Kylo Ren knew who was in the escape pod even before it opened with a hiss of vapor – her presence had been a steady pulse from the Force the moment his junk-heap freighter once again somehow heaved itself out of hyperspace without disintegrating. The stormtroopers behind him stood ready, but he just smiled at the sight of Rey crammed into the pod’s tight confines.

But the faith of her homeworld of Gatalenta taught that no one who reached salvation arrived there alone – they brought along all those whose love and compassion had helped deliver them.

Where Kylo Ren and his sorcery had failed, Hux and his technological prowess would triumph.

Ben Solo had performed the role Snoke had envisioned for him perfectly. The combination of his potential and the danger he posed had lured Skywalker into seeking to rebuild the Jedi. His power had then destroyed all Skywalker had built and sent the failed Jedi Master into exile, removing him from the board just as the game entered a critical phase.

Ben Solo had sought to abandon everything he had been, even casting aside his name. But Luke sensed that Kylo Ren was just a shell around the same broken boy he had tried so hard to reach.

Failure most of all. The greatest teacher failure is.

The Force is not a power you have,” Luke said. “It’s not about lifting rocks. It’s the energy between all things – a tension, a balance that binds the universe together.

For a moment Kylo let himself recall his parents’ worried conversations behind closed doors, the ones they’d deluded themselves into thinking he wouldn’t know about. Conversations about the anger and resentment that had boiled over once again in their son. Conversations in which they talked about him like he wasn’t their son, but some kind of monster.

Alas. You’re no Vader, you’re just a child with a mask.

Hux was a vicious little squig, but yet to grow into his teeth—he had the ruthlessness of age but none of its wisdom. A veteran commander worried about winning, not playing to an audience.