They land next to a small canyon on the planet of Geonosis. Mal told them they could find a stolen First Order Transporter at one of the Blood Runner Outposts. That way they could board a First Order Destroyer without being blown out of the sky on sight.
"Listen, Cassian and I will be back in like ten minutes," Mal insists as she throws spare parts and gold coins into her pack.
"Why can't I go with you?" Rey asks, crossing her arms over her chest.
Mal snaps up in irritation. "Look, you don't know Antaki like I do, ok? I can't guarantee that there won't be trouble if two Jedi show up snooping around."
She slings the backpack around her shoulders and then picks up a gun and tosses it to Rey. Rey grabs it without flinching.
"Just wait up here and guard the ship."
Mal and Cassian walk down the ramp and disappear into the sand storm. Chewie closes the ramp.
An hour later they return, a First Order Transporter in stow. They all gather in without a word. Chewie stays with the Milenium Falcon, calling out to them as they board the other ship.
"Stay on the radio, Chewie," Rey orders, pointing at the com on her jacket. "We may need you if something goes wrong."
He nods and voices his good luck.
They take off soon after, pulling on Stormtrooper gear. Rey doesn't fail to notice how quiet and withdrawn Mal seems. Whatever happened with the Blood Runners she obviously didn't enjoy it and didn't want to talk about it.
Cassian pulls on a commander uniform. It fits him nicely and it almost looks too normal, like he had worn one before.
"This isn't the first time I've worn a Stormtrooper suit," Luke says softly as he pulls on the white boots.
Rey gives him a quizzical look.
He laughs. "When I was first pulled into the Rebellion I saved General Organa from the Death Star. Han and I dressed up as 'troopers and got her out."
"That's when Vader killed Obi-Wan, wasn't it?"
Luke smiles and nods.
"So do we know which cargo ship our old friend Ren is on?" Mal calls out from the cockpit.
Luke pats Rey on the shoulder. "All is as the Force wills it."
He stands up, his 'trooper helmet tucked in his armpit. Rey finishes putting on her suit before heading to the cockpit as well. She puts her lightsaber into the little pouch at her waist.
"By this time he should already be on the destroyer," Luke says, pointing to the screen.
"There's three within a few miles of us. Which one is he going to be on?" Mal asks.
Rey looks down at the screen. She finds Kylo's connection and tries to pinpoint the pull. It's definitely getting stronger, she can tell. She points to the destroyer on the very right.
"It's that one. He's on that one," she points.
"How do you know?" Mal snaps.
"I don't know… I just do," Rey responds quietly.
Luke shrugs, putting a hand on both Mal and Cassian's shoulders. "We shall head to that one then."
A few minutes later they break from lightspeed and come upon a huge destroyer. Someone radios them almost immediately.
"Tower to SW-726, what's your haul, over?" the voice says from the radio.
"Resupply and refuel," Mal answers quickly. "Transmitting code now."
There's silence for a few moments before the voice responds. "SW-726 you are clear for landing."
Mal breathes out and they all sigh with relief. They slowly make their way to an opening in the ship. There are several other ships parked in the bay. A First Order 'trooper waves them in.
"Alright so what's the plan?" Mal mutters, as they step out of the cockpit and ready themselves in front of the closed ramp.
"I'm assuming he'll be in the prisoner area of the ship, if that's where they put him," Rey suggests.
"Cassian will know where that is," Mal nods, touching his arm.
He looks down at his forearm and then nods.
"We take him and bring him back. We'll tell the officers we're transporting him," Rey says, opening the ramp and pulling on her helmet.
"Snoke's orders," Luke says quietly as they descend from the ramp.
Rey holds her breath, her eyes flashing around as they walk through the bay, Luke at her side and Mal and Cassian in front of them. No one gives them a second look.
Once they get in the halls, Rey starts to breathe again and it's deafeningly loud under the helmet. She hopes the troopers that pass by can't hear it. Cassian leads them, walking stiff and proper, his hands gently clasped behind his back. Perhaps Rey thought it was a little unnerving that he seemed so natural in this environment. Mal and Cassian were, after-all, not members of the Resistance. For years she had helped both sides acquire information. It had only been recently that she started exclusively helping the Resistance.
There's a pull in the force and she stops suddenly. Something wasn't right. Rey stopped next to a hallway on her right. At the end of the hall is a closed door. Flashes from her dreams appear in her vision.
"It's this way," Rey murmurs.
They all gather around Rey and peer down the hallway.
"That's not a prison cell," Mal whispers.
Cassian signs something, his eyes concerned.
"Cassian wants to know if you think it's a trap," Mal whispers again, glaring at 'troopers as they walk by.
Rey shakes her head. "I don't know. Something's not right."
Mal snaps down the eyes of her helmet. "Well let's check it out."
Cassian doesn't move. He signs to Mal that he will stay at the end of the hall and keep watch. Mal leads the two 'troopers down the hall and opens the door slowly. Rey's head hurts. She felt similarities from her visions but it definitely wasn't the same. But he was definitely in this room.
There's an array of computers and monitors spread across the room. Several First Order soldiers and 'troopers busy themselves about. They barely notice that they've entered the room.
A commander approaches them. His face is harsh and his eyes are a beady black.
"Are you lost, Corporal?" he snarls at Mal.
There's a moment of silence where Mal doesn't respond. The man is glaring her down, his hand on the blaster at his side.
"Nope," Mal finally says through the helmet, then raises her gun and shoots him.
The commander goes flying backward, crashing into a 'trooper behind him. Rey opens fire on the other 'troopers and within a matter of seconds all of the troopers are down except for one. Mal rips off her helmet and runs over to the man. She grabs him by the collar and yanks him off the ground. Cassian comes bursting through the door.
"Where's Kylo Ren?" she yells at the soldier.
His eyes are wide and full of fear. "I-I don't know,."
He's stuttering.
"Mal, he doesn't know," Luke chides her softly.
Mal huffs, dropping him on the ground and then blasting him in the head.
Rey looks over at Cassian. "How did you hear us?"
He signs something at her. Mal translates. "Vibrations."
"Oh."
"Well now we've gotten ourselves into a whole lotta shit," Mal grumbles.
Luke turns to Rey. "You're sure he was in here?"
Rey nods. "I felt him! Unless it was…"
"A trap?" Someone finishes her sentence.
They all turn around to see Kylo, slumped on the ground with Hux behind him, a gun pressed against Kylo's head. Hux yanks Kylo's head up by the hair.
Why wasn't Kylo fighting him? He could easily overpower Hux any day, Rey thought.
"Do you really think we were stupid enough to let you walk in here and take him?" Hux snarls.
"Yes," Mal snaps quickly, raising her gun to aim at his head.
Hux shoves he gun harder onto Kylo's head. "I'll kill him."
Mal scoffs. "Does it look like I give a shit?"
"Mal! We need him alive!" Rey exclaims. She slowly takes off her helmet and puts down her gun.
Luke does the same, but he doesn't take off his helmet. As soon as Kylo sees Rey's face a flash of rage flickers through his eyes.
"What do you want, Hux?" Rey growls, watching his every move.
"I'm actually surprised you fell for our little trap," Hux gloats. "I didn't think it would actually work. I didn't think you'd actually come to his rescue."
Rey looks down at Kylo and his eyes are still wide with an unbridled rage.
"I've captured the only one who bested Kylo Ren. She will be glad to learn of my success," he continues, a wicked smile on his face.
"She?" Rey asks, confused.
"Of course we'll probably just kill your little band of misfits. The First Order doesn't deal with gang scum," Hux spits. "Who's your friend under the mask?"
Suddenly Kylo jerks to the side, knocking away Hux and throwing his blaster away from him. Kylo lunges violently for Rey but Cassian leaps in front of her, tackling Kylo to the ground. Mal shoots at Hux, but he runs out of the room, closing the door behind him before they could follow.
Luke runs over to help Cassian. It's surprising to Rey how quickly the two of them overtake Kylo. But then again Rey notices how easily his skin bruises and bleeds and how small his body has become. Luke grabs one arm and Cassian grabs the other. They yank him to his feet and pull his arms away from his body. Kylo's hair falls over his angry eyes and blood pours from his nose. He roars like an animal, trying to yank out of Luke and Cassian's grip but they pull him tight. Kylo glares menacingly up at her.
Mal moves to stand next to Rey, her gun pointed at Kylo's head.
"We're rescuing you," Rey states firmly.
Kylo's expression doesn't change.
"We're taking you back to the rebel base."
He struggles against them again. "Over my dead body," he growls.
"I can arrange that," Mal chimes, cocking her gun. He snaps his head over to look at her.
"You'll either come with us willingly, or we will leave you here to die," Rey threatens.
His eyes flash back to Rey's. She can see the contemplation in his eyes.
"Rey we don't have time for this," Mal snaps.
"Fine," he growls.
Rey glares at him for a moment longer before nodding at Luke and Cassian. They lift him up off the ground. Mal shoots him in the leg. Kylo cries out, falling to one side.
"What are you doing?" Rey exclaims.
Mal sniffs. "Just in case the asshole wants to try and make a break for it."
Rey rolls her eyes and the head to the door. They prepare themselves for the oncoming fire.
"Stand back," Mal says, pulling out another gun from her side. "I got this."
She twirls the guns in her hands and cracks her neck on each side.
Mal licks her lips. "This is my favorite part."
Rey yanks open the door and Mal opens fire. She moves faster than anyone Rey had ever seen. Every shot she takes hits its target. Stormtroopers drop like flies. She jumps between 'troopers, using their bodies as shields as she eats through the platoon. Rey looks back at Kylo who's face is twisted into some sort of amazement and surprise. Cassian smiles and Rey feels like if he could speak he'd say, "yepp, she's mine."
She turns back to watch Mal go. There's one trooper left and he lands a shot on her shoulder. Mal looks down at the shoulder guard. The blast hadn't gone through. The 'trooper slowly lowers his gun and begins to back up. Mal suddenly jumps forward, grabbing his helmet and smashing it against the wall. She points the two blasters down each direction of the hall and shoots several times before everything goes silent.
Mal then twirls the guns around in each hand and hooks them gracefully back into their holsters. She turns around and smiles.
"Well come on! We don't have all day," she waves dramatically.
Rey runs to catch her. Kylo's arms are draped over Luke and Cassian's shoulders as they drag him through the hallway. Rey and Mal shoot down 'troopers that appear all around them. It's not long before they reach their ship. They sprint towards it and suddenly it explodes. The force of the blow throws them backwards. Cassian and Luke lose their grip on Kylo. As soon as the smoke is somewhat cleared Kylo lunges for Rey. He tackles her harshly to the ground, his hands immediately going for her throat.
His hate for her fuels him to ignore the pain in his leg. But her hate for him equally fuels her. She thrashes against him, one of her legs coming slightly loose. She uses her knee to drive it into his gut. He grunts, loosening his grip just enough around her throat. Rey slams her head against his, knocking him off her.
She jumps up quickly, grabbing her gun off the ground and leaping over to where he begins to crawl toward her again. Rey uses the force to push him backward onto the ground. Flipping the gun in her hand, she slams the butt of the gun into his head. He drops unconscious to the ground.
Mal and Cassian run over. Cassian has Luke's arm slung across his shoulders. Luke limps heavily, one of his hands pressed against his thigh. The white piece of the Stormtrooper suit had been blown off.
"Let's go," Mal grabs one of Kylo's arms and Rey grabs the other.
They drag Kylo onto the next ship, Cassian and Luke following closely behind them. They jump onto the ship and Cassian runs for the cockpit, letting Luke drop to the floor. Rey rushes to his side.
"Rey, help Cassian man the ship. We're not out of the woods yet," Mal orders as she handcuffs Kylo to one of the ships posts. "I've got Luke."
"Go Rey," Luke insists.
Rey leaves his side and jumps up into the cockpit. Cassian weaves in and out of the TIE fighters. They shoot at them. Rey grabs the controls on the other side. She taps his shoulder and mimics shooting a gun. He seems to get the point and nods, leaving to go man the gun. Rey starts pushing all kinds of buttons, frantically steering in and out of the fire.
They break away from the fleet and Cassian takes out some of the fighters that follow. Out of the corner of her eye she sees another ship enter from hyperspace into the fleet. It's a strange looking ship, but she barely has time to see it before she pulls the lever and they shoot into lightspeed, leaving the First Order behind them.
Rey sighs, letting go of the controls, her hands shaking. She stumbles out of the cockpit and joins Mal and Luke. Mal is just finishing wrapping up Luke's wound.
"You did an excellent job, Rey," Luke smiles.
"Thanks," Rey breathes, looking over at Kylo's unconscious form.
Cassian pops up from manning the gun.
"Luke what are the coordinates for the base?" Mal asks.
Mal writes it down as Luke tells her. She hands the paper to Cassian. He takes it and goes to the cockpit.
"I don't understand," Rey whispers, still shaking a little. "The dreams, the visions… they were so real. Kylo wanted me to save him. He was begging me…"
Luke hums in agreement. "Sometimes your subconscious acts in ways your consciousness doesn't."
"So they knew he was doing that?" she asks. "They knew he was contacting me?"
Luke looks up at her. There's sadness in his eyes. "Someone very powerful in the force can have the ability to see into the deepest parts of another's mind."
"Snoke?"
Luke doesn't respond.
"And Hux was talking about someone… a girl. Like she was looking for me. Who was he talking about?" Rey wonders.
Mal finishes up Luke's bandage and begins to put the first aid kit away.
"I don't know," Luke responds flatly.
It's a lie. Rey knows because it's the same tone of voice he uses when he tells her he doesn't know anything about her family.
"Rey, you're becoming a Jedi. Forget about your family. A Jedi does not have any attachments," he had told her the last time she asked.
It's the exact same tone. But Rey decides not to push it, not now anyways. Not when Luke was hurt and Kylo Ren was unconscious a few feet away.
Kylo awakens suddenly but Mal slams the butt of her gun against his head, knocking him out again.
Mal looks over at Rey. "You might have to keep an eye on him. I don't know how many more times you'll have to do that in order to keep him knocked out."
Rey nods and Mal disappears into the cockpit. Rey sits down quietly next to Luke.
"I'm going to meditate now. Nudge me when we get there," she mutters.
Rey closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She feels all her thoughts and concerns flood her mind. Rey tried to sift through the visions and dreams she had of Kylo, trying to find flaws or discrepancies. He had helped her destroy that TIE fighter on Felucia. He had begged her multiple times on Achtoo to find him and help him. Everything had screamed trap to her yet both her and Luke had fallen for it so easily. Or at least Luke had. Maybe this mysterious girl had something to do with it. Maybe Snoke had a trick up his sleeve.
They arrive at the base faster than Rey expected. They radio the tower and it takes the voice of Luke to convince them they weren't First Order spies.
"Tell the General it's her brother, and he would like to land and get some bacta put on his leg wound," Luke drawls, slight irritation in his voice.
They land shortly after. When the ramp lowers, they're greeted by men with guns pointed at them. They walk down the ramp, hands in the air. As soon as the general sees Rey and Luke, she orders them to put their guns down.
General Organa runs forward and quickly embraces Luke. They hug for a long time. Rey, Mal, and Cassian follow slowly behind.
"Rey," Leia smiles, moving from Luke to embrace Rey. "We're so glad to have you back."
She looks over at Mal and Cassian. "I hear you've helped the Resistance."
Mal stares without saying a word. Her lips are drawn tight and her eyes are hesitant.
"General," Rey whispers, bringing Leia's attention back to Rey. "We have your son."
Her eyebrows knit together.
"He's chained to one of the posts on the ship. We knocked him unconscious, so he's all yours," Mal states matter-of-factly.
General Organa takes a step back. "Captain Fassor, gather your men and take Kylo Ren to the containment sector."
A few men jog up and then continue onto the ship.
"Take these two there as well," Leia adds, pointing to Mal and Cassian.
Mal faces twists into anger. "Excuse me?"
Men show up behind them and begin to cuff them.
"Wait, General-" Rey starts.
"Mal Tolorna used to be an enemy to the Resistance. We can't clear her until she stands trial. Her friend as well," Leia orders, holding her hands elegantly behind her back.
"You're joking," Mal snorts, but her eyes are angry. "Luke promised us sanctuary here."
Leia smiles. "Luke has no say on who gets to stay here or not, no matter if he is a Jedi, or my brother."
A soldier pushes on Cassian. "Didn't you hear me? Move!"
Mal shoves her body against the soldier knocking him to the ground. Another solider grabs her arms, yanking her away.
"He's deaf you shithead!" she shouts as they drag her away.
"Rey, I'm afraid we will have to take you into questioning as well, just as a precaution," Leia chimes.
Rey nods. "My friends, they're good people. I don't know what they did in their past, but we wouldn't have been able to do this without them."
Leia nods. Her eyes are sad as she watches the men carry Kylo's limp body off the ship and throw him onto a transport vehicle.
"The council has to clear their name. I'm sure they'll be fine. Besides, we could use them. Our numbers are dwindling."
Chewie comes up from behind Leia. He hugs Rey and she laughs.
"Glad you made it, Chewie," Rey laughs.
"Come inside, Rey," Leia says as she grabs Rey's shoulder, leading her to the closest building. "We have a lot to catch up on."
Rey follows, looking behind her as they drive away with Kylo's limp, unconscious body.
Thanks for the comments! I appreciate them a lot :) I was listening to Black Skinhead by Kanye West during the writing of their escape from the destroyer. I thought it sounded badass so. Enjoy!
