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Chapter Four: Lost and Found
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Rey had very little time to sit there with her mouth slightly agape before Poe came running up to them, arms gesturing wildly.
"Rey, R2 is awake! General Organa wants you in the control room pronto!" He relayed urgently, bent over and slightly out of breath.
Rey scrambled up from the ground in a hurry, brushing the grass frantically off of her iridescent blue tunic. She wasn't used to owning such nice clothes; she didn't know how to treat them.
"Certainly, I'll just…" She looked to her left, trailing off as she realized Kylo had somehow managed to sneak away unannounced.
"You'll just…what?" Poe asked slightly confused, his head tilted charmingly to one side.
She laughed nervously at that and motioned back to the base, hoping he wouldn't notice. "Nothing, never mind. Take me to the general."
"Sure thing, boss!" Poe exclaimed. "Follow me!"
Rey shook her head as she trailed behind him, a smile coming unbidden to her face. He certainly was something else.
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Kylo had hastened his retreat as soon as she focused on Poe, heading straight towards the Millennium Falcon docked on the landing strip, purpose marking his gait. He had no intention of stealing the ship, but he could feel the Force signature of his weapon pulsing from the inside.
He approached the ramp cautiously, sending out tendrils of his power to check for any organic lifeforms onboard. He found none. Satisfied, he entered.
He walked around a bit, ample lip curling up in disgust as he took in the scene before him. He had been on the Falcon once before when he was much younger, barely old enough to read. He wasn't surprised to find that nothing much had changed, even after all this time. It was still the piece of Gungan shit he remembered, if not a little bit more worse for wear.
The energy of his weapon flared suddenly when he came across a sealed compartment. He made a violent swiping motion with his hand, and the lid came free and went sailing to the right, clanging as it skidded across the floor. He peered inside: his lightsaber, belt, and cloak - complete with torn hemline - were all there. He frowned, annoyed as he searched further down, only to come up empty-handed. His helmet and tunic were not in the compartment. He didn't have time to dally, however, so he strapped on the belt and secured his lightsaber hilt onto it, donning the heavy cloak with a flourish.
He exited the ship briskly, heading in the direction of one of the Starfighters parked away from the rest. He pressed a few buttons on the side, and the roof of the cockpit hissed open. He climbed inside, yanking his cloak in around him. He pulled a lever to his right, and the roof closed, sealing him inside. As a dark side Force-user, he had never flown one of these before, but he had poured over the schematics on his holoreader a few years back and understood the basics.
On the seat behind him he located a tan vest with the air hose and mask attached and put it on. He felt around a bit on the floor and found the helmet, a scowl marring his handsome features as he registered the Resistance symbol on the front. If he didn't value his life at least moderately, he would rather die than wear something so despicable. Annoyance flaring once more, he pushed the helmet down over his curls and secured himself in the harness. Once situated, he stared at the controls before him, slightly bewildered. He had to make this work, he thought. It would be his only chance to escape in the most painless way possible…for all involved.
Sensing people approaching the landing strip, he toggled the levers and pressed a few buttons in what he hoped was the proper starting sequence. He was rewarded with the whirring of the ship powering on. As the wings opened out into their usual 'X' pattern, he released a cache underneath the dash and yanked back the steering handles, awkwardly launching the vessel upwards and into the sky just moments before those approaching would be in eyesight.
The Starfighter soared up and up through the clouds until it reached the blackness of space. Kylo Ren smiled darkly at the welcoming sight of it. He had always felt most at home when gazing long into the emptiness of the abyss, though this was the first time that he asked himself why that was. Disturbed by the direction of his thoughts, he slammed on the hyperspace drive, the jarring momentum of it plastering him back into the seat. It wouldn't be long before he reached his destination: a place, though bittersweet, he could safely regroup.
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Rey stumbled into the control room with Poe just as BB-8 was inserting the missing piece into R2-D2's projected map. All present stood in awe of its glowing magnitude. Soon the gathered crowd began to converse excitedly amongst themselves.
"It's finally complete," Leia whispered, greatly relieved. After a beat, she turned to the entrance where Rey was standing and approached her. "Rey, I have a mission for you. I need you to use these coordinates to retrieve my idiot brother."
Rey nodded determinedly, not even blinking at the insult to Luke's person, and watched intently as R2 deactivated the now intact map and rolled towards where they were standing.
"When do you want me to depart?"
The general's lip quirked into a smile. "I want you, R2, and Chewie to leave as soon as possible. Luke has been away for far too long. We need him here."
"We can leave today." Rey looked intently at Leia as if to convey urgency with her eyes. 'But first, there is something you must know. Your son is awake. We were having a discussion, but he disappeared when Poe came to fetch me. His Force signature is distant and fading rapidly. I think he found a way off of the planet.'
Leia's heart sunk, her jaw tightening. 'I'd hoped he would stay, at least to make amends. I haven't forgiven him yet, and I don't know if I ever will. But I hurt him, Rey. I was the one that sent him away as a boy. He was so young, no more than nine. I abandoned him when he needed me most, because I was afraid. I was the catalyst for all of this.'
'Don't blame yourself, General. He is grown man capable of making his own choices.'
That was all the comfort Rey could offer. After that, she could do nothing more than lower her eyes dejectedly to the floor. She didn't know what the proper response should be, but she wished she did. She didn't even know her own parents, let alone could she be considered capable of imparting parental advice. It seemed as though Leia loved her son dearly despite all of his grievous misgivings, and she felt a prick of envy at their relationship despite its apparent strain. All she could recall of her past before Jakku was the frightening vision Luke's lightsaber had given her…and a man's voice she did not recognize.
'Rey…these are your first steps.'
The words replayed themselves in her mind again, and her aura wavered anxiously. She didn't know the identity of the man who spoke to her, but she did know he was extremely well-versed in the usage of the Force. The mark of his Force signature glowed brightly, though distantly, in her mind's eye.
"Rey, are you still with me?" Leia looked mildly concerned. R2 beeped out a similar question.
"Yes, sorry, I'm fine. I got lost in my thoughts," she said with a self-deprecating smile.
"Alright then. I'll find Chewie and tell him to meet you two at the Falcon."
"Roger that, General."
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It was less than an hour later that Rey, R2, and Chewie found themselves aboard the Millennium Falcon, soaring through space towards an obscure planet called 'Ahch-to.' Rey had never heard of it before, and she had done nothing but read in her free time at night in her salvaged AT-AT lodgings. As dingy and painfully lonely as it had been, she missed her old place and all of her things, especially her patchy holoreader she had scrapped for and pieced together herself. She missed the way the odd rainfall would make the cabin smell cool and wet, the way it would enhance the smell of the iron in the casings and twinge her nose. Rain was like a miracle on Jakku; everyone celebrated and opened their hatches to collect the falling liquid gems. Water was currency on a desert planet, as it was such a rarity. Even in all her misery, every small happiness was treasured.
It was with almost laughable coincidence that they broke through the atmosphere of a planet that seemed to consist of nothing else but water. They plunged down to the sea level and glided near the surface, waves rippling in their wake. Soon, R2 beeped excitedly that they were closing in on their destination, and a small island came into view. They parked the Falcon on a small plot of flat land at the bottom of what appeared to be ancient ruins. Chewie rumbled that she should go on ahead and explore. Luke had to be somewhere on the island.
Rey shouldered on her long staff and pack and jogged down the ship ramp onto the thick, damp grass. No matter how many times her feet came in contact with green, she didn't think she would ever grow used to it. She put her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun's glare off of the ocean. In the distance she spotted a winding set of what appeared to be stairs and began to climb.
Her feet tread nimbly on the broken cobblestones as she hopped from one stair to the next and to the next. She climbed for a long while past old archways and gaping entrances to what appeared to be abandoned temples before coming across a clearing near the top. A Force signature flared and then blinked out just as suddenly. Luke was trying to alert her to his presence. Rey turned around the corner of a boulder sharply and gasped as she spotted a robed figure facing away from her. As she approached, he turned to her and lowered his hood. She could see his sister in his face. With trembling fingers, she took his lightsaber out of her satchel and held it out to him.
"This is yours, Luke Skywalker. Maz Kanata was keeping it for you on Takodana. I was sent here by your sister to bring you to the Resistance base on D'Qar," she spoke assuredly with confidence she did not feel.
He reached out and took the saber from her, weighing it in his palms before putting it in one of his deep pockets. When he looked up, he gazed at her for a long while, seeming to take in her face, especially her eyes.
"I know that face, those eyes. You are the spitting image of your mother, Rey," Luke replied with a voice hoarse from disuse.
"Wait, how do you know my name? You knew my mother? How, when?" Rey asked frantically, her head filling up with so many questions her brain practically throbbed.
Luke nodded sagely. "And your grandfather before her. There is a lot that I know that you will wish to know. All that will be revealed in time. Now, however, I think it is time that I pay my dear sister a long-awaited visit."
He walked past her briskly heading towards the stairs, his cloak billowing out behind him, leaving Rey speechless and with no choice but to follow.
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Author's Note: Sorry for the brief delay. Possible lime in next chapter though, so beware those of you that don't like those sorts of things. Hope it was worth the wait. :) As always, thanks a bunch for all of the reviews/favorites/follows! You guys are swell!
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