice. Anger won't help them now and might push him farther from her. "With Snoke? The only place that path leads is to your death when he's finished with you. I always knew you'd do great things. Terrorizing the galaxy isn't one of them. You can still help us. It's not too late."

[fulfillourdestiny]

The... the way Hannah said that, Ben frowned internally. It's almost as if she didn't know... Leia had told them, hadn't she? She said she would, that she would make sure they knew what the plan was so that if the time came, they all knew what was needed.

"I'm on a path to restore peace."

Jedi temple, night of the First Order raid • Jane & Ben, later Jon

[forceshadowed]

The temple is already on fire by the time Jane arrives, practically leaping off the landspeeder and running inside to search for her brother. She's not sure what happened, since she'd been out in the jungle with Jon, checking out the repairs he'd made to the crashed Y-wing they'd found a few months earlier while she was out piloting for one of the Jedi Masters. If any alarms had been sounded, they hadn't heard, too far away and too occupied with each other to notice; it had been the drastic shift of Ben's signature in the Force that alerted her that something was amiss, and the wave of mass hysteria that followed, a surge of emotional energy so powerful, she could almost see it.

She blinks, the heat making her eyes sting as she weaves her way through the corridors. She hadn't wanted to be separated from Jon, but one of them needed to help evacuate the temple and she was too worried about her brother to willingly take on the task. As she runs she tries to pinpoint Ben's location in the Force, but with everything that's going on, it's grown muted, muddled.

She comes to a sharp stop just before bursting through one of the stone doorways, pressing herself up against the wall to one side and the hilt of her lightsaber flying into her right hand. Through the opening is a large room, one of the training halls, and while she can sense Ben's presence, she's not sure he's the only one there. Maybe it's the fire, maybe it's something else, but a sort of haze seems to have settled in the Force, blurring her perception; it's only Jon she can distinctly feel, but that's also because of the way they have grown so attuned and connected to each other.

She takes a deep breath, steeling herself, then she walks briskly through the entrance. "Ben?"

[fulfillourdestiny]

He didn't know when the fire started. He didn't know who started the fire.

Honestly, the whole plan was dicey at best, and Ben knew that but he also knew that if they didn't do something, it was only a matter of limited time before Snoke would do as he threatened and make a move to corrupt Jane. Her anger already ran hot, if Snoke tapped into her Force potential to fuel it all... Well, Ben didn't want anything to happen to his little sister.

Leia had come up with the plan, after he had confided in her about the way his mind was being intruded on. They couldn't tell anyone else, of course, and they had to hope that Ben's mental shields were strong enough that no one would be able to tell that he wasn't actually as devoted as he was making out.

He had waited until Jane would be gone, making sure she wouldn't get caught up in it all. She wasn't meant to come back that night. He stood, stiff as he hears her voice call on him. Kriff. This was not going to go well.

"...That's not my name."

[forceshadowed]

True, Jane was supposed to be away that night. Jon had planned to take her to a nearby system for their ship’s inaugural flight, but they’d gotten distracted and stayed a little too long on the ground. Long enough that they were still planetside when the First Order arrived.

She still didn’t know what was really going on. She’d heard her father mention something about an Imperial remnant on several occasions, but there had been nothing concrete, not in the HoloNet or even among the Jedi. But her gut was telling her that this was an attack, which was why she’d insisted that Jon check in with the Masters and help with the evacuation while she went to look for Ben.

“What are you—” She stared at her brother, looking incredibly lost and confused. Her hand tightened around the hilt of her saber, if only because she didn’t know what else to do with her nerves. Something wasn’t right. “What’s going on?”

[fulfillourdestiny]

He could feel her confusion and Ben had to suppress the urge to explain. Leia would do it, she said she would. It was important right now that no one doubted where his loyalties lay. His hand gripped around the hilt of his own saber, wondering if his attempts to bleed the crystal had finally proven successful. It would be needed, soon enough.

"The end of a pretence," he said in short, clipped tones. "The start of something new."

[forceshadowed]

Frowning, Jane reached out with the Force to get a better read of her brother, hoping to figure out what the hell Ben was talking about—

He was shielded. She'd thought earlier that his blurry presence in the Force was merely a result of the turmoil around them, all the panic and chaos and violence coming together and dampening their perceptions, but he was doing it himself. She knew he'd been trying harder at getting a better grip on his outbursts, especially with her being so sensitive to emotions in general, but this was another thing entirely.

"You did this." She refused to believe it, though, if the lift at the end of the sentence, making it sound like a question, is any indication. "You and..." She hesitated; she'd heard her family whisper some Sith lord's name before, one who was apparently after Ben and trying to turn him to the dark, but she refused to say it out loud, because she knew names had power. "But you're a Jedi!"

[fulfillourdestiny]

There was that probing feel, the sense of someone trying to see his own feelings but getting that shield instead. It had to be Jane, no one else would be trying it right now. Besides which, she had always been more openly affected by his own emotional spikes in the Force. He breathly deeply, and looked at her.

"I follow no such creed."

Resistance base, D’Qar • surprise pregnant lol

[forceshadowed]

Despite Jane's original intent to just help with the war effort a little, she'd found it hard to leave the Resistance — well, her parents, really — after the whole Starkiller fiasco. Part of it, and she's sure that her father had done it on purpose, was because Jon had been admitted into High Command, after Luke and Holdo had been impressed by his performance during the Starkiler op. But mostly it was because of Ben; her brother had gone back to the base thanks to Hannah's insistence, and he'd been claiming that he'd gone over to the First Order as part of some scheme with their Aunt Leia...?

In any case, life in general has been hectic for the rebels; even now, as much as it deceptively looks like a quiet night, it isn't. Jane and several pilots are up and about the hangar bay for ship repairs and maintenance, while Jon's still trapped in a meeting with Luke and the rest of Command.

She's vaulted herself atop the Falcon — Blackfyre, she's had to keep correcting people — to replace a couple of parts when a ship comes in and she just knows it's Ben. Back from Ahch-to with Rey, though she frowns because their aunt's definitely not on board, but she's sensing so much else. There are... creatures. She's not sure what they are, but there's definitely a group of them, probably half a dozen. Or more? There seem to be more. And one unfamiliar familiar tiny presence that she can't quite place. What did they do out there, recruit Ewoks or something?

[fulfillourdestiny]

Ahch-to was... well, things happened that Ben did not expect in the slightest. He'd only gone because no one at the base seemed to know that Leia had pulled him into a long term plan to take down the First Order. She had broken her word to him, her promise that she would let his family know that he hadn't actually turned. So of course he was going to go to where she was and demand an answer.

He didn't actually manage to get one.

He did find out, however, that Rey... was willing to listen. It helped, having someone to talk to while they were there. It rained a lot fo they ended up in the same hut a lot.

They were closer. Which was good.

What wasn't good? The amount of porgs that stole on to the ship.

[forceshadowed]

It's curiosity that has Jane climbing down from her ship and making her way over to Ben's, wiping her greased palms on her pants in some desperate effort to at least be clean enough to touch and pet whatever new creatures are onboard. Because of course she's going to do just that, though now she's not the only one who's brought an animal into the base (or two, as Ben had quipped after that fight with Jon the last time).

She's standing by the edge of the landing ramp when the other ship finally settles into the hangar, rocking on her heels with equal parts nervousness and interest.

It doesn't really take long for several porgs to come rolling down and ramp, bounding over and latching on to her. What are these things even?? But they're oddly cute and, ugh, those eyes.

[parsec]

Hannah is blissfully unaware of any presence beyond her own and what she can see - though that doesn't last long. Ben and Rey are back - great news. The porgs that are now making their way down the ramp to Jane? Not great news. She stops in her tracks.

"Looks like you have that handled," she calls to Jane. "I'll wait over here."

Whatever they are she's sure she doesn't want them near her ship. Ben's a little old to be bringing home stray animals as pets and really, is a military base any place for whatever the blazes they are? She's excited to see Ben (and sure, Rey too) but one of them is going to have to explain all this.

[fulfillourdestiny]

Ben is looking... beyond exhausted when the porgs start their screeching again. He did not willingly bring them home, he would love to make that big exceptionally clear. The annoying little vermin with wings stowed away on the ship and now they're stuck with them. Ugh.

"Don't ask," he grumbles to whoever is nearest, knowing there wil be questions on it all. He doesn't want to have to deal with the porgs.

[forceshadowed]

"Where's Aunt Leia?" Jane asks instead, clearly getting the hint that the warning about not asking referred to the porgs. Not that she's too concerned at the moment because the creatures are all over her like she's their mother and it's great, and, well, she's not going to be a hypocrite considering that she and Jon had arrived at the base with a hulking, talking white Loth-wolf. (Though she sasses anyone who calls Ghost a pet. How dare.)

She looks over to Hannah's direction for a moment, checking if Chewie's around because she has a feeling he would adore the screeching things.

[forceshadowed]

1. I'm going to love her. To death. Or at least medically-ordered bed rest.

2. I need you there. I need someone to glance at when other people inevitably annoy me.

3. If I say I hate myself for it does it make it any better?

4. Is it something I’m gonna want to hug you or punch you for?

5. Well. That sounds exciting. I hope someone dies.

6. [ wildcard! ]