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The House of Fett: A Star Wars Story

Chapter No.: 1/28

Summary: Reid Janghis Fett is the only daughter of the infamous bounty hunter himself. When she was eight years old, she discovered quite by accident that she was Force-sensitive, and so her father Boba sought out the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, who would, for the next eight years of her life, be her mentor in the ways of the Force– but she is no Jedi. She is a Mandalorian, even if she does happen to wield lightsabers. However, when the Sith Lord Kylo Ren– whom she once knew as Ben– begins to seek out her old mentor for terrible purposes, she’s met with the familiar face of Poe Dameron, and she agrees to help him only once. But when Luke is not where she thinks, sending her and Poe on a galaxy-wide hunt for your elusive mentor, she’s forced to work with him even longer than you had originally planned.

Ratings/Warnings: 18+, canon-typical language/violence, for graphic and intense violence, strong language, depictions of trauma, PTSD, use of alcohol, mention and witnessing of drug usage

~~~

I swear on my name, and the names of the ancestors, that I shall walk the Way of Manda'lor and the words of the Creed shall be forged in my heart.

This is the Creed of the Mandalorian.

This is the Way.

~~~

The Mandalorians are a wandering people. Interstellar ghosts, legends, rumors.

They are without a place to call home, their planet long since destroyed from a time when the Emperor still ruled. They are without lands of their own, but they are not without honor, nor are they without their warrior spirit. Even without Mandalore, they are still very real and still very much alive. That is what young Reid’s father told her, what he raised her to believe in. Her father, the notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett.

Boba found her as an infant. Many years after returning to his bounty hunter lifestyle once he was done on Tatooine, a quarry had landed him in the middle of a recently-destroyed village, victim to the forces that would become the First Order in later years. His quarry was dead, but there, he found her. A helpless baby that had somehow survived the destruction and chaos, crying out from the rubble surrounding her cradle and desperate for help. Boba had only meant to take her to someplace where she would be well-cared for, but he soon found himself understanding the plight of Din Djarin.

Unexpectedly, he cared for her.

And so, Boba Fett raised her as his own. The girl looked nothing like him, with ivory skin, cherry-red hair, and amber eyes, but few would ever see her face. She was named Reid Janghis Fett, and he ensured that she knew the Mandalorian Way well. He taught her the ins and outs of being an excellent bounty hunter, strategizing, survival, various forms of combat, and even dogfighting. She became a formidable opponent on the ground and in the sky, following her father on every single one of his jobs and proving herself a valuable asset to him– and that was before she was even eight years old.

Shortly after her eighth birthday, Boba took her to see an old ally of his.

Din Djarin.

Younger than Boba, Din was able to teach her more easily what subjects Boba had difficulty with, ones that she could not learn on her own. Half a standard year she spent with Djarin while her father took more jobs elsewhere in the galaxy. The one who wielded the Darksaber became like an uncle to her, and even now she is very close to him– her “clan” consists of only four people: her father, Din Djarin, Grogu, and her mentor, whom she met in her eighth year.

She had been told many times to keep away from the river nearby where Din had set up his temporary home. Children never listen, and even though her upbringing was stern, she was no exception. Neither, really, was little Grogu.

It all happened so fast, she doesn’t really remember the details anymore. But Din has told her the story so many times, she knows it well.

The river had swollen from recent rains, and in an attempt to chase a frog while Reid made sand castles, Grogu was swept away in the waters just as Din arrived with intention to scold the both of them for going near something so dangerous. Din couldn’t swim well in the rapids with his heavy beskar armor, but Reid saved him the difficulty of even having to try.

She’d extended a hand toward the child, and only using her mind, lifted him clear out of the raging river and safely onto shore. At first Din had thought that Grogu had done it himself, until he realized that it was Reid. Of course, she had seen young Grogu utilize the Force many times. She knew what it was, and what it meant. She wondered if Boba would send her away to live with some seclusive monk on some distant world, teaching her obscure religious practices about the Jedi.

While Din was distracted caring for the shocked Grogu and sending an urgent transmission to her father, she raced off into the forest. She went so far and so deep that she was certain no one could find her. In her naive child-mind, she believed that if she simply willed it away, then away it would go. She was also naive in the notion of believing no one could find her.

Boba himself found her much later that day, and she knew that any attempt at defending herself would be futile. So she curled up with her knees to her chest and her head bowed into them, hiding her face. Boba sat calmly beside her casually, as if this were an ordinary day, a low grunt seeping from his audio transmitter as his body protested the movements.

For a long while, he said nothing. Then his hand was on her back for comfort, and she launched herself at him to tackle him into a tight hug despite his armor. “What are you afraid of, little bantha?” Boba questioned softly, embracing her in return.

“I don’t want you to send me away.”

Boba chuckled at that, her small, heartbroken voice tugging at his nerves of steel. “I would never. You think I would stuff you away to some distant temple to be raised by a monk? No, I will not. The Force is mysterious, but it is also dangerous. For a Mandalorian, for a bounty hunter, it could be a powerful ability. But this is new for you. What does one do with new abilities?”

She hesitated for only a moment, for she knew the answer well. “…Learn about it. Learn to use it.”

“Very good,” Boba praised, “And if that entails learning from someone other than myself or Din?”

“I… I must do it.”

“Yes,” Boba hugged her then. “But I would never leave you, little bantha. You will learn as you have learned here, for I will visit you often, and I am sure that if I am too distant to do so, then Din will for me.”

And through Din, Boba found her reluctant mentor.

Luke Skywalker.

The legendary Jedi Knight had a school for people like her. A Jedi Academy. She still remembers her awe at entering the stone fortress, where young children just like her learned to wield laser-swords while blinded by helmets. Seeing over it all was a middle-aged man with golden hair and piercing blue eyes, who wore all black and demonstrated moves before a class on invisible opponents, utilizing a blazing emerald blade and using almost unnatural finesse.

When he spotted the two of them waiting in the doorway, Luke told the class to continue the lesson without him for a moment. He turned off his lightsaber and swiftly approached. “Boba Fett,” He greeted smoothly, eyes glittering warily with past memories of encountering the bounty hunter. His eyes seemed to meet Boba’s through the helmet, holding his gaze. “...I thought you were dead.”

“Maybe I was,” Boba chuckled dryly.

“I did not expect you to come here, of all places,” Luke continued, and his gaze landed on Reid. He wasn’t frightening at all, but she still tightened her grip on her father’s hand. “…Though I suspect the reasons for your visit well enough. Who is she?”

“This is my daughter,” Boba replied; she knew, always, that she was adopted, for Boba felt it was her right to know. He always told her, however, that blood mattered little. Family could be without blood connections. Yet he always introduced her as his daughter, never feeling the need to state that she was adopted. “Reid Janghis Fett.”

Luke turned his attention from Boba fully to her, crouching so that he was level with her. Were she any other child, she might have hidden behind her father’s legs his gaze was so intense. But she’d been raised to be brave and face any obstacle, even if it were the eyes of a Jedi. “It’s nice to meet you, Reid. I’m Luke.” He reached out to shake her hand, and she returned the gesture. “Do you have special powers? Is that why you came here?”

She hesitated, looking up at her father to try and see what she should do next, according to someone wiser and older. Boba nodded once to assure her. “It’s alright, little bantha, you can tell him.”

She met Luke’s gaze straight-on, swallowing her fears of being raised by a reclusive monk. Luke didn’t seem so bad, after all. “I can lift things with my mind.”

He didn’t seem very surprised at all, only intrigued. “Have you always been able to do that?” She shook her head. “Do you want to be a Jedi?”

Again, she shook your head, but this time more aggressively. “I’m a Mandalorian.”

Luke smiled a little, but it didn’t reach his eyes as he stood. “If she’s unwilling to learn the ways of the Jedi, then I cannot teach her.”

Boba grunted his understanding. He had already warned Reid that this might happen. She glanced between the two men worriedly. “Of course. Do you know someone who might?”

“You might seek out Ahsoka Tano, but the last I heard of her was many years ago; but she did not train Grogu, either.”

Boba inclined his head. “Very well then. Thank you for y—“

“Wait,” She reached for Luke’s hand, holding it tightly to try and convey her urgency. He looked down at her immediately, surprised. “Please train me. I don’t want to hurt anybody. Even if I’m not a Jedi, I’ll be good, I promise, and I’ll learn what you teach me.” She stared up hopefully at him, trying to beg him with her eyes. A part of her feared that if she went untrained, she may one day find someone who manipulates her into learning a dark, awful side of the Force.

She did not wish to become a Sith.

Luke and Boba shared a glance before Luke knelt down again for her. Something had shifted in his expression, and his eyes: it looked something like admiration, or even… fear? His tone was gentle as he spoke to her. “…If this is what you want, then I cannot train you as I would everyone else. You would have to watch, and learn, and I would teach you when I’m not training my Jedi students. Do you understand?”

She understood completely, despite her young age. And so Boba left her there with a promise to return, and she began her training under Luke Skywalker.

It wasn’t very hard for Reid to adjust. She was given an equal share of chores and tasks, like everyone else, and when Luke taught his classes, she always stood off to the side and watched closely. The only classes she rarely watched were his teachings of the Jedi religion, although she did listen to their histories. Eventually she was given a pair (per her preference) of emerald lightsabers. Luke was going to take them away when he saw that the plasma blades were unstable, but she liked the way they crackled more than the others’. It made her feel more differentiated from them, reminded her that she's a Mandalorian, and she was there for a purpose.

Some of the other children mocked her. They made fun of her and tried to make her feel out-of-place, but she ignored them; oftentimes she mocked them back. Although always quick to come to her defense, Luke wasn’t always around to put them in their place. Luckily she did have some form of backup in his nephew, Ben Solo.

Awkward and shy, Ben noticed her bullying and often helped her fend them off. He even taught her things about the Force that Luke had yet to, helping to mentor her. Luke was grateful for his assistance, and soon the two of them became close. Ben always told her that she was the little sister he never had, and swore to protect her. “Not that you need it!” He’d always say quickly when he saw her frown. To Reid, he was like a big brother. She even called him that, which he found endearing.

Luke became like a second father to her, and his sister, Leia, was the first maternal presence she had ever felt. She grew close with her as she taught her how to braid her hair without knotting it, how to hold herself like a lady without lessening her fiery persona, and the subtler things in life like cooking. Her husband Han, on the other hand, roughhoused with her often and gave her the nickname “Scruffy.” It was… awkward, to say the least, when Boba and Han met once more. It was Han, after all, who had sent Boba into the Pit of Carkoon.

Two years into her training, when she was ten years old and Ben was fifteen, Luke took his students— including her— to a very special place. Yavin IV, where on a koyo fruit farm, he’d once planted a very special kind of tree.

A Force tree.

The owner of the farm, Kes Dameron, opened the door and was surprised to see a Jedi and his students appear on his doorstep without warning– but he took it lightly and beamed once he realized what was happening. “L… Luke! What are you doing here?!”

Luke laughed as Kes engulfed him in a bone-popping hug. “Hello, old friend! May we come in?”

“Of course!” the man stepped back to allow the entourage of children into his house. “We’ve got a lot to catch up on!”

“You may explore the village,” Luke said to his students, “But return here in an hour. I have something very important to show you.”

Of course, Reid gravitated to Ben. “Have you been here before?”

“A few times,” Ben replied, and his tone, as it happened too often nowadays, concerned her. He was always tired, always sad, and he almost always avoided his parents when they visited him. “I don’t really know Kes… but his son I know a little better. We’ve met a few times. I’m pretty sure I saw him outside; come on.”

Ben led her out of the house and to an old, run-down shed, from which the clanking of metal tools came. Ben slid into the open doors first before gesturing for her to come inside, and when she did she found herself in a world of old parts, dusty air, and filtered beams of yellow-gold sunlight through the crumbling barn slats. In the center of it all was an ancient A-wing, half disassembled and laying in various stages of work throughout the barn. The soft clinks of metal-against-metal and twisting ratchets brought the pair over to the other side of the old craft, where a man’s form was half-concealed as he worked on the underside of the ship.

Ben nudged him with the tip of his boot. “Just a sec,” came the muffled response, and a few moments later the man was twisting to see the owner of the boot that’d nudged him, a wrench between his teeth. Thick, dark waves of hair framed his young face, curls plastered to his forehead with sweat. A jacket was tied by the sleeves at his waist, leaving him in an oil-stained tank top and dirty old pants. He was absolutely covered in filth, only emphasizing the way his deep bronze eyes widened. “Ben?!”

He crawled out from underneath the A-wing immediately, removing the wrench from his teeth to reveal a brilliant smile. “Ben! Hey man! Good to see you!” He dragged Ben into a stiff, short hug on the younger man’s part, pulling away with his hands on his hips and looking over Ben with the same fondness of a brother. “It’s been awhile; you’ve grown up!”

“That’s… kind of what happens to people,” Ben replied blandly, rolling his eyes.

The man jerked his head to indicate Reid with a teasing grin on his face. “This your girlfriend?” The sheer volume of disgusted negative responses from them both had him raising his hands in surrender. “Yeesh, sorry. You gonna introduce me, then?”

Ben sighed, shaking his head. “Poe, this is Reid. She’s like my little sister. Reid, this is Poe. He’s an idiot.”

Poe shook her hand in a calloused grip after wiping the grease gathered on his skin off on his pants. “Nice to meet you, Reid.” He addressed them both excitedly. “So? What are you guys doing here? Luke stop by or something?”

“Yeah, actually,” Ben replied, “He brought us to see the Force tree.”

“You know what else you gotta see? Or actually, try?” Poe looked between them both excitedly, even as Ben rolled his eyes and turned with a sigh to leave the barn. “Koyo fruits.”

Reid tried, desperately, to stifle the laugh that bubbled up at the prospect of koyo fruits being on the same level of importance as the Force tree. Ben was still walking away. “I’ll be up by the house. You coming, Reid?“

"Come on, Ben!” Poe laughed after him, gesturing at his retreating form. “All these years and you’ve never had one koyo fruit!” Ben didn’t wait for her, continuing on his path out of the barn unhindered. Once he was gone, Reid realized that she was alone with Poe, who smiled at her and moved over toward a pack he had nearby. “You ever had koyo fruit, kid?”

She shook your head. Really, she’s sure that despite her potentially deadly skills, she looked quite innocent then. Her hair done in cute double braids, the ribbons tied into bows at the ends. She didn’t wear the Jedi student robes, since she was not technically one, instead opting for wearing the nice knee-length dress, buckle-closed shoes, and stockings that Luke had gotten for her. On her waist was a little belt with her twin lightsabers hooked to it securely. She probably looked like a child. She was, but she also wasn’t. No Mandalorian, even a child, is ever quite so innocent as they seem. She couldn’t wait until she turned twelve, when she would finally be gifted her armor.

Poe dug around in the bag until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a lumpy ovular green fruit, taking a knife out of his pocket to cut it open and hand her a slice. Tentatively, she took the piece of fruit and ate a small bite; it rewarded her instantly with a starburst of sweet flavor. She’d never tasted anything quite like it. The slice was gone in a matter of seconds, making Poe chuckle. “Told you it was good. Here, you can have the rest of it. I can literally just walk outside and pick one off a tree if I get hungry.”

She eagerly accepted the fruit and knife. When he hoisted himself up to sit on the worktable and patted the spot beside him, Reid hopped up and sat neatly beside him. “So? Where you from, Reid?”

“I don’t know,” She murmured in response. Upon seeing his face, she added with a shrug, “My dad found me on one of his jobs. My village was destroyed, so he took me in.”

Poe tried to fill in the gap, saying, “Then you found out you can be a Jedi?”

“I’m not a Jedi,” She corrected matter-of-factly, “I’m a Mandalorian. Luke is only teaching me how to use the Force. And he gave me these.” She pointedly patted one of the dark silver lightsaber hilts at her hip.

Poe’s mouth formed an ‘o’ in surprise, his bronze eyes widening a little. “Oh, a Mandalorian. Where’s your helmet, little lady?”

“I don’t have one yet,” She replied, taking another bite of fruit. “I’m not old enough. My dad’s going to get my armor when I turn twelve.”

Poe crooked an eyebrow, a faint smirk on his face. “So, you’re a bounty hunter that can use the Force, huh? That makes you a pretty tough girl.”

“Just like my dad,” She chirped excitedly, proud as she pictured your father. “Boba Fett. I learned from the very best.”

Honestly, it looked like somebody slapped him. Poe’s eyes widened, his jaw fell a little, and then something sparked in his caff irises as he let out a breathy laugh of disbelief. “Y-your dad is Boba Fett?”

“Uh-huh,” She replied, eating another piece of fruit and feeling extremely smug– many people had this reaction when they found out her parentage, and she was immensely proud of it. Her father was well-known and feared throughout the entire galaxy, even in these less-exciting years of his career. “I’m Reid Janghis Fett.”

Poe smiled, his face lit by a ray of sunshine. Reid’s young heart fluttered, and her face flushed. She stuffed another piece of fruit in her mouth to stifle her smile, though it did little good. Poe hopped down. “Well, Reid Fett: what do you know about ships?”

“I know that this one looks like it needs more than just a paint job,” She quipped, making him laugh as he surveyed the numerous tools and scattered equipment.

Poe snorted with defeated laughter, running his greasy fingers through his hair. “Yeah, yeah, you could say that…”

“What’s wrong with it?”

Poe climbed up into the cockpit, starting to fiddle with buttons that were dry of power. “It’s old, for one. This was my mom’s A-wing. Aaaaaand…” He punctuated the end of his sentence with a couple loud switches and a shake of his head. “I crashed it a few years back. Found out my dad had it retrieved, and we’ve been working on it ever since. Everything’s in good order, 'cept… the engine won’t start… Uh… What are you doing, kid?”

While he was occupied with the controls, he didn’t notice that Reid had climbed off her seat and had made her way over to the open engine compartment. She rearranged a couple of wires, bypassed the main compressor, and then gestured for Poe to power up the ship. Reluctantly, he flipped the button.

Immediately, the ancient A-wing roared to life. Poe’s face– wonder, awe, relief– was priceless. His sudden smile lit up the whole barn as his wide eyes locked on her, a scream of excitement bursting from his chest. “Woohoohoo! That’s it, that’s what I like to hear!” Reid heard a commotion from outside, and figured that with all the noise, Kes and Luke were coming to see what was happening. They rushed into the barn with the following of students trailing curiously behind. Kes stopped short, stunned into silence at the sight. Poe pumped his fist into the air triumphantly. “You hear that?! You hear that purr?!” To the ship, he added, patting the cockpit’s panels, “Welcome back, old girl!”

He left the ship running as he climbed out, and then lunged for Reid with tears in his eyes. His voice was soft as he scooped her up into his arms, lifting her clear off the ground. “You’re a miracle, Reid! You fixed my mom’s ship!”

“You did this?” Kes demanded in awe, staring at her as if she were the Maker itself. The attention was almost overwhelming. The other students were somewhere between displeased and jealous, even Ben, who glared at Poe with a disturbing kind of anger she’d never seen on him before. It scared her. On Luke, she saw only pride, as if he somehow knew that her fixing of Poe Dameron’s ship was more than mere skill alone– that had he just moved the wires connecting to the compressor just so, his A-wing would have started long ago. He was near enough to the correct alignment, but it was the Force that guided Reid to the precise configuration required to get the power flowing properly. He noticed her realization and gave her a minute nod of approval.

Kes approached Reid with tears trickling down his cheeks and awe in his eyes. "By the Maker, little one, you’ve done the impossible.”

“I only did what my father would have done,” Reid tried, in an attempt to divert attention from herself. “He taught me all I know.”

Poe turned to Luke, still beaming. “You’ve gotta get me in touch with Boba Fett. I’ve gotta thank him.” His attention returned to Reid and he pressed a kiss to her cheek, making her flush. “And you! You, you little miracle! I don’t know how you did it, but thank you!”

From that day forward, as the years passed, her crush would transform into love as she grew older. She would remember the moment she realized it was love— several years from now, when Poe showed up on her doorstep bloodied and injured from a mission gone wrong. She was only seventeen— or rather, about to turn eighteen, mere weeks before her life would descend into a perilous tumult— but after she’d patched him up, he’d laid on her bed and fallen asleep with her watching carefully over him. He’d asked her, in a low, hoarse voice, to stay with him, and he’d grabbed her wrist to keep her near to him. Reid knew that he’d only ever see her as a friend, maybe a sister— she was only a child. But she couldn’t help it. No other potential partner would ever catch her eye, her heart and soul fixated on Poe Dameron for the rest of her life.

But in the barn, that day, she knew nothing but the discomfort she felt from all the attention and the warmth of having done something so special for someone. Kes and Poe celebrated by providing a massive dinner, including singing and dancing and the lively playing of instruments. Reid felt no inclination to join them, and so while Poe played a happy tune on his quetarra, she sat off to the side, nibbling on a koyo fruit.

Luke approached her then, his footsteps almost silent. “Hello, Luke,” Reid greeted. She would never know it, but although Luke loved her like a daughter, sometimes her intelligent gaze perturbed him. At only ten, her amber eyes held an unsettling wisdom that perhaps only a Mandalorian child could hold within them. Even his other students held no such manners about them.

“Hello, mynock,” he replied softly with the nickname he’d given her, sitting beside her. “You have become very adept at utilizing the Force, more so than most of my students your age.”

“But I’m not to touch the tree,” She finished for him, assuming a Jedi’s privilege was not also hers.

“Quite the contrary,” Luke’s blue eyes flick around the party, frowning a bit. “The other students will have a chance to receive a vision at dawn, as Jedi. But you, Reid, are a Mandalorian in heart and soul.” A brief silence hung between them, and then he added, “Did I ever tell you the story of Tarre Vizsla?”

She shook her head. Luke had told her many stories, and she always dedicated them to memory. Hearing the tales from a living legend was something that Reid wished to recall every detail of for the rest of your days. She had never heard him speak of a Tarre Vizsla.

“He was just like you,” Luke said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder as if to assure you. Despite the fact that his cybernetic hand held no human qualities to it other than the intricate and advanced design, she still felt a kind of fatherly warmth radiating off of him.

“Just like me?” Reid asked, very softly. “A Mandalorian who can use the Force?”

“A Mandalorian who became a Jedi,” Luke corrected, a faint smile on his features. Reid’s eyes widened a bit, praying that he wasn’t suggesting that she become a Jedi. Their rules and code of conduct are not those of a Mandalorian. Although morals both held a distinct structure in both cultures, Jedi went without attachments, whereas Mandalorians encouraged them. “You actually have a special connection to him.” Immediately, she perked up, eyes wide with a child’s curiosity. Luke nodded in answer to her silent but obvious question, continuing without wavering. “Tarre Vizsla became a Jedi as a child, but then returned to his homeworld of Mandalore, where he revived old practices and became their unquestioned leader. It was he who built the Darksaber that Din Djarin now wields. My point here, however, is that your path is similar— except you wish to remain a Mandalorian completely. Therefore I cannot take you to the Force tree.”

His emphasis— and subtle permission— made Reid smile a little. She sat up on her knees to give him a warm hug, which he rarely engaged in, but this time, he reciprocated her embrace tightly. “Go on, then, little mynock. But you must keep the vision to yourself.”

Of course, Reid went straight to Poe, since she had no idea where the Force tree was and she was already familiar with him. While his father played a lively jig on a strange type of drum, she approached Poe from the sidelines. He stood on the edge of the crowd gathered to watch the competitive dancing of two students, clapping along with an enormous smile on his face. She gave his jacket a couple of tugs to get his attention, loathe to speak too loudly and draw the mocking eyes of everyone else. Immediately, Poe responded, turning to face her and smiling. “Hey there, Fett. What is it?”

Reid beckoned for him to lean down, and then once he did she whispered in his ear, “Can you take me to the Force tree?”

Poe nodded, taking her hand gently. “Yeah, sure. Come with me.”

Neither of them were aware they were being followed until Ben seemed to materialize at Reid’s left, making her and Poe jump. “Kriff, Ben,” He sighed in relief. “You scared the hell outta us.”

Ben glanced at Poe before meeting Reid’s eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Luke can’t take me to the Force tree,” She explained lowly, “But I have his permission to receive a vision by myself.”

“By yourself?” Poe asked in disbelief. “Isn’t that kinda… Dangerous?”

Ben didn’t seem to like Poe very much. Not at all. But at his observation, Ben smiled knowingly and took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “She’s not alone.”

Reid relaxed, muscles easing from a tension she didn’t realize she’d had. Poe was not a Jedi, even if she could sense the Force in him. He could have done nothing if things went wrong. But Ben, he could help her. With his presence, the thought of approaching such a daunting checkpoint on the way to becoming an apt Force-user seemed much less intimidating. “Thanks, Ben.”

The Force tree was beautiful. Slender, twisting, it was not ancient at all, but it held the wisdom of ten thousand years before it. The very living Force thrummed softly around it, warm and welcoming. Pink blossoms accented the soft green leaves, which rustled lightly in the evening breeze. The light of Yavin shone down through holes in the gray overcast, turning the tree silver at times. Reid hadn’t realized that she’d still been holding a hand from both Ben and Poe until she had to let go of them to make her approach to the tree.

Reid felt a surge of static and palpable energy, sensing the life and darkness permeating the space around her with an intensity unlike anything she had ever felt. All mortal concerns and senses left her as her soul seemed to be taken to another plane, depicted by a serene field— but that was all she would ever say of it. None would know what she saw that day, just as Luke told you her to do. Poe nor even Ben, who was tapped into the Force, could see what she had. Why her body went rigid against the tree, why she stayed there for at least an hour and a half with the young men watching over her worriedly and debating on whether or not to bring Luke to see her. None would know why when she fell away from it, she sobbed for twenty minutes uncontrollably in something like relief. She could never tell anyone. Ever.

And she never did.

Reid returned to the Force tree so often that Kes came to know your repurposed Naboo starfighter, bringing you the koyo fruits you loved so much. A bitter disappointment for her was that Poe rarely seemed to be there, and although Kes was nice, he spoke very little to her. In the early few years she returned to the tree, Poe was only there once, and he was leaving as she was arriving. She’d been eleven then. The next year she became a Mandalorian in full, christened by Din’s following of Mandalorians known as the Heirs of Glass. She was given a complete set of beskar armor that she painted a soft pastel jade to match her father’s, and he also gifted her with the Slave, your inheritance. Still, she had yet more to learn about the Force, so she remained with Luke and came to visit the Force tree often.

The Force tree’s visions guided her through the most tumultuous portion of her young life. When, at eighteen, she was lucky enough to be visiting the Force tree when Ben snapped.

He had always been seclusive and quiet, but he spoke to her freely enough and she cared for him deeply. In recent years he had begun to become violent, prone to outbursts of anger toward Luke, the other students— even Reid, his closest friend. The Force warned everyone near him of danger. And when she felt him slipping away into the darkness clawing at his soul, she tightened her grip on him, gaining the strength to hold on and try to keep him in the light. His swirling conflagration of the two contrasts frightened Luke, who was wary of him and his following of odd and quiet students, ones who openly shunned her but dared not do it near Ben, who even still protected her and valued her above all else. His mother, Leia, visited more often, sometimes with Han, who seemed awkward and stiff around his son. But that night… that night there was no one there for Ben.

Not even Reid.

Earlier in the evening, Ben had snapped at her during a casual spar. In a fit of rage spawned from her concern, his blind rampage nearly killed her. His lightsaber had burnt through the lightweight but durable pants she wore under her beskar, leaving a nasty gash on her thigh. Ben realized what he’d done only after, apologizing profusely before retreating. His aura clouded with something akin to black smoke, felt but not seen, and that would be the last Reid would see of Ben for a very long time.

His attack hurt her deeper than the cauterized burn on her thigh. She had never, ever given Ben a reason to be angry with her. He was her elder brother in heart if not in blood, and she adored him. For him to unleash such anger on her, she wondered if he cared for her anymore as much as he claimed, or even as much as he thought he did himself if he could hurt you so easily.

“I just need some time to think,” She’d told Luke as she’d climbed aboard the ramp of the Slave. “I’ll be back soon.” Luke was always aware of when she was leaving for Yavin IV, but right then he’d looked more concerned than she’d ever seen him, frowning from underneath his cloak. He said nothing verbally, but through the Force he willed her to come back as soon as possible, as soon as she had cleared her head.

And so she left. Reid was on Yavin IV when Ben fully snapped, when he nearly killed Luke and set fire to the Jedi Academy with all of the students inside. All save for his band of followers, all save for her. She learned those details later, when Leia, alone with Han’s sudden departure and return to the smuggling trade in his grief, came to her to explain what had happened. She had heard it from Luke, via the Force— her elder brother was now the Sith Lord Kylo Ren, leader of the Knights of Ren and apprentice to Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order. He was Ben no longer. The brother she had known was dead and gone, swallowed by darkness and transformed into an unrecognizable monster.

Reid stayed with Leia through those first few days of grieving, taking solace in her presence and that of C-3PO, who did his best to comfort her. Kes came to offer his condolences to Leia, and with him came Poe, tears in his dark eyes. He’d rapped his knuckles on her helmet after kneeling in front of her, forcing a strained smile. “Hey, miracle,” He’d whispered hoarsely, using his endearing nickname for her— he’d never forgotten her fixing his mother’s ship. “You okay?” In that moment and that moment only, she showed how she truly felt around someone other than her father. She’d burst into sobs and collapsed into his arms, and Poe had cried with her, holding her so tightly that she could barely breathe.

R2-D2 shut off, tucked in a corner and unable to be started by anyone, when Luke— without a word to anyone else— disappeared into the cosmos, guilt-ridden. Reid knew, though, where he went. His cybernetic hand gripped her shoulder firmly. “You know where to find me, little mynock.” Stiffly, she’d nodded, ensuring that her mentor understood that she’d seek him out only if necessary and guard his hiding place with her life. Surely, Kylo Ren would be looking for him. He’d be looking for Reid.

Like her mentor, she disappeared from the public eye. Her father’s reputation alone was enough to get her some easy bounty hunting jobs, and over the years her name became well-known in the bounty hunting community. Fett returned to the highest ranks, sought out and booked for the hardest, dirtiest jobs nobody else would do. Reid was paid fine money, which she used to upgrade her ship, the Slave, until it was like brand-new— but faster, stronger, more powerful. Throughout the galaxy her name brought fear to those who uttered it, recognized for what it was: a death sentence. Small clans and groups of Mandalorians respected her, and she had numerous contracts from numerous bounty hunting guilds. Busy at her work, she was off-the-radar. Few could find her easily, instead waiting for her arrival at fences or cantinas, but she knew her wanderings could be discovered by Kylo Ren if he really wanted to. She lived in a combination of anxiety and restlessness, anxiously awaiting the day she would cross sabers with her brother.

Reid’s boots jangled like spurs with the addition of little steel-cased grenades in belts around her calves, signaling her entrance to the shoddy cantina which held one of several bounty hunting guilds she sold her expertise to. At her waist were a dozen tracking fobs with green lights, letting everyone know that in her ship she had those dozen bounties locked up securely or frozen in carbonite. The cantina momentarily went silent at the sight of her armor, at the sight of a Mandalorian in green beskar. Whispers trickled from one worried patron to the next, whispers of “That’s her— that’s Fett!”

Reid would be lying if she ever said her fame brought her anything but a sense of pride for her name. “Mando!” Laughed the Devaronian barkeep, Searn Zar; he also was the benefactor of this particular bounty hunting guild. “Where’ve you been? We were starting to get a little worried!”

She wasn’t here, however, for this guild. She was on contract for a different one at the moment, so she ignored Zar and crossed the room, the one singular red tracking fob she had left pinging frantically as she approached her target: sitting by himself was a presumably male Ubese in full raider armor. None dared to ask any questions. Everyone got out of her way, pulling out of reach of even her heavy cape, all but cowering from her. The Ubese spotted her immediately, cockily lounging back in his seat. Ah. He’s going to be difficult.

She stopped once she reached the table, turning off the fob and switching the light to green before hooking it to back onto her belt. The Ubese chuckled, gesturing at her lazily. His high-pitched, squeaky voice, distorted by the helmet, grated on her ears. “Finally. I was wondering when you were gonna show up.”

Reid heaved a heavy sigh, a hand resting pointedly on one of the blasters at her hip. “I can bring you in warm… or I can bring you in cold.”

The Ubese scoffed, starting to reach up for his helmet. “How about… you not take me in at all?” She’s five seconds away from stunning him right there, but then he pulled the helmet off, and she froze up. He leaned back in his seat, leaving the helmet on the table and shooting you a lazy grin.

Poe Dameron’s dark eyes seemed to meet hers even through her helmet. “Hey, miracle.”

Reid’s heart, despite her outward facade of steel, gave a very un-Mandalorian-like stutter. She hasn’t seen Poe in at least two years, but he looked no different. His thick dark curls were messy and damp with sweat from the heat of the helmet, a few loose strands clinging to the tanned skin of his forehead and temples. His bronze eyes were flecked gold, reflecting the old dingy lights of the cantina and giving the aging lighting a new, actually beautiful purpose. Framing his angled jawline and full lips was a five o’clock shadow that gave him a rougher edge. “Takin’ lines from Din, Fett?” She couldn’t hide the girlish shudder that threatened your spine at the sound of his low, soft voice. She’d never admit it— not to his face— but she missed him.

Maybe a little too much.

She was in love, and he clearly didn’t feel the same— how could he? When they’d first met, she was a child and he was already an adult. There was an age gap between them. Surely he no longer saw the little girl with the twin braids, but he certainly would never unsee it. No part of him could ever love her like she wanted him to. Therefore it was extremely hard to see him, and him seeking her out was definitely worse and unexpected.

Reid’s hand immediately dropped from her blaster. “Poe Dameron.”

His smile sent butterflies straight to her stomach. “Reid. Glad I finally found you.”

She sat down opposite of him, expecting that he must want something to have looked for her. More concerning was the simple fact that he succeeded in locating her. If she were that easy to find, Kylo Ren would have no difficulty locating her. “How did you find me, Dameron?”

Poe smirked, leaning his forearms on the table. “It’s pretty easy, actually. All I had to do was explain to Boba what’s going on, and he told me where to find you.”

She relaxed a bit. If that was all… Kylo Ren no longer had access to the familial ties that made her relatively easy to locate to those she knew. “What do you want?”

“I have to have a reason to come see you?” Poe questioned, pouting a little.

Reid was glad for the helmet, for she couldn’t help smirk a little at that. “Maybe not. But I haven’t seen you in over a year, Poe. You never seek me out unless you need something.”

He sighed, closing his eyes for a minute before replying. “Okay, I get it. I’ve got a few birthdays to make up for. How old are you, now?”

“I hardly see how that applies to this conversation,” She answered softly, but when he started to frown, she added, “I’m twenty. Why?”

He shrugged. “Just trying to get to know you better.”

Poe was bouncing his leg nervously, biting his lip. Clearly, something was up. She reached across the table, her gloved hand enclosing one of his. For Reid, it’s an intimate gesture. She has always hated the sensation of being touched, even with her full armor. It felt alien, and unwelcome. But here she breached that barrier in an attempt to calm him, so that he might tell her why he came here. “Poe,” She said gently.

He immediately responded to her touch, surprising her. He flipped his hand so that he could grab hers, so tightly her bones popped. She didn’t have the heart to pull away, not when she saw the worry in his eyes when they flicked up to meet hers. “…This…This is really important, Reid. Potentially fate-of-the-galaxy important.”

Her insides twisted. “This has something to do with… with Ren, doesn’t it?”

Poe nodded a little, specifying under his breath. “The First Order.”

Reid sighed through her nose, trying to stifle the anxiety that flooded her chest. The First Order and the Republic were two parties who she wanted nothing to do with. The Republic stood for a good cause, but they were pushovers and too forgiving. Too naïve. The First Order was monstrous, deadly, a revival of the Empire in most senses of the word. She wanted nothing to do with either of them, nor the fate of the galaxy. “What’s happening?”

Poe shook his head. “…We intercepted some information. The First Order… they’re looking for somebody called Lor San Tekka. An explorer. An expert of all Jedi lore. And probably the only one in the galaxy who might know where to find Luke.”

Reid’s back stiffened, instantly understanding his implications. “Except for me.”

“Except for you,” Poe confirmed, squeezing her hand even tighter. “If they get him first, miracle…” He shook his head at the mere thought of what they could do to her mentor; or more specifically, of what Kylo Ren would do to her mentor. Reid felt many things, but two of them were a surge of protectiveness and fear. Anger played a role as well, and she found herself holding Poe’s hand back just as tightly.

“You want me to help you find him.” Reid managed. Working with Poe is the last thing she wanted. She certainly didn’t need to fall for him any harder than she already had. And getting into the conflict between the First Order and the Republic— much less playing a part in the fate of the galaxy— is a prospect with which she wanted nothing to do with.

But her mentor needed her.

Poe nodded again, as if trying to sympathize with Reid’s reluctance and to emphasize his point. “Yeah. I do.” His dark eyes locked with hers. She wondered if the Force guided his movements, for him to be able to pierce her gaze so effortlessly even through the thick visor. “I want you to help me find Luke Skywalker.”

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