The plan had seemed foolproof at the time: reside with the Padawans on Endor for at least a few planetary rotations. It was known that the ewoks held a sustainable society, and the group welcomed the new Solo family and friends with open arms. There was, however, one factor Ben and Rey found they could no longer ignore: the lack of technology.
At first Rey wasn't concerned about the primitive nature of the ewoks, as she had grown up on Jakku without the use of data pads and comlinks. But with technology came the benefits of advanced medicine, which was something their two-month-old daughter Cela was suddenly in need of.
It started as low-grade fever, which Wicket was all too willing to help find a remedy for. But the warmth in Cela's forehead increased, upsetting the baby so much that she would continually fuss throughout the night.
"It has to be something else," Rey said wearily as she rocked the infant back and forth.
"Wicket and his group should be back by sundown tomorrow with more herbs," Ben reminded her. "We just have to-"
"No," Rey cut him off, feeling ready to cry herself. She hated sitting there, feeling helpless when something was clearly not right with their daughter. "The ewoks have tried everything they know, so I don't see how more of the same will do any good," Rey shifted Cela to her other arm. "I know you have a lot of faith in the ewoks Ben, but we're not the same species. Whatever the remedy is, we need to face the fact that it's not available on this moon,"
Rey tried to ignore the pleading gaze in Ben's eyes. He'd really wanted this to work on Endor- they both did. But despite their best intentions, life in that galaxy- or any other for that matter- rarely went as planned.
"The neighboring moons are equally matched in terms of Endor's agricultural technology," Ben said, his gaze falling on the infant in his wife's arms. "And the planets aren't much better,"
Cela gave a grunted cry as if in response. Rey looked down and gently caressed Cela's arm with her forefinger. Even after these first two months, she was still amazed at how tiny and fragile the human body could be.
"We can't just take her anywhere," Rey thought aloud. "We need to take her someplace safe with people we trust,"
"Like a Rebel base,"
Startled by this suggestion, Rey looked back up to find a sad expression had crossed Ben's face. "Cela needs to be cared for at a secured Rebel base,"
Rey inadvertently pulled her daughter closer to her chest. Those who knew of Cela's existence were numbered, an exact equivalent to those who were aware that she and Ben had wed. As far as the general consensus of the Rebels and the New Republic was concerned, all they knew was that Rey was helping train the Padawans on an undisclosed location, with the occasional assistance of Poe.
As if he could read what Rey was thinking, Ben moved in closer, wrapped his arm around her waist, and rested his chin on her shoulder to get a better view of their daughter, who seemed to finally be finding her way to dreamland.
"You go," Ben whispered, his voice straining as he spoke. Ben didn't want the two most important people in his life to leave his side, but there didn't seem to be another way. After all the destruction Ben caused the Rebels, he didn't envision his sudden return to be a welcoming presence. "It would be better for us all if I lay low for a week or two as opposed to showing my face and spending the rest of my life behind bars,"