Author~ Hey all! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Feel free to let me know what you're thinking, it means a lot!
Rey's X-Wing fighter was slender and sleek like she was
Her X-Wing was like an extension of herself, like Luke had said about how a lightsaber should be. Although she had yet to prove she was ready for one of those.
It was painted white and green, her new favorite colors since Jakku, the windshield shinned impeccably and noticeably smaller than the rest of the fleet, especially compared to Poe's.
She had designed it especially for herself, and had a very large hand in actually assembling it. When she and Luke had returned from their isolation, Poe had immediately ambushed Rey about honing her pilot skills. He had been so enthusiastic in his offer to help her, having heard of and seen her skill with the Millennium Falcon.
Finn had smiled and shrugged his shoulders innocently when she had confronted him about how quickly their heroic tale of escape had been spread around D'Qar.
"I MAY have embellished the details a little, but hey! Now you get some more fly time and I get to practice my aim!" he had raised his hands and pretended he was holding the controls to the guns and making noises. Rey had giggled so hard she turned red in the face.
That day, she had taken it out for a quick practice run. Poe had been running some drills for the attacking squads and, curious as ever, she had snuck into one of the back rows of X-Wings. There was excitement in her eyes and a fierce passion in her chest, though she was supposed to be training with Luke soon.
After her conversation with Leia, Rey had been a little more easily frustrated over her lack of progress. She felt like no matter what she did, it wasn't enough. No matter how hard she concentrated, no matter how many hours she meditated, it was never enough.
When she was flying she was at peace. At least this she could control, she had always had a knack for anything technical. And, she though idly to herself, it was better to show up in good spirits for her training than to go already feeling defeated.
Soon, Poe's voice sparked over the radio transmission:
"Alright, now everyone break into groups of three. You'll be gunning it, doing some weaving through the targets ahead, and then falling back into formation. First one to complete it and get ahead wins Got it?" Rey bit her lip with adventurous anticipation, her face flushed and her nimble fingers flinching around the controls.
'I can do this…' she whispered aloud, the same thing she had said on Jakku.
"And…steady…" Poe's orange and white fighter shot by overhead, before hovering in front of the line of X-Wings.
"Punch it!" he roared, and row by row the X-Wings took off, Rey following to behind the first. Her small ship very quickly started to overtake some of the ones in front of her, until she was third from the front.
A huge grin on her face, she shoved the throttle forward and felt a small leap in her stomach from the speed. Instead of shooting up like everyone else had, she soared downwards, going for the targets down lower first. She smiled mischievously, brushing stray hair out of her hazel eyes. Poe hadn't said to do the targets in a specific order.
Several X-Wings above started to notice her plan, but it was too late to catch up. By the time all of them could circle the targets above, she was right behind them having already done the others. She finished them flawlessly, her X-Wing maneuverable and light, she sailed past a waiting Poe and into first place.
"And our winner! Look at you, Rey! You've come a lot further than just some glider on Jakku, huh?" over the transmission, she received congratulations and jealous groans from the other pilots, but she didn't care.
She had built something that was lasting and good, her skill was more than adequate. She knew, and could FEEL that Luke was waiting for her. She could imagine him tapping his foot with a wary but patient expression. And yet, for a moment, she felt like she could do anything.
—
The simple, black transport ship he had acquired was smaller than he was use to. After all the years of grandeous ships and over exaggerated escorts, he felt almost naked by himself in the little box of a ship.
Snoke himself had approved of the ship, though, and Ren had no place to raise his complaints.
Snoke could hear them if he did, as he had promised he would be there, guiding Ren through his mission, as he did all things.
"I will…direct you when you…need it." he had told him before he had left, leaving Kylo Ren to understand that he had to succeed, and keep his emotions in check at all times.
Or else.
He sat calmly at the command, checking the various controls and making sure that the little thing didn't fall out of space.
He had a brief moment of nostalgia that caught him off guard. He hadn't personally flown in years. Not since…
A little boy sat in father's lap, looking over the expansive controls and buttons and blinking lights in awe. He couldn't believe anyone could actually understand what any of it meant, let alone control it. He felt himself bounce as his father chuckled and pointed out each little flashing light with pride in his voice.
Little Ben wondered if he could ever make his father as proud of him as he was of that ship.
He shook his head, the memory passing, but leaving a very unpleasant feeling he didn't want to try and process further. Shutting his eyes behind his mask, he took in a deep slow breath through his nose before blowing it out, the sound crackling in the voice modulator.
And it was gone. The feeling he knew was remorse. Maybe even loss. Those feelings had been haunting him a bit more recently, and he dreaded to think what it could mean.
But, suddenly and without warning, he felt a sense of elation and euphoria. It seemed to come out of no where, and it sent his other emotions away. It swept over him like a warm ocean wave, and he breathed more easily.
What was that? It had come through the Force, but what was it? He was about to reach out through the Force, to try and determine where it had come from and what it meant, when a flashing of blue and gray appeared to the left of his controls.
General Hux was standing stick straight as ever and Kylo Ren sighed in frustration.
"Already checking on me, General? Don't you think I can handle this personally?" he asked, the spite in his tone evident even through the mask.
Hux made a face, but simply waved it off.
"I was told to inform you that the Stormtrooper squardant who believe you are a treasonous criminal are closing in on your position. They will attack you, Ren. And in full force. Are you approaching the atmosphere of D'Qar?"
Ren nodded, his eyes narrowing as he flicked several switches to throw up some shields.
"I'll be entering in exactly ten minutes. I will follow the map uploaded to the ship's drive so that I can make sure the Resistance sees the fight. They will take care of the Stormtroopers and I can begin my mission."
"Very well. We will be in contact. And I suggest you remove that helmet, if you expect the Resistance scum to give you any pity." and with that, there was a click and Hux was gone.
Kylo Ren began to direct the ship down into a descent towards D'Qar, the stormy clouds with sparks of lighting flashing before him.
Right on time, several sharp blasts fired past his ship. Then more, followed by several actually hitting his shields and shutting them down. He clenched his fists around the controls, starting to take the ship into a straight dive towards the surface of the planet.
He remembered what Hux had said, about removing his mask. He reached up one gloved hand to touch the smooth but damaged metal. If he thought he felt naked on this ship, it would be nothing compared to the exposure of letting everyone see the man behind the mask.
—
"You know, I was starting to doubt you would actually show up." Luke teased, though his voice was light and full of good humor.
He was seated on on a flat boulder in the mist of a cleared field, his eyes closed and his hands resting in his lap. He looked completely at peace, but Rey knew otherwise.
She was panting slightly, having jogged from the shipping docks to Luke's little outpost on the other side of the base. One of her three buns had come loose, her short brown hair pooling on her shoulders. A bead of sweat had appeared on her forehead and her slim but muscular arms and legs were covered in dark blaster ash, evidence of her sliding down the side of her X-Wing.
She approached him and sat before her master, giving a small apologetic smile.
"I was working down at the hanger and…" but she stopped as he held up a hand and opened his eyes, a smile hidden beneath his beard.
"You don't have to explain. Though I suggest that if you want to keep up your training you make sure you remember to come to our sessions." Rey hung her head, embarrassed. Luke, however, relented and stood, offering her his metal hand.
"You look like you've done your run, though. So we can proceed to other things." she smiled gratefully and took his hand, standing gracefully, ready to start her work.
Luke suddenly looked a million miles away, his eyes getting a glassy look to them. Rey had seen him look like this before, during their meditations or talks of the past. He immediately started walking towards the base, with more speed than she had seen from him in all their time together. If she had know he could walk this fast, why did she have to spend all that time carrying him?!
"Master?" she asked in surprise, but he simply beckoned her with his hand.
"We must get to Leia and inform the rest of the Resistance. Kylo Ren is on D'Qar." he said gravely, his lined face looking even older than he was.
Rey felt her stomach drop, and not the pleasant way, like it did when she was flying. She had noticed this morning when she woke, that Ren had not been a part of her dreams. In fact, she hadn't dreamt at all. She had felt like something was off, but hadn't dared voice it. Now she knew, and she was immediately jogging next to Luke.
"Then we must warn the others," she said firmly, her initial concern for Finn and Poe. "we can scramble the ships, try to hit them before they get to us, to you! Master, he was looking for you before, what if he's finally come to-" Luke stopped her there, holding up his hand, suddenly turning to face her.
"He's not alone." Luke frowned deeply, raising a hand to lightly stroke his beard, almost intrigued.
Author~ Agh! Cliffhanger, I'm a sucker for those. I'm sorry! I promise that we will have our big reunion next chapter. Will the Resistance welcome him? What's with Kylo feeling something that Rey did? All will be revealed in due time. :3 Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, it means the world. I also have a tumblr where I post updates about the story, and other Reylo centric things, so feel free to reach out! deepseamermaid
