For some reason or another, the mood in the Millennium Falcon picked up as the ship sailed through hyperspace towards the destination of their future base, Quas Killam. It might have to do with relief that new allies had been found. Or it might also have to do with the shots of Port in the Storm being offered around. Everyone had initially rejected the notorious drink, until Aslik Sallaros grudgingly diluted the wine to the point that what was being passed around resembled water with a hint of Pamarthe's trademark drink.

After sending word in advance to the governor of Quas Killam about their intention to stop by the Mid Rim planet (permission, actually), Poe had been the first to take a shot out of courtesy and respect for the Pamarthe captain. Despite being more than ten parts water, the wine still burned his throat. But his decision to reach out for another shot immediately won him increased admiration by Sallaros, and also his friendship. "Commander Dameron" and "Captain Sallaros" gave way to "Poe" and "Aslik", both forms of address exchanged with mutual endearment.

Lieutenant Connix could only look on, speechless, as the two pilots bonded over more shots. As a personal rule, she didn't drink alcohol. The first and last time she tried it, it was full of embarrassing regrets she would rather not recall. For now, her status as a teetotaler left her in charge of the cockpit. Her copilot was the ever eager protocol droid Threepio, whose incessant complaints were driving her up the wall. Thankfully she caught sight of Rose sitting nearby with the Porgs and Chewbacca, and Lieutenant Connix found a girlfriend to have a more sensible conversation with than Threepio.

Meanwhile, the higher command had taken the chance to catch up on sleep, or to ease the muscle aches that came with age. Commander D'Arcy too had helped herself to a glass of diluted Port. "All the better to get some sleep with," she had remarked wearily to Lieutenant Connix before shuffling back to her cabin, but not without a wistful look around at the new friendships formed on board the ship.

It seemed that amongst the younger ones, only two people were missing out on the fun: Finn and Rey, and that was because the two friends were huddled in Rey's sleeping compartment, speaking in low voices and hoping that no one would overhear their conversation.

"Let me get this straight," Finn could hardly believe what he was hearing from his friend. "You and Kylo Ren have been talking to each other? Across galaxies?"

Rey bit her lip nervously. "I know, it sounds crazy. But that's what's been happening."

Actually there were more. She thought back to the time in the cave at Ach-To, or how she had sent herself to the Finalizer with Chewie's help, knowing that he would be there to welcome her. But it might be better for Finn not to know these additional stories.

Finn gestured at the cape with the zinged edges that was now laid over Rey's lap like a blanket. "I thought you said you could only see each other in the Force. Not that you are physically... wherever the other one is."

"Yeah, well." Rey shifted uncomfortably.

Finn was quick to catch on. He looked around him frantically, prompting a confused look from Rey. "Look, if he's suddenly going to appear in here-"

Rey waved her hand dismissively at his suggestion. "No, no. It doesn't work that way. Ben can't just appear. I mean, it used to be that Ben and I would be in our own spaces, wherever we are but-"

Finn snorted at the way she addressed their enemy, but Rey continued as if she never heard him. "When I fell asleep that time, I... had dreams... and I ended up waking up in his quarters, on his ship."

"In his quarters. And?"

"We talked," Rey answered, fighting back a blush as her mind flashed back to that moment when she touched his scar. Well. She thought she was dreaming. It should be excusable. And also definitely not something to tell Finn. By now, he must have thought her quite mad.

But Finn merely raised an eyebrow, expecting her to continue. Rey had to finish lamely, "Ben was a very good host. He made me tea. And lent me a space to sleep so I could return."

To be very precise, she was sent back. After being rejected by Ben, and then knocked out. Rey didn't expect the memory to sting this much.

The two friends sat in silence for a while - Finn trying to process what had just been revealed to him, and Rey wondering whether she did the right thing to unveil the Force Bond occurrences. Ought she have kept it a secret? Would it stop now that someone else was aware of it? She felt a strange ache in her heart at the idea of not being able to see Ben again.

Rey frowned. Why was she feeling this way? Did she actually want to see him again? Her mind suddenly conjured an image of Ben, sitting somewhere in his quarters. Probably doing some Supreme Leader stuff like verifying datapads. Maybe he was meditating, or even sleeping. The latter thought brought the memory of being in his bed back into her mind, and Rey hurriedly quashed it out of embarrassment, although it was probably too late. She could feel her ears burning.

Meanwhile, Finn had been watching her curiously. Even if she wasn't going to say it, he could tell by the looks flitting across her face - that faraway look in her eyes, the occasional spread of pink blush across her cheeks, an accidentally heaved sigh or two - that she was in fact, thinking about the person who was technically their enemy. And not in the way he should be thought of. Throughout their entire conversation, it had been Ben this, Ben that. It was always Ben, never Kylo Ren.

"Rey, he's the Supreme Leader of the First Order," he tried to remind her of that indisputable fact.

"Finn, he'll turn. I know he will. I've seen it. I've seen him."

He shook his head at her words. "Power traps people, but sometimes they let themselves be trapped. Willingly. He's no longer just a part of the First Order, Rey. He's leading it, and they've been trying to get us killed."

Rey said nothing, but simply looked away. Her fingers played with the cape on her lap, clenching it at times. When she eventually spoke, she almost sounded sad. "You know, Finn, there was once I called him a monster. He didn't deny it."

"Of course he is. He even killed Han."

"Yes but..." Rey's voice broke off momentarily, as if she was struggling to put her thoughts into words. "He didn't look proud of it all. He looked as if..."

Finn scoffed. "So you're telling me that Kylo Ren is going to just let the Resistance go scot-free? Come on, Rey. We've been fleeing from his damn TIE fighters all these months."

"I know, but I don't think he wants it. The First Order isn't just him alone."

Finn groaned inwardly. Rey was really stubborn. He glanced over to see her looking at him with so much conviction in her own words. He couldn't understand. "Why do you believe in him so much? What if he's just trying to make you reveal our location?"

"He's not!" Rey insisted, more fervently this time. "And I won't jeopardize the Resistance, even if-"

She caught herself before she could complete her sentence, but by now Finn had it all out figured out.

He squinted at her and asked directly, "Do you like him, Rey?"

Rey said nothing, but the frozen expression on her face was answer enough. Finn sighed. As if they weren't already having enough trouble running away from the First Order. But what could he say to the revelation? That she's being naive? Suddenly he recalled the moment Rey materialized next to him, and the way the cape was rearranged over her shoulders, and how her hair was tucked behind her ear, as if by some invisible force. Could it be that it was him, Kylo Ren? If so, those actions hardly seemed like they belong to a man intending to kill. Rather...

He looked at Rey again. He had never seen her so distraught, not so much at her own feelings, but as to how he would react to it. Maybe he would relent, for her sake. It was probably a good thing he came to know about this whole situation first, instead of the rest of the Resistance. Finn wasn't sure if they would be as accepting.

"Fine," he said at last. He heard Rey exhale a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank you." she said sincerely. "For listening. And for trusting me. About Ben."

"I still don't like him," he reminded her. Nevertheless, Finn gave her a fond look. "But I'm going to accept it, because of you. Because we're friends. I want to trust you."

Upon hearing his words, Rey's smile widened. But it quickly faded when she saw two figures standing behind him - Lieutenant Connix and Sallaros. Internally she panicked. She didn't notice when they arrived. Did they hear her conversation with Finn?

"We need to change course," Lieutenant Connix told them as calmly as she could. "The governor of Quas Killam aren't too keen to have us."

Sallaros bowed his head slightly in apology. "I'm sorry, it was my idea after all to bring the Resistance there. I didn't expect the governor to act that way. The planet is usually welcoming to all regardless of their political inclinations, because of their business."

"Poe and Rose are trying to see where we can divert our course to, depending on how much fuel we have to spare." Lieutenant Connix glanced at the cabins down the corridor. "We haven't gotten round to telling Commander D'Arcy and the rest of the higher command."

Rey immediately got to her feet. "Where are we now in hyperspace?"

"Hovering over Quas Killam." Sallaros really sounded annoyed, but more at the governor of the military industrial planet rather than at the Resistance members. He followed as Rey, Finn and Lieutenant Connix hurried back to the cockpit. "But lieutenants. My starfighters cannot accompany this ship any further. That was my agreement with them."

In other words, the Pamarthe Resistance squadron was no longer escorting them. But neither of them were willing to voice it openly. Instead, they kept their focus on getting to the cockpit. When they arrived, Poe and Rose were busy at the controls, sending out calls after calls to any possible allies that would be willing to take them in. Just like how no one had answered when they were on Crait, no one responded to them now, even when the Falcon was flying so close to the Core worlds. When the two of them saw their friends, they made way for the group to join them.

"How is it, Poe?" Rey asked, sliding into a seat next to Rose. It seemed that the Falcon had long flown past Quas Killam's orbit. They had also jumped out of hyperspace and were now just flying around aimlessly.

"It's pointless," Poe could barely hide his exasperation. "No response. Absolutely nothing."

Lieutenant Connix peered at their radio calls history. It was as Poe said; their allies had heard them, but refused to answer. Even their fuel reserves amount weren't encouraging. She bit her lip. "Is there any abandoned base nearby?"

Before either Poe or Rose could answer her, Sallaros piped up, "Do you only need military allies?"

The rest of the group looked at him questioningly. It was Rose who spoke up in a rather testy voice that did little to mask her dislike of him, "We're fighting a war, Captain. We don't have escorts. And we don't have enough fuel."

"I know, but you found me and my boys not through military means after all," Sallaros replied impatiently. He tapped on the radar screen that was tracking their movements against the galaxies' grids. "Look, why don't we just land somewhere around here. In a place where you already have allies, or at least, people who aren't so hostile to you." He gesticulated at their surroundings. "I mean, this thing isn't even a military craft, right? It's an old civilian ship. So just land as civilians and forget about the Resistance for a while."

"Hey!" Finn protested, stepping forward as if to drag the captain of the Pamarthe Resistance squadron by the collar.

Poe was quick enough to come in between the two. He signaled to Finn to remain quiet, much to the latter's dismay, and turned his attention to Sallaros. "Where do you suppose we land, Aslik? You know better."

"Where are we entering now?"

Rose was reluctant to answer, so Rey interjected, "The Core belt, but we're closer to the Perlemian route."

Sallaros gave her a withering, sidelong glance as he walked up to check the radar for himself. Rey found the entire move condescending, as if he didn't think of her as reliable simply because she didn't hold an official rank within the Resistance. But she forced herself to remain calm and not whack his head for it.

Like a true elite starfighter, Sallaros appeared to recognize planets simply by their grid location on the radar. He considered a few options in his head for a while before settling on one. He placed his finger directly underneath the planet he selected.

The rest of the group peered to see where Sallaros was pointing. Poe gave him an incredulous look, "Are you for real, Aslik? We just came from there a few days ago. I don't think they're all that friendly to us now."

Lieutenant Connix however seemed to agree with Sallaros. "We do have allies there. If we can lay low for a few days while we search for a new base, it might not be so bad. We can use the time to lobby Senators sympathetic to our cause. If the New Republic agrees to recognize this war, we may just get the military support we need."

"Yes, and I don't think you have to worry about First Order anyway," Sallaros added. "The way they've been acting, I don't think they'll be interested in blowing systems up anytime soon. We all should be safe." He looked at Poe. "How about it? If yes, I can try asking my boys if any of them are willing to join us momentarily."

Poe turned to the rest of the Resistance, including Rey, and asked, "What do you think?"

In all honesty, it was a fair plan proposed by the Pamarthen captain. Rose grudgingly nodded. And so did Finn, and Rey. In any case, it didn't seem like the Resistance had much choice either, considering their situation.

Seeing that there was no objection, Poe sank back into his seat and set the Falcon on course once again for the planet where they had lain their former general to rest: Chandrila.