Author's note: I might be going back to the previous chapters to edit some grammatical and spelling mistakes. English is not my native language so thank you for your patience. And also the M rating will have to be because of swearing, graphic depictions of violence and some heated moments between our lovely space couple. Enjoy!

Chapter 10

"Coruscant? Why does everyone want to go to Coruscant?"

Rose side eyed Finn and returned her gaze to General Organa standing next to her outside the Cassandra's hangar bay.

"Ignore him."

"He's got a point. That's where all the action will take place," Leia smirked. "We don't have much time in our hands and not a lot of information about the slicer, I'm afraid. But I'll send you to someone who might be of help."

She set her hand on the panel and the heavy doors slid open with a small grunt, allowing the small party to step inside a spacious hangar bay. The Cassandra was not as big as the cruiser General Holdo had hyperspaced through the Supremacy, but was roomy enough to hold a respectable amount of X-wings and a transport shuttle. Granted, the shuttle looked a couple of years younger than the Millenium Falcon, but it would have to suffice.

Rey a constant shadow to Leia filled in for her. "You're talking about Nyxx, right?"

Leia nodded. "Be extremely careful. Nyxx's cantina is a sort of crossroads for spies and bounty hunters. You don't want to attract unwanted attention on you. Be discreet and don't visit him more than one or two times."

"I don't think are noses would handle it anyway," Rey commented as she circled the shuttle they would be traveling aboard for the next couple of days. She banged her hand on the haul of the ship and luckily nothing fell off.

Finn turned to look at her. "You've been there?" He snapped. "Is that what you were up to last time we were in Coruscant?"

"Finn, it no longer matters…"

"Of course it matters!" He stepped closer to her, his concern flaring his temper. You can't be putting yourself in unnecessary danger when we're in the middle of a mission. Or any kind of danger, actually."

"You know I can take care of myself," she answered calmly.

"Just because you have a saber doesn't mean you're invincible!'

"Knock it off you two. If this is how you'll act I can might as well go down there myself," Leia scolded, grasping her cane with both hands and leaning on it.

"They'll behave. I'll make sure of it," Rose intervened, glaring at Finn who just rolled his eyes.

Leia stared at the three of them for a few moments before carrying on. "Chewbacca is on Coruscant as we speak for supplies with the Millenium Falcon. He will be your ticket out of the capital when the time comes. This shuttle will be dropping you off and immediately departing."

"Rey will have to be the one to do the talking with the wookie," Finn said, tugging at the collar of his shirt. "He always seems to misinterpret what I say."

Rose hit him on the arm with her pouch. "Chewbacca just doesn't like to talk much, especially when he's working on the Falcon."

"Talk? Seriously?"

Leia glanced at Rey who was taking in the scene with a soft smile on her face. It looked good on her.

"You'll figure it out," Leia said with a small gesture. "Find the slicer. Stop the virus. You're dismissed."

The three of them looked at each other for a moment, before shuffling away to their duties.

"Rey, I wish to speak with you a little longer," Leia added as Rose disappeared inside the shuttle for inspection and Finn headed for the supply cabinets.

Rey turned to face her reluctantly. The girl did not look her best.

This bond must be really wearing her down.

"I want to give you this to hold on to. I believe you'll be in greater need of it than me."

Leia extended her hand. The black kyber crystal was settled grimly on her palm.

Rey regarded it with apprehension. Clearly she did not look fond of taking it.

"It drains me. It derails my force abilities and clouds my thinking. I am not saying you should keep it. It is a dark relic and behaves accordingly. But perhaps you will be stronger in wielding it than me."

Rey picked it up and hid it in a breast pocket of her jacket.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

A technician waved at the pair and two pilots saluted their General amicably, while Leia stood watching Rey with soft brown eyes. The girl had hers trained on the floor.

"What is it child?" Leia asked. She couldn't help the motherly tone that would on occasion tinge her voice.

Rey looked up, a sigh escaping from her lips. She brought her hand to her forehead rubbing it in frustration.

"I'm going to bring him back," she finally confessed. "I will bring your son home."

Leia stared at her for a few painful moments.

"I can't ask you to do that," she said. "I asked Han to bring him home and our son…"

Our son killed him.

Leia's voice betrayed her as she tried to utter the words. And now this slip of a girl was promising her the same thing.

"You're not asking me. This is what I want to do." Rey stated. "I am not doing it only for you."

Leia looked at her solemnly.

"You can't drag him against his will. I am not his home anymore. He hasn't regarded me as such in many, many years."

"He no longer wishes to stay with the First Order."

"I know."

"Leia," Rey approached her with bright eyes and a whispered voice. "If I do it. If I bring him back. Will you be able to find a way…"

Leia's shoulders slumped. The weight of her years and the losses of her loved ones pressing down on her small graceful frame.

"I have been working on a way for a long time. But there are no guarantees." Leia looked up at the young Jedi who was promising a future that seemed hopeless. "Rey, be very careful in Coruscant. Stay alive and come back. That is your mission."

Rey nodded. But Leia could almost see the wheels turning in her clever mind.

"I understand. But let me at least try," she said and she stepped closer to Leia carefully engulfing her in a very rare hug. The girl avoided physical contact of any sort and only a couple of people were allowed within an arm's reach from her. It astonished her to realize that she could be one of them. Leia hugged her back. This simple sunny girl from Jakku, who seemed to chase away the storm from her son's life.

Leia swallowed a knot on her throat.

I hope that idiot boy of mine doesn't break her heart.

"Thank you," was all Leia could manage to say.

Rey pulled back with a radiant smile and glistening eyes. She turned to make her way up the shuttle's ramp.

"Oi," she exclaimed at a technician coming out of the ship's belly, carrying a couple of parts Leia had no clue what they were designed to do. "Did you just remove the hyperdrive's reserve pipe line? I hope you have a replacement for it." Rey huffed and made her way towards the startled man.

Leia smiled.

Kylo Ren stepped between his two knights, saber lit on his side.

"Enough!"

Neesha, eyes burning with fury, side stepped him trying to land a blow on Valek's leg, but was shoved to the floor by Ren.

"I said enough!"

Behind him Valek snickered, extending his arms to the side in provocation. Kylo Ren turned to eye his second in command sternly.

"You should know better."

"It was just a harmless joke."

Neesha was back on her feet in an instant calling a dagger to her hand and throwing it at Valek. The weapon was halted in midair, suspending a moment or two before flipping and continuing its course aimed at the woman. She evaded it with her usual swift agility and it landed on the maintenance droid, which had just entered through the doors of the training room.

Khol sprung to his feet approaching Valek with a body poised to fight. He called for his axe across the room and it obeyed him immediately. He gripped it, cutting an arc through the air above him.

Ren's eye twitched.

Here we go again…

It's a good thing there were only three of his knights this time around. Khol's bulk towered over Valek, who stood unfazed in his spot. He was about to land a blow on Valek, who had just ignited his double blade saber, when Ren decided to end the dispute for good by Force shoving them both towards opposite walls.

"The attack is in four days. I need you all intact and without broken bones," he stated switching off his saber and signaling the end of their training.

Khol cracked his neck as he stood up, while Valek rubbed at his shoulder.

Kylo Ren had decided to keep his most loyal knights with him during his search for the central databanks, but he hadn't made up his mind on an assignment for Valek and the two remaining knights. Thone was always teaming up with Valek since children, so he knew he couldn't count on him anymore. Aryn however was another story. His most secretive knight, possessed an amazing ability to hide himself and his thoughts from the Force. He and Valek were originally tasked to take out General Organa, but he had been able to send Aryn on an assignment on the Outer Rim at the time.

Neesha sent Valek a glare as she approached the smoking droid, retrieving her dagger and sashaying her way out of the room. Khol followed her out as well. Kylo Ren was about to head out too when a comment coming from Valek halted him in his tracks.

"Your heart is not with the Order any more, is it my Master?"

Ren froze.

Valek's steps approached him from behind.

"The young Jedi seems to have stolen it."

Ren snapped his head at his knight, leveling him with searing eyes.

"My loyalties are not to be challenged especially by you," he said through clenched teeth. "And the next time I find you disobeying one of my direct orders I will have you stripped of your knighthood and personally have you thrown on Dathomir for you to rot. Is that clear?"

"No need to get alarmed," he chided, lifting his hands in defense, eyes dancing with amusement as he came to face Ren. His features turned to stone. "At least not yet," he hissed in a low voice inches from his ear. Valek tapped his temple with his finger sending him a smirk. "You need to contain those thoughts a little better, my friend," he warned, stepping away and exiting the room.

The doors shut behind the knight, the noise resounding off the walls as Kylo Ren remained motionless in its center.

Rey sat up in her bunk bed. That feeling of being caged twisting in her chest since earlier in the afternoon. Surely the shuttle wasn't big, but she'd been cramped up in smaller spaces before. No need to feel like the air was running out around her. She had already gone out to the controls to check on the pilot. Twice. And yet that feeling of dread would not be appeased.

She ran her hands through her hair, taking it all out from their holds. It wasn't helping. She took the bottle of water on the side of her bunk emptying some on her hand and wetting her face and neck with it.

And then it dawned on her. The feeling did not belong to her.

She shut her eyes concentrating on his presence.

It was him.

His emotions were bleeding through the bond again. She recognized a lot of feelings as his, but dread and fear were not one of them. And that was very unnerving.

She shut her eyes in an effort to relieve him, at least partially of their intensity. But when she reopened them, her bunk had disappeared and she was standing on a dimly lit area with multiple viewports in front of her. The polished black floor and beeping consoles in the back told her precisely where she was. The bridge of a First Order starship.

Doors hissed open and she swirled to see Kylo Ren stalking into the bridge, features shadowed under his hood and cloak flaring after his steps. All personnel snapped to attention as an officer caught up with his step offering a holopad.

"Today's reports, sir."

Ren took it without a word. It wasn't until a moment or two later that he noticed Rey's presence. His eyes grew wide and he reigned in his stormy stride as he approached her. He came to stand next to her, eyes staring ahead at the vastness of space.

One of the lights overhead illuminated his face, accentuating his drawn features and haunted eyes. His bloody split lips made a shushing sound as his thoughts skimmed the surface of her mind asking her to remain quiet.

She nodded.

Rey's eyes remained trained on his profile as she slipped her slim fingers in his hand lacing them with his.

"You're not alone," she whispered to him. "I will never leave you alone again."

His nostrils flared as he swallowed thickly. His eyes seemed glassier, but it might have just been the light reflecting off them.

She felt his hand tighten around hers.

Rey remained next to him for some time gazing out the window. Her lids grew heavy after a little while and with a nudge from him she found herself back in her bunk, sleep overtaking her mind.

Finn was used to bad smells. He had been stationed in sanitary after all on Starkiller base. But these Lower Levels absolutely reeked. He noticed Rose had lifted her scarf to cover the bottom half of her face, but Rey just carried on with just a frown on her features.

He was observing Rey for some time now, noticing the ease with which she led them through this labyrinth of roads and allies.

Definitely been here before.

"Rey," he said trying not to raise his voice above the background noise and call attention from a pair of heavily armed Mandalorians striding down the street.

She stopped immediately right in front a cracked grimy window with a dangling sign above them that read something about food portions. He glanced inside. Bodies half-conscious were sprawled on chairs and floor. One of them was sipping some liquid from a small cup.

Spice users.

He quickly averted his eyes to look back at Rey.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Well apart from…" he gestured vaguely at their surroundings. "Yeah, we're fine. Listen…" he stepped closer to her. "Is there something you should warn us about? Or expect from us? Maybe this would be a good time to tell us before we enter whatever hole we're supposed to investigate."

"Investigate?" She giggled with bright eyes. "No, we're just meeting Nyxx," she added.

Rose looked at Finn expectantly. Yeah, he knew that look.

"No I mean, is there something more that we should know about? Like how you already know your way around this area."

Her face fell and her usual sadness settled on her eyes. He hated seeing her so sad.

"I can't tell you yet."

He was pretty sure she'd say that.

She must have noticed something in his features, because she regarded him in a way she hadn't for a while now. Stars, he missed his friend.

"But I need you to trust me. I'll need your help, Finn at some point. Will you be able to help me, no matter how strange things may be?"

"Rey, I'll always help you. You know that. But it would be good to know what we're up against."

Rey looked around wearing a hesitant expression on her face. She chewed on her lip for a moment and Finn darted a glance at Rose, who had her intelligent eyes trained on Rey, assessing her reaction.

She approached Finn, lowering her voice to a whisper and looking at him in an almost pleading way. It made him want to wrap his arms around her in a hug. Sometimes he wondered if even that would be enough to comfort her and ease a fraction of the burden weighing her down so much.

"I'm hoping to bring someone back with us and I don't want you freaking out when the time comes."

Well, that sounded rather…

Rather…

"I kinda doubt if Nyxx would want to…"

"Not Nyxx."

He and Rose stared at her, curiosity weaving a tingling wave up their spine.

"Kylo Ren," she admitted in a hushed voice.

"Say that again?"

He could have sworn she said Kylo Ren, but an alien was dragging a cart full of scraps next to them so he must have not heard right. Rey had already turned her back at them and was heading towards a seedy looking cantina with smudged windows and a broken door. He glanced at Rose who was staring at Rey as if she was planning on capturing the Supreme Leader of the First Order and throwing him in a cell back at the Resistance.

"Did she say what I thought she said?" Finn asked, setting his hands on his hips

"Yeap." Rose answered with a pop of her lips.

"You think Leia knows?"

"Probably."

"Do we have a choice here, you think?"

"Doubt it."

Finn huffed.

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly," Rose replied.

"Not you again"

Nyxx rolled his eyes at the party of three making themselves comfortable at his bar. He really admired and appreciated Leia, but babysitting was not part of the deal. The Jedi girl was surprisingly discrete as she took her seat, while the other two openly gawked at the patrons in the cantina.

"I've never seen a species with three heads before," said the girl with the slanted eyes and button nose.

"You should have been with Han and us when went into Taz's castle," Finn –was it?- commented back in a low voice.

"Could the two of you be any more obvious?" Rey cut in. "Leia ordered us to keep a low profile."

For fuck's sake.

"Shut up all of you or I'll have that guy throw you out."

Three pairs of eyes turned to stare at the back of a bulky alien who was in the process of carrying a humanoid, head dangling dangerously close to the floor and legs held tightly in his grasp.

"What is there to drink?"

Nyxx pinned Finn with an icy glare before taking out three glasses from the shelf under his bar.

"You're lucky I ran out of bantha milk."

The Jedi girl shifted uncomfortably in her seat, before leaning slightly towards Nyxx and murmuring under her breath.

"Where can we talk?"

Nyxx didn't even look her way as he filled their glasses with the most innocent drink he could think of. He had already slipped a small piece of parchment under Rey's drink with an address and a time on it.

"Don't come here again," he warned as he moved on to the side of the bar to strike a conversation with the First Order's latest bounty hunter.

Valek shut the holoprojector off with a smirk. The description seemed to fit the Jedi girl. Why would she be in Coruscant especially three days before the attack? He could think of a number of reasons actually. But he chose to concentrate on his favorite one.

She's there because the Resistance knows of the attack.

Elation brimmed in his chest and a wide grin broke on his face. He itched to get his hands on her.

But one thing at a time. Valek patiently reminded himself.

He stretched his body and lifted himself from Kylo Ren's chair. The Conference room was empty and dark, the slightest creak echoing within the chamber. He leisurely made his way out, stepping into the corridor and heading towards Hux's quarters.

Of course the General would have to be notified. And he was certain he would be allowed to take matters into his own hands and dispose of the Jedi accordingly. He so wished Kylo Ren could be there when he slit the girl's throat.

Can't have it all, I guess.

Valek was about to enter an elevator when its doors slid open revealing his Master flanked by Neesha and that brute, Khol. He nodded with a small smile as they made their way out. The two knights at his side ignored him, but Ren paused for a split second piercing him with steel eyes. He made no comment however as he resumed his heavy pace down the corridor.

Valek remained in his spot, eyeing Kylo Ren's retreating back. The man's presence was imposing, filling whole hangar bays with his vibrating intensity and terrifying officers with a slid of his eye. And Darth Vader's grandson was powerful. Handling the Force with an ease and precision that none of the other knights had mastered. Including himself. He scowled, a taste of vitriol rising in his chest. He would have to remember that.

He entered the elevator punching the floor he was heading on the panel. If he were to leave and go after the Jedi in Coruscant, Kylo Ren might get suspicious. That meant he would have to put his personal plans about the Jedi on hold for the time being.

Valek leaned on the elevator wall, running his fingers through his trimmed beard in thought.

He had to figure out a way to gain Aryn's allegiance, even though he knew him to be the shadiest of all the knights. Perhaps Aryn could hunt down the girl and get rid of her. But it was practically impossible to get in touch with him, since he was tasked with helping out Clance insert the virus on Coruscant's databanks.

Getting General Hux involved was not an option he was fond of. But he had to figure out a way to communicate with Aryn. And apart from Ren, he was the only other person that knew how.

Yes, Aryn seemed like the best option. For now.

Finn squinted at the bright sun in the middle of the sky.

"Aren't we supposed to be undercover?"

"Good point." Rose agreed looking around at the funfair and the crowd of people surrounding them.

"I thought the government would have started some kind of evacuation by now." Rey frowned as a family of five passed by her heading for some children's hovercraft ride.

"Are you sure this is the meeting point?" Rose asked again looking at a cart of candy next to her.

Rey checked the little piece of parchment in her hand for the fiftieth time. Yep, that's what it said. Sully's candy cart, 150th Annual Flower day, Coruscant's funfair.

This Nyxx guy was odd.

An arm snaked over her shoulder squeezing her next to a solid body. She instinctively reached for her saber hidden under her jacket, but a friendly chuckle stopped her.

"Relax… I know better than to go after his girl. He'd break my teeth."

Rey looked up to see Nyxx's green eyes. There was no charcoal around them and he was wearing a comfortable beige tunic over brown pants. He looked…plain. And she hadn't even felt him sneak up to her. This funfair was really distracting.

"Walk along, smile and tell me what the hell you're doing here," he continued a friendly smirk still plastered on his face.

"Leia has sent us. We're looking for some slicer the First Order has hired," Finn impatiently pitched in, carrying on to describe all the information they had gathered about the virus. Nyxx listened carefully as all four of them made their way to a picnic table set amongst patches of violet lilies. His features went from amused to solemn, fairly quickly from what Rey could tell.

Everyone slid on a bench, Rose crunching on a bag of candies she had bought on their way and handing the bag over to Finn.

"That would be Clance," Nyxx commented setting his chin on his fist, in thought. "Coruscant is pretty much screwed if the stories I've heard about her are true."

"You haven't seen what this peanut can do," Finn stated jabbing his thumb at Rose.

"There's no point in trying to find her. Chances are she'll be protected by a knight." Nyxx said, his face darkening.

"Where would she insert it?" Rey asked.

He sighed. "I have a few places in mind, but it could be anywhere."

Rose crunched on a candy, chewing loudly and smacking her fingers.

"Can we learn more about this virus? If it's to be unleashed, let's say, on the holonet for example, than we don't need to find her to stop it. We just need computer systems strong and quick enough to intercept it. And maybe codes to break in. Oh, I know!"

Rose turned to look at Rey.

"You can use the Force to find her."

"That's not how the Force works," she muttered with a frown.

"Maybe you should get in contact with Ren and fish some information out of him. Codes too, if you're at it," Nyxx commented watching an avian hop on a tree branch.

Two pairs of eyes stared at her in shock.

No. No, no, no…

"Rey, what is Nyxx talking about?" Finn asked, his confusion turning his eyes into saucers. Rose next to him gaped at her with fingers glued to a candy, just inches from her mouth.

"Absolutely out of the question!" Rey protested, feeling her cheeks heat.

Nyxx studied her with an inscrutable expression in his eyes.

"Well then, we need to find Clance before she releases this virus. And you can't do this on you own," Nyxx said. "Lemme take care of some things first and I'll meet you here." He pushed another piece of parchment in Rey's way, eyeing her carefully.

Rey glanced at the address.

"Yeah, I know where that is," she sighed.

It was way past midnight by the time Rey made it back to the hostel. She looked up at the fluorescent sign that blinked hazily in the rain, clothes soaked to her bones and teeth chattering. Half of the sign was barely visible, the doors to the hostel were cracked, but she already knew that the room waiting for her was far more inviting than the exterior of the building. She entered the lobby, glancing at the Togrutan girl at the reception staring at a holopad, and made her way up the stairs.

Rey shut the door behind her, making sure it was locked before collapsing on the bed. Her back ached and her feet were sore. She and Nyxx must have swept half of Coruscant searching for any kind of lead to the slicer. Her unexpected partner had turned out to be quite a talker. Most of his ramblings were of stories about the Lower Levels that she mostly ignored, but there were a couple on instances where his friend's name was mentioned and she perked up her ears to listen.

Grunting in effort she got herself off the bed and peeked behind the curtain at the street below. Thick drops were still falling from a sky that never slept. Humidity clung on desolate roads and thunder resounded off its quiet buildings. Part of her wished that this little rain could cleanse away the misery from its inhabitants as well.

She sighed.

So much work to do.

If the Republic got another chance that is.

Rey dug for some dry nightclothes from her backpack, and padded to the refresher to scrub away the grime clinging on her body and clothes.

A soap bar later and a lot of dispensed water, to her dismay, she returned to her bed.

His bed.

She corrected herself immediately. This was the room the teenage Ben Solo once chose to stay in, during his adventures in Lower Coruscant.

It was difficult to connect her experience in the hands of Kylo Ren, to Nyxx's memories of a stormy and restless boy.

Rey crawled into bed, trying to settle her body in a comfortable position on a mattress that seemed to be made of bricks.

It didn't take long for her thoughts to drift off.

Bright warmth hit her lids and she fluttered them open to the sight of a cloudless blue sky and a radiant sun hanging leisurely in its middle. The air was fragrant, she noticed, waves of flowers recently bloomed mixed with the headier smell of a forest. She heard the buzzing of an insect nearby and an avian flapped its wings further away. The sudden splash of water made her flinch and look up from her position, steadying her hands in what seemed like…

Sand?

There was a lake right in front of her and a man was stepping out, droplets of water falling from broad shoulders. He approached her, raking his wet strands of hair away with his hand, as his face broke into a smile that caught her breath. He sank next to her settling brown eyes on hers, before leaning in and capturing her lips in a tender kiss. The feeling of his soft lips on hers traveled right to her core, sparking a need she hadn't realized was waiting for him. As if by reflex Rey stretched her arms, threading her fingers through the man's locks, bringing him achingly closer. It seemed so natural for her to pull him over her body as she lay back on the sand, his arms caging her possessively. She let him deepen the kiss, his touch turning feral as she strained to mold her body with his. He broke away a few moments later, nudging the tip of his nose with hers and awarding her with another of his rare smiles.

More. I want more…

Her heart swelled with an emotion that her lips were too scared to utter.

Rey blinked, the darkness of the room surrounding her sending a shiver down her spine. Outside her window, the pitter patter of the rain on metal beams and muddy roads reminded her where her body had been all along.

It was just a dream…

The thought surfaced on her mind and her heart sunk back deflated. She turned to her side, lifting the blanket to cover her bare shoulders as she stared out the dark window. The room was too cold.

Kylo Ren startled out of his dream. His arms pushed his body away from the mattress, head hanging over a pillow that just instances ago was…

Fuck.

He could still see the image of Rey writhing underneath him. And his body was aroused in a way he hadn't allowed himself since his teenage years.

Fuck.

It had felt so real. Having her under him, legs spreading to embrace him and lips molded with his was not something he was prepared for.

He sprung out of bed as if electrified.

Ren looked around his room, eyes wide, fearing she would appear out of a shadow and turn his dream into reality. His heart was hammering in his chest and he walked up to the large viewport of his room, staring at the hyperspace swiveling just outside. He had recognized that lake as the one outside his childhood home in Chandrila. Years had passed since his last visit there, but the images were bright and clear as if it were yesterday.

Or a tomorrow that would never come.

Barely over a day remained till the attack. Time was approaching.

And his time was running out.

He touched his forehead on the duraglass in front of him, dragging his palms down its cold surface. Mist formed before him as he let out a shaky exhale.

Force, I'm not ready yet.