Poe eyed the roster of recruits, taking note of their growing numbers. "It's a good start, but it's still not enough."
"How many more?" Finn cocked his head, addressing his friend. If anyone in the Resistance was particularly invested in Leia's initiative, it was the former stormtrooper himself. He had been a victim of the First Order's child soldier recruitment program. Now, he hungered to alter the fate of the children whom the Order had apprehended for their violent cause.
Ben interjected before Poe could answer, "Thousands more."
Finn shot Ben an ice cold glare. Even after weeks of collaboration, the rebels continued to make it clear that Ben's presence was unwelcome.
He ignored Finn's wordless admonition.
"You're not just gearing up to demolish J-Sec," he continued in an even, authoritative tone. "You're talking about trying to relocate nearly 50,000 younglings. You'll need— "
"Yes. Thank you for your input," Poe cut him off, a thick layer of sardonicism enveloping his words.
The operation was taking a hefty chunk of time to organize, even with more volunteers pouring in every day, the Resistance still lacked the full force and weaponry necessary to take out the Jinata Security base. Moreover, it wasn't a typical attack wherein destruction was the primary agenda. The Resistance had set its sights on executing a massive rescue mission. Preservation would require far more care and preparation than simply obliterating the structure. Every detail had to be thoughtfully and tediously considered.
Of course, Ben was heavily involved in coordinating the details of the Resistance's plan. His contribution was tacitly compulsory, but even so, he was far from an unwilling participant. However, unlike his mother and the other Resistance leadership, his motivation was not rooted in a wholly noble, innate desire to liberate the conscripted children. Rey sensed that his eagerness to efficiently execute the plans stemmed in part from a desire to deliver a bitter, crushing blow to Supreme Leader Hux. In any case, Ben's goals and those of the Resistance, if not equally inspired, were at least intrinsically aligned.
In the nearly two months that had passed since Leia had revealed her intentions, Ben's health had drastically improved. He'd been walking without assistance for several weeks now, and he was noticeably more spry and lithe in his movements and gestures. Dr. Dyne had dismissed him from her care and he was even occupying his own room in the castle away from the medical wing. And yet, despite the immense progress he'd made with respect to his health and his eager willingness to help in organizing the J-Sec operative, there was still something elusive in his demeanor that gnawed unrelentingly at Rey. It didn't hint at duplicity, but the gentle vulnerability that had been so dominant in him in the weeks immediately after his arrival had seemed to dissipate. It began the very day that Ben came face to face with the bulk of the rebellion, and it had not since receded.
The reality made for a prickly paradox; they'd never been closer together by distance, at least not for such an extended period, and yet the chasm between them had widened. The rebels looked on him and saw only the villainy and savagery of Kylo Ren, and he, on cue, had settled into the skin of his more familiar, darker persona. It wasn't as if he'd begun to regard Rey with cruelty or coldness, and he maintained a steady professionalism in their interaction. But he was distant, guarded; his proverbial shields were up.
Rey was surprised—not at his suddenly withdrawn behavior—but at her own feelings as she watched him retreat further into himself. She'd spent weeks pushing him away after the battle on Crait, shutting down his attempts at reconciliation for fear of allowing an unstable, oscillating storm into her already complicated world. Now that he'd stopped trying to reach out to her, a secret part of her was somehow aching with regret. She had led herself to believe that she genuinely wanted to keep him at a calculated distance, but as the gap between them spread, she felt as if a small tear in the fabric of her spirit was being pulled to the brink of unravelling.
Poe called to Rey, interrupting her distant thoughts and bringing her back into the reality of the moment.
"We'll need you both in prime shape for this. Two powerful Force-wielders in our rescue party gives us a huge advantage in battle." The captain paused, regarding Rey with a questioning stare before casting his eyes again on Kylo Ren in a cross between reluctance and suspicion.
"The only thing that's really going to help either of you get stronger is to spar together," he continued matter-of-factly. "None of the rest of us could put up a fierce enough fight in hand-to-hand combat to challenge either of your limits."
"Ok," Rey replied with an acquiescent nod. "We can get into the training room and—"
"I need the training room for the greater bulk of the troops," Poe responded, shaking his head. "The only other venue with the space you'll need is—"
"NO!" Finn anticipated his commanding officer's intentions, rejecting the recommendation outright in a firm, defiant tone. "You're notgoing to send her into the heart of a dark Locus of the Force alone with him!" His voice curdled a bit as the words escaped his lips.
"They won't be alone," Poe continued, sighing with frustration at his friend's emotional protest, "the droid will stream the live feed as always."
"And if he decides to kill his only real competition in the galaxy before we can get to her while we're all just helplessly watching this 'live feed' from the surface?" His voice was growing cold with contention. "Absolutely not."
Rey glanced at Ben, gauging his reaction to her friend's bold assertion. He only rolled his eyes, issuing a quick, throaty guffaw.
She raised a cautionary eyebrow at Finn, silently signaling him to back off. She appreciated his concern for her, but he was pushing the boundaries of that friendship in attempting to make decisions about her safety on her behalf. It was one thing for the Resistance leadership to make demands of her, it was another thing for her friend to make declarations about her role without her input.
"Enough!" The captain's expression was unwavering, addressing his friend with the tenor of an authority rather than a companion. "Leia has ordered him to train her and they need to prepare for combat. The planet core will have to do."
Minutes later, the two Force-wielders were on the lift with their little shadow of a droid, descending into the depths of the planet. Neither of them addressed the other, facing forward silently, sparring sticks in hand, and without as much as a shared glance of acknowledgement. Rey's mind drifted back to the last time the two of them were alone on an elevator together; the apprehension that had gripped her, the tension in their hushed whispers, the way he'd looked at her when she'd first addressed him as Ben: soft and exposed.
The doors of the lift thrust open at last. Ben stepped off of the platform first, taking a long look at the dark, winding passages that sprawled before them. After a moment, he motioned to Rey, signalling her to guide their way.
They walked in silence through the tunnel into the heart of Vader's lair. Rey had grown accustomed to passing the heavy, iron doors that lined the passage. But somehow, traversing the halls that harbored the dark secrets of the last of the Sith felt strangely more ominous in the presence of his grandson. In another existence, perhaps Ben might have captured and tortured her behind these doors—just as his grandfather had done to scores of Jedi over the decades.
The thought sent a shudder coursing through Rey's body.
At last, they'd reached the center of the core. Ben walked ahead of her now, surveying the massive expanse that made up his grandfather's former lair.
Rey turned to the droid as it approached the threshold of entry. In the past, she had marked the passage back with a personal item, but the droid would easily be able to survey them from the foot of the tunnel, doubling as a place marker for their return trip.
He beeped a willing reply and popped into place per Rey's request. She gave him a little smile, patting him gratefully on the head before following toward her silent, solemn trainer.
Ben stood near the center of the room, eyeing the rickety control panel. He looked up as Rey approached, as if all of a sudden remembering their purpose in this cold, dark place.
"Are you ready to begin?" He clutched his sparring stick more tightly in his gloved hand, raising it up as if to mimic a lightsaber.
Rey nodded. Yet there was something not quite right in his tone. She sensed no malice or ill-will, but there was an icy tension in his gaze, one that was unbefitting of a mere sparring match. She gripped her sparring stick more tightly, bracing herself.
He circled her now, eyes lingering over her stance, her face, reading the curves of her as if the movements of her body would reveal her first move. He stepped no closer to her, only walking the radius of their original distance.
A rush of emotion surged within her from the hidden depths of her heart. Without thinking, she lunged at him first. The sudden motion seemed to catch him off guard for a moment, but he leapt to his left side just in time, avoiding a blow to his stomach.
Rey crouched as she landed on her feet. She froze, surprised at her own impetuousness. What had overcome her? She realized now that when she'd moved to strike at Ben, a part of her had meant it.
Woosh.
She didn't have time to think. His stick cut through the air, aimed straight at her face. She bent backwards in a single, smooth motion, ducking his reactionary blow. She jumped several feet back from him. His eyes narrowed at her, hurt and pain swirling in his stare like boiling water, churning and erratic. She met his glare with equal intensity.
He stood still, maintaining the distance between them as he swung his weapon in his hand with commanding dexterity.
Rey clutched her sparring stick nearer to her chest, mindful of her lightsaber on her hip. Would she need it? What was this becoming?
Her eyes went to the BB unit in the corner, catching the interaction on film, lest it escalate into something more dire. Ben followed her gaze, sensing Rey's thoughts.
His eyes darted back to her again. For a moment, he looked broken, defeated—just as he had when she had left him alone on Crait. But the moment of vulnerability was merely ephemeral, swallowed whole by anger and immovable resolve. With a spry, manic motion, he leapt into the air—but he didn't charge at her.
Instead, he had propelled himself toward the center of the room, landing squarely on his feet just next to the control panel.
In the same instant, Rey realized his intent. She wasn't sure what the switches and buttons on the control unit were capable of. She'd never considered it before. But it was clear in his expression that he was up to something rash and imprudent. She ran at him with all her might.
He thrust his empty right hand into the air, directed straight at BB-8 sitting several feet away at the entrance to the core.
"Ben! Stop!" she yelled out her command as she darted forward to tackle him to the ground.
Too late. The droid went sailing at least a dozen feet back into the tunnel under the power of Ben's telekinesis, swept off its base in a frenzy of beeps that bordered on a squeal.
She raised her arms in front of her as she knocked him down, collapsing in a prone position on top of his broad, heaving chest.
BB-8 was already moving to center himself again. Ben jerked his head around, still pinned under Rey. She wouldn't be able to keep him there for long. She was the quicker of the two of them, but he had the advantage for raw strength.
The droid was rushing down the tunnel path now. Ben shoved Rey off of his torso with a swift elbow to her abdomen. Not with a force intended to do harm, but with enough gusto to throw her off balance. He raised his hand into the air again. She thought he would move to immobilize her or disable the droid completely. But instead, he raised a finger in the air as if flipping a switch.
Wham!
In seconds, a huge, steel door shot down from inside the walls of the lair, creating a barricade between the center of the core and the tunnel back to the lift. BB-8 buzzed and whirred on the opposite side of the door, unable to get to Rey.
She found her feet at last, tossing her measly sparring stick to the side and drawing her lightsaber on him.
She raised it over head threateningly, feet in a firm, solid stance as she prepared for combat. In the months that had passed, she'd sensed a growing barrier between them, but she hadn't anticipated open hostility. She didn't understand his sudden, frenzied behavior, but she was prepared to fight him in earnest again if she must. She'd fought him before in the forests of Starkiller Base and had almost destroyed him. Now, she didn't want to kill him if she could help it. No doubt, the best of the rebels would be making their way into the planet core already, rushing to her aid. Maybe she could hold him off until they arrived to subdue him. Even so, she questioned whether he deserved capture when he was working so hard to betray the little bit of trust she had granted him.
Ben chucked his sparring stick to the ground, lobbing it haphazardly aside. She waited for him to reach for his lightsaber, but his hand made no movement toward his deadly weapon.
Instead, she watched as his deep, mahogany eyes softened into that gentle, exposed boy she'd seen peep out from within him so many times before. The silence loomed over them now, thick and grave as it permeated the expanse that always seemed to dwell between them. At last, his voice sliced through the intense solemnity.
"For months I've been trying. Ever since the throne room...I've had to know why. And you've utterly refused to hear me. But you will hear me now."
She took a guarded stance, clutching her weapon as her brows narrowed at him in wary suspicion.
He took a single step toward her, a slight tremble echoing in his voice. "Why, Rey? Why didn't you come with me?"
The words had no more force than a mere whisper, but they cut at the most tender regions of her heart with a bitter blow. She switched off her weapon, lowering her hands to her sides. A smoldering agglomeration of emotion frothed up inside her: rage, disappointment, pity, and passion. They consumed all reason and sensibility within her until there was nothing left but raw, untamed emotion.
"Come with you?!" she launched the words at him through clenched teeth. "Why didn't you come with me?! I ran from my master to save you! I threatened him for you! I put my faith in the goodness I'd seen in you! And you betrayed me! You tried to obliterate all of us!
He inched toward her now, eyes growing darker with resentment at the sting of her words. "I know what I did. But I never wanted to hurt you. Not you, Rey— never you. Couldn't you see?"
She stepped back, moving closer to the edge of the room near another open doorway.
"Oh, enough!" His theatrics were exhausting her. "What was I supposed to 'see' while you were trying to wipe us from existence?"
His voice abandoned its former gentleness, a heated, impassioned retort now spewing forth. "You threatened your master for me? Rey, I killed my master for you! I offered you a galaxy! I was honest with you in every way! I offered you an end to the fighting. The rebellion is a joke. It's a lost cause! I was trying to save you from annihilation and make you my..."
He paused, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
"Your what? Your next Knight of Ren?" she was creeping slowly toward the nearest tunnel, trying to put some distance between them until the rebels arrived.
His throat wavered as he swallowed hard, apprehension becoming evident in his expression.
"Rey," his volume shifted once again from a shout into a soft, hushed whisper. "I've been trying to tell you...I've wanted to say it every moment since I saw you here, but we're constantly watched and I just…"
He stopped himself, taking another step closer to her.
"Ben?" Her speech was devoid of all its former fire, echoing his gentle cadence. Her mind was in a fury of conflict, aching for him to speak the words while simultaneously desperate to keep them at bay.
A loud thud came from the steel door where they had entered. The first of the rebels had arrived.
"Rey!" Finn's voice echoed in fear from the other side of the door.
"Finn!" She was going to assure him that she was all right, but before the words could form on her tongue, Ben stretched his arm out before him and launched her off her feet into the closest open passageway, following directly behind her himself before raising a finger again and slamming another steel barrier down behind them.
They were in uncharted territory now. She had never ventured beyond the central chamber and had no idea of her bearings in this strange, dark place. Her eyes darted around the passageway, surveying her surroundings. Unlike the other tunnel, a single, massive iron doorway lined the wall where they stood, secured with what appeared to be some kind of touch-identification technology.
She rounded on Ben as he drew nearer.
"Ben!" she didn't know whether to be alarmed or angry. "What are you doing!"
His voice hadn't lost its maudlin timbre. "I'm talking to you one way or another, damn it—alone!"
He moved closer still.
"Why, Rey? Why do you always push me away?" his voice was a deep, hearty bass, eyes searching her for truth, begging her to connect.
She whipped around, turning her back to him to hide from his broken, captivating stare. Her throat tensed as hot tears threatened to erupt from her. She made no response, but she felt him slide closer to her.
He addressed her again, "You never asked me how I came to be here...what happened to me before I came to you…"
She pulled away from him, now only feet from the passage's huge iron door. She felt the palm of his hand—ungloved and exposed now—gently grip the sloping edge of her shoulder. It was not a threat; it was a supplication.
He breathed his next words softly, tenderly. "It was for you."
Her head turned toward him reflexively, his face now only inches from hers.
She opened her lips to speak, but nothing came out, her eyes eagerly studying the contours of his face.
"Rey," he continued in a gentle whisper, "I knew where you were hiding when I first saw you with my grandfather's kyber crystal that day..."
His hand slid softly from her shoulder down the length of her arm, stopping at last to clasp her trembling fingers.
"Hux had been suspicious of me for a while...ever since I struck down Snoke."
Outside, she could hear the clamor of the rebels, metal clanging against metal over the sound of shouts in a frenzied murmur. Her rescue party— one that she neither required nor wished for any longer—had made it into the central room of the planet core.
Ben didn't react, his eyes firmly fixed on her alone. "They came into my chambers as I slept, Hux and all six of the Knights of Ren. They tortured me, Rey. They saw what happened in the throne room. Learned my…" he hesitated a moment, clutching her hand tighter in his grasp, "...my feelings for you."
Rey gazed up at him, her heart fluttering; unable to speak, barely able to breathe.
"It took all six of my knights to extract this from me, but I concealed the part of me that knew your location. I hid it from them, hid you from them."
Clang!
Rey gasped as an abrupt sound startled her where she stood. The rebels were at the door now. Still, Ben did not flinch. He pressed nearer to her; she felt her back against the tunnel wall, just beside the only other door in the passage.
"They overtook me, dragged me into the main hall in the presence of all the soldiers and officers aboard our ship" the fire in his eyes had returned now, but he looked past her, recalling the scene that had transpired before. "They named Hux Supreme Leader and prepared to execute me for treason in front of all the company. But not before the Knights, in their combined strength, tried again to extract your location from me."
Clang. Clang.
The crash of the metal was the only sound drowning out the rapid beating of her heart as it made a steady thud in her ears.
His fingers curled around hers now, intertwined as one entity. She could scarcely tell where his energy stopped and hers began.
"I trained them, Rey!" His voice trembled now. "It took all I had to keep them out...to keep them from you. And it nearly tore me apart—my whole body! I didn't think I could push them out...not all together. But I had to keep them from finding you, from harming you."
"Ben…" She didn't know if she wanted to comfort him or to thank him. It didn't matter, though. Either way, the right words eluded her.
His eyes went to her again, drinking her in.
"I barely escaped." He placed the fingers of his free hand on her chin, cradling it between his thumb and forefinger. "But I clung to life...hoping that maybe...just maybe…"
He tilted his head to the side, drawing nearer. His hand moved from her chin to the wall as he moved his lips closer to her own…
Boom!
In the same moment, the first chunks of shrapnel shot from the sealed passage doorway as the rebels worked their way in. Rey jerked her head reflexively toward the resounding boom.
Ben's hand slid down the wall, thoughtlessly landing on the huge iron door's touch-sensitive control pad.
The door in front of him creaked, shaking off its rusty coat as it slowly lurched upward.
Rey looked from the massive iron door and back to Ben. Did he know this would happen? He caught her eye, noting her expression.
No. He had worked the control panel to operate the doors in the central chamber. But this had caught even him by surprise.
A dim light glowed from behind the gaping doorway as the gate rose steadily upward. At last, the cryptic door revealed its furtive secret.
There, concealed within the depths of Darth Vader's fortress, stood an utterly massive droid army. Thousands upon thousands of them; rows and rows deep within the sprawling room that seemed to stretch out before them for a mile. They were inactive and dusty, but otherwise appeared to be in prime condition.
Rey turned to Ben, a moment of shared amazement flickering between them as they stepped out of the tunnel and into the enormous den of droids.
The Resistance had found its army.