Outer Rim planets seldom had any state of the art technology, and this one was no exception. While this space shuttle was admittedly in better condition than most, it was still an old model, smaller and slower than the ones Leia was used to.

She didn’t mind. The added time was more than welcome in order to prepare the upcoming meeting.

“You’re fidgeting, Poe,” she commented with a smile, looking knowingly at her travel companion.

The pilot looked sheepish, almost apologetic. He had no need to be: this was a delicated enterprise, and although loyalty had made him follow her out here, there was little a pilot could do once on land. “With all due respect, Senator,” he said after clearing his throat, “I am not comfortable stepping into a den of wild Imperials.”

Leia sighed. “They are not savages, Poe.” That wasn’t the root of his discomfort though. “The Empire is gone, and most of these people hardly ever knew it. The New Republic has often spoken about offering true assistance to the Outer Rim. It is time we put our words into action.

“They seem to do pretty fine on their own.”

Leia didn’t answer, mainly because Poe was right. The Outer Rim had gained a new kind of stability, one that for all its distasteful origins still allowed it to prosper. The many war tribes that had plagued it were now almost completely gone, annihilated by the man she was currently one her way to meet.

Supreme Warlord Hux. If anyone knew his first name, no one dared speak it aloud, and there were no official records that would bear it. Yet that one monosyllabic surname had been more than enough to carry his reputation all the way to the Core Worlds, simply by word of mouth.

Stories about a young war chief, whose power had been steadily increasing before suddenly massive multiplying. A conqueror who managed to go from a few planets under his thumb to almost every system in the Outer Rim. Tales about brutality, swift manoeuvres and brilliant strategy more than making up for smaller numbers and lesser technology.

Although those last two hardly seemed the case now. His troops could be counted by the thousands, all unexpectedly loyal despite most of them coming from annexed rival tribes. As for technology, he had at least gained enough that he could afford to bring each delegate in their own individual shuttle.

An understandable precaution, but it had still unnerved more than a few of her peers who had expected to step on this planet with the upper hand.

The shuttle landed, and Leia was soon assaulted with Raddan’s peculiar environment. The ice blue sky made one expect an arctic climate, yet it was more temperate than anything else. The plain they were standing in was covered in grey moss which gave off a mild heat. Leia guessed there was a water source nearby, but she could see none. The only element that stood out was the black tent that was mounted a few feet away from them.

She should have known better than to think Hux would welcome them in any of his permanent bases.

“I must admit,” a delegate from Cerea half-grumbled, “I was expecting more comfortable accomodations.”

“Comfort is a luxury in these places.” The tone was cordial if cold, the voice carrying a hint of Core world accent. It was a sharp contrast to the man who had stepped out of the tent.

Semi-long hair and ginger beard so unlike the more groomed fashion the Senators around her sported contrasted with his dark longcoat. Beneath it were more disheveled white shirt and grey pants, which were tucked into sturdy, well-used boots. Leia thought she saw the outline of vibroblades and blasters hidden in the seams of his outfit.

Supreme Warlord Hux smiled a smile much too wide to be genuine. “Although I am certain you are well aware of that fact.”

The Cerean delegate bristled, as the remark was obviously meant to. Fortunately, the trained diplomat didn’t react further than pursed lips and a puffed chest. The last thing they needed was to give Hux cause for complaint.

The head of the delegation stepped forward. “Supreme Warlord Hux, my name is Senator Telana,” she said, dipping her head slightly in greeting. “I speak for all my gathered delegates here when I say it is an honor to meet you. May these negotiations be fruitful for both parties.”

“May they indeed.” Hux’s voice was flat despite the pleasantries uttered.

Telana wasn’t deterred. “I assume they will take place in the tent you have provided for the occasion?”

“Yes, they will.”

“Good,” she continued with a bright, if slightly forced smile, “then perhaps we may..”

“You are getting ahead of yourself, Senator.”

That finally rattled her. Her mouth snapped shut as Hux looked at her with cold eyes, slightly narrowed in contempt. It wasn’t so much the look that was disconcerting as the aura that radiated off him. Disapproval and scorn almost palpable, absolute authority in his demeanor. Confidence, and intimidation.

Like this, Leia could see the man who had conquered the outer systems.

“Pardon, I…” Telana stammered, but Hux cut her off.

“How can you say we have met each other,” he reprimanded drily, “when none of your colleagues have had the courtesy to introduced themselves to me?”

“I.. ,” Telana swallowed. When she spoke again, her voice was much steadier, a valiant effort at regaining control of the situation. “Such protocol is usually done around the table.”

“On the Core worlds, perhaps.” A hint of a smirk. “Here, we do not allow anyone in our domain without knowing precisely who that person is. If anything… untowards happens, we know who to hunt down,” he finishes casually.

It was a petty demand, a small power play, but one they had no choice but to submit to. Leia could see several of her fellow delegates rethink their assumptions as the introduced themselves: many had been expecting a simple warlord, good a simple military and not much more.

Clearly, this man was much more.

“An honor, Supreme Warlord,” she said when her turn came. “I am Senator Leia Organa.”

Hux’s smile, which had been cordial for each delegate, turned sharp and predatorial at that. “Ah, yes. I have heard much about you.”

Leia frowned. “And who may I ask told y…”

The words died on her lips when she saw him step out of the tent.

He looked different, of course he did, but she could recognized that face anywhere, even marred as it was by the scar running through it. His hair was longer than she had ever seen it, black locks as lovely as when he was a boy, and he was so, so tall, and he never did quite grow into those ears.

And he was Ben. He was Ben, and surely the Galaxy had just collapsed around them because there was nothing else in the world but him. Her son.

“Senator, is that...?” Poe whispered from behind her.

She didn’t answer. She couldn’t even move.

“Supreme Warlord,” Telana said, smugness seeping into her tone as she found an excuse to reprimand him, “in an effort to follow your own rules, perhaps you can introduce the person behind you.”

Hux looked more amused than anything else. “Of course, Senator.”

He gestured for the man behind him ( for Ben, Ben, Ben!) to step forward. The second warrior was dressed all in black: dark robes concealing the movement of his legs, heavy leather protecting his arms. His clothes looked thoroughly battered, but he didn’t seem the type to care.

“This is Kylo Ren,” Hux said, gesturing towards her son as if he were a bauble of particular interest. Leia’s fists clenched. “I suppose you could call him my enforcer, though really his duties are not exclusively killing on my command.”

Telana startled. “These are suppose to be peaceful talks…”

“You have all brought your personal aids, haven’t you?” Hux asked, waving his hand in the air dismissively. “Well, Kylo Ren is mine. I insist he be present.”

Around her, she could hear the delegates muttering amongst themselves, Poe trying to discreetly call her name. She wanted to answer, wanted to participate, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of the man in black.

He had been so, so young when she last saw him, and it pained her to see how much the years have changed him after all. Despite his recognizable features, there was a harshness to him that hadn’t been present in her twelve year old child. His entire demeanor was sullen, almost hostile, and his eyes were too dark pits that held none of the mirth they once had.

He was looking at her, calm, unblinking, and Leia almost couldn’t bare the stare.

He doesn’t know me, she thought frantically, he looks at me as if I were a stranger.

“If we may proceed, Supreme Warlord?” Telana asked.

Perhaps it is for the best, she thought. If he didn’t remember her, if he didn’t wish to acknowledge her, then these negotiations will be much smoother. She’ll be able to approach him in a better moment, quiet, to the side. She’ll be able to work to take him back home, away from Hux and away from all the bloodshed that was so common here.

Yes, she thought as the delegates slowly entered the tent, this isn’t the right time. It is better to wait.

It’s how I’ll bring him home, she added mentally as she looked up one more time. And she froze.

Ben was smiling, the same falsely sweet smile he would give her whenever he had been up to something. Leia could feel dread rise in her as that smile grew, and despite the still persistent mumbles among the delegates, the roar in her ears, she heard his words with perfect clarity.

“Hello, mother,” he said loudly, so loudly the entire delegation grew quiet as his words hung into the air. “It has been some time, hasn’t it?”

And Pandemonium erupted, all under Ben’s self-satisfied smile and Hux’s victorious grin.