"Is there any way we can make this more interesting, like, I don't know, pulling in some soldiers to help me practice?" I ask Ben.

It'd taken a few days, but I cooled off from my explosion at him after he'd searched through my head. It still spooked me, like I could feel the faint digs inside, secretly working. I've written that off as paranoia.

"The troopers are not here for amusement," he scolds me. "They have their jobs, and we have ours. They are not for recreational use." We're back in our usual training room, metal rods found leaning against their normal walls. We're about to train, though our current conversation delays it.

"But if something happens to them, don't you just replace them? Really, what are they behind their helmets?" I'm half-curious in his answer when mine is already settled.

He doesn't provide me with an answer.

"When do I learn the things that you do, not just as a Sith? Sorry, a 'Dark Side' user as you like to claim yourself to be. If I'm going to be here a while, I suppose I'll be given some sort of rank."

"One not above me, I can assure you."

"Above General Hux, then?"

Ben frowns. "You two don't get along."

"No, we don't. He doesn't trust me."

"He should. I trust you."

You only trust the façade, Ben. You don't really trust me. I'm on thin ice with him saying those words. If he finds out the reason behind my being here, that trust is as good as gone. "Trust is something the Dark Side allows?"

"It allows many things that the Code restricted." Ben scoffs. "What a joke it is."

It's the first time he's really mentioned anything of his Jedi past.

"Enough talk. Sit."

I glance down. The ground looks cold and uninviting. "No mats?"

"Sit."

The floor's cold temperature seeps through my pants, but I get over it quickly. I mimic his cross-legged position. "Are we having a heart-to-heart?"

He scowls. "No, we're going to meditate."

"Sith actually do that?"

Ben rolls his eyes, ignoring my incorrect term for him—and by extension, me. "It helps us maintain our connection with the Force. It does well just to shut everything out and focus on the connection. Now, eyes closed, Amara."

I straighten out my back and do as he says. I don't know if he's closed his eyes, or if he's told me this just so he can watch me make a fool of myself. My lips dip downward at the thought of him making me look idiotic.

"Reach out," he says in a low tone. "What do you feel?"

Giving it a go, I envision the Force as my tour guide throughout the First Order base. I pick up on each individual life in the base, not necessarily their emotions. I feel the coldness of the dark. I feel Ben's presence, whose is the closest of them all.

"I can feel everyone here, in the base," I say in a trancelike state. It's more out of concentration, I know Ben isn't controlling me. He doesn't have that ability, I hope. "I feel the...the hatred. The cold. The dark." My head tilts to one side. "Your presence is the biggest of them all."

"Dig deeper, there's something else. Do you feel it?"

I search beyond the life forms through the Force. I do feel something else. Like before, it's cold, unforgiving, dark and...and powerful. I can feel its pull, like a magnet that's ensnared me. It's not in the form of any person or object, it just exists.

"Don't be afraid," Ben whispers, making me almost lose my focus. "I feel it, too. It's harmless."

No, it's not. It's not me. It's not you. Why did you let it seduce you, Ben? My brows twitch and knit together.

"What you sense, this is where your power comes from. Harness it, let it in. You'll see the difference. You keep in-tune with this, imagine the possibilities. The things you can accomplish, the things you can teach yourself. The things that I can teach you!"

I scoff, opening my eyes. "One day I'll become stronger than you."

He gives an arrogant smirk. "The day that happens is the day that I die. Unfortunately, I do not plan on leaving this galaxy anytime soon through death, so that day will have to be put off. We don't have to meditate together, you can do so on your own time."

Despite my location, this feels almost at ease with Ben. Careful. Don't lose sight. This is part of the mission. Make him see the light as he once did.

Ben is the first to rise off the floor. I begin to get to my feet, but I start to lift off the ground. I narrow my eyes as Ben gently floats me upwards. I don't go ceiling bound, I just hover a few feet. He doesn't release me either.

"You can't keep me suspended here all day," I protest.

"Then get yourself down. Break the control. Push back."

Calling the Force, my pushback immediately meets his. I concentrate harder, but I still remain in the air. My body falls a moment later, and his control is broken. I land, and he gives me a nod of approval.

"I think our training might go faster, since I'm not dealing with a novice Force user," he comments with a wry smile.

"You knew that going into this. Can we move on to the rods?"

"You can't solely rely on physical strength, Amara. To be a master at your own skills, you must master them all. You can't slack off in one area. Your enemy can figure it out and use it against you."

"Yes, well, until that time comes, I'm not too worried about it." Raising a hand, I call the rods from their walls. All three shoot towards us; I catch the first two, Ben just his normal one. "When we do we graduate from these?"

"When I think it's safe that either of us won't kill each other in training."

"We can't even make practice sabers?"

"Does this look like a Jedi Temple to you?"

I shake my head.

"As I seem to have to keep reminding you, this base was not meant as a training center for Jedi who want to convert to the Dark Side. It wasn't exactly a thought when this idea was constructed."

"Enough talk, Ren. Let's duel."

Though we practice with rods, our speed is fast. Blows defected, blows thrown. I come close to smacking him across the face. I try to utilize the Force to help me out, but it doesn't work. Ben counters my attacks. It makes me wonder if he's cheating by peeking into my head and seeing my moves.

If he's doing that, I'll need to remind him again not to.

Just as I go in for a blow—a strike to his neck—the Force ensnares my body, freezing it in mid motion. I shake from trying to break Ben's control.

"I still say this is a cheat move," I snarl.

"It's not when you learn how to break out of it, or use it. Come on, you know how this works by now. Break free from it."

"I won't need to use this in battle."

"If by the off chance you encounter a Jedi who may have this ability, you very well need to learn this. Now, break the control, Amara. We both know it's in you."

The amount of Force Ben is using seems to overpower me. No matter how hard I push, his wall does not cave. It barely falters. Anger rises in my chest.

"Dig, Amara," Ben murmurs. "You're not giving it enough effort. You and I both know you're capable of this. Perhaps I need to motivate you more?"

"So help me, Kylo Ren, if you poke through my mind again—"

A coy smirk touches his lips. "I told you I would never do so again."

"Yes, well, the last time you went through my head, it was all to infuriate me and make me see my inner darkness. So, really, how do I know you were being sincere when you said you would never pry again?" I would try and raise my brow, but considering Ben is holding me still with the Force, I can't exactly do that.

"Surely you would give me a little trust. I've given you a little."

"Very little from what I can tell. What, are you afraid that I actually can hit you? Is this why you pull this trick on me?"

"Break the hold, Amara."

"I'm trying."

"Not hard enough. That small anger you feel rising? Let it power you."

I don't want to give in; the Jedi practices suggest to never do that, as it brings you a step onto the Dark Side path. But I have to remember where I am, who is around me. This is no Jedi Academy. This is not Luke Skywalker teaching me. I am in enemy territory trying to recover a fallen friend.

In order for me to have a shot at this, I need to give in, just a little bit. I need to give in just enough to not rouse suspicion.

Reluctantly, I let my anger grow. My body still trembles from being locked into place, but I feel my use of the Force rise, pushing against Ben's use.

"That's it. Keep going."

At this, I close my eyes, allowing myself to focus on the anger. More, more. As my temper spikes, so does my Force use.

It's like a spring shooting out of its coil when my Force use snaps his control. He stumbles back as I stumble forward and open my eyes. My rods are held at my sides. A light pant is rhythmic in my chest.

"See how that felt?" Ben tells me. "Now, try it on me."

"I don't think I'm that good to try that just yet, Ren. I'm only learning to break your hold. I doubt mine will be strong enough."

"You can never doubt yourself, especially in life or death situations. Doubt gives you a death sentence."

"You know, you imply that I'm going to find myself in a war, but I'm just learning the ways of the Dark Side."

"Do you know what kind of galaxy we live in, Amara?" he questions me. "One that has suffered decades and decades of tolling war. It has not stopped. It may never stop. When the time calls, we may be brought out into the field. It is something you should have considered before joining the First Order."

"Let's focus on training. War scenarios will happen when we cross them. Now," I point a rod his way, "shall we continue?"