A faded hologram shows an elderly woman dressed in an intricate black gown. Ben studies the hologram. This is the person that holds the deed to Palpatine's old estate? He's not sure what he expected, but this lady isn't it.
"Who is this woman?" Ben looks to Hux.
"She's old money," Hux says. "Her grandparents were arms dealers and her parents made money selling real estate."
"Any children?"
"There's one. Let me look," Hux looks to the computer and makes a face. "Whoever her daughter was she was a mess. There's several arrests for drug possession. Lyra Gharris. There's a warrant and a missing person report. Both documents are dated all the way back to 18 ABY. There was supposedly a child involved but all the files appear to be corrupted."
It's suspicious.
"Do you think we should meet with her in person?" Ben asks.
"I don't see why we should bother," Hux says. "It honestly looks like her daughter ran to avoid arrest. Myhra Gharris is cooperative. I don't think she's a threat."
Ben is still not entirely convinced, but lets his suspicions go. If she's cooperating, there is no reason to break down her door and interrogate her. That and they don't exactly have much time investigate every little thing that seems even a little bit off on this planet. The First Order needs to find the map before the Resistance does.
"I guess the best thing we can do is see if the map is in Palpatine's old estate," Ben says.
"I'm not as convinced as Snoke is that it's there," Hux says. "We shall see."
Ben crosses through the cramped meeting room and exits. A soft gasp escapes from Rey when he opens the door. She stops abruptly in front of him to prevent from colliding with him. It would appear she was in a rush to get here. This is different. She isn't exactly late, but she usually arrives to her scheduled shifts early.
"This city is so confusing," she apologizes. "I meant to get here earlier. I'm sorry…"
"You're not late," he says.
Rey release a deep sigh of relief. A smile crosses her features. Their eyes meet. She's different today. Where he once found conflict, he now sees a sense of clarity. Her mind seems so clear of the doubt that once plagued her.
"Are we going back to the Supremacy?" Rey asks.
"Not yet," he says. "There's something I need to investigate first. Come with me."
Rey walks by his side obediently. He can see her glance to him out of the corner of his eye. The subtle sense of doubt that she once carried has vanished. Loneliness which once seemed to swallow her like a black hole has now been replaced with a feeling of belonging. She has resigned herself to her place in The First Order. Good. Snoke will not sense the previous doubt that once filled her mind.
Ben leads her out of the facility to a platform. The two of them walk side by side to a black shuttle. Ben leads her up a ramp and through the ship until they reach the cockpit. He sits in the driver's side and waits for Rey to take her seat next to him.
"Where are we going?" Rey breaks their silence.
"The Emperor's old estate," Ben replies.
A feeling of uneasiness radiates from her. The clarity that she once carried seems to scatter into disarray. She keeps her eyes downward.
"The Emperor's been dead for a long time," he reassures. "There's no reason to feel nervous."
His words do nothing to reassure her. Rey's eyes fall to her lap. On the outside she's quiet, but her emotions have become chaos.
Ben lands the shuttle on the platform and looks to her. "You can stay inside the shuttle if you want."
Rey's eyes snap up to him. There's a brief pause before she answers, "I'm just nervous after our last mission. I'll be fine."
Ben sits back in his seat. Her words don't convince him. He could pry into her mind to see what exactly is bothering her, but she's strong enough to feel him in her head now. If he peered into her head, it would destroy the trust he's worked so hard to build with her.
She'll tell him the truth when she's ready. Ben presses the button to lower the ramp and rises from his seat. Rey reluctantly follows behind him. Both of them walk side by side down the ramp and towards Palpatine's estate. Ben approaches the doors and types in the access code provided by Myhra Gharris. The doors swish open.
"Apparently the woman that owns this property could never sell it," Ben says. "People believe that Palpatine still haunts his old home. My uncle could see ghosts of Force users from the past…"
Her eyes flicker to his. Apparently he's piqued her curiosity. "Your uncle can see ghosts?"
"He can," Ben says. "Or so he says. I've tried to reach out to my grandfather, but I haven't had much luck."
Rey eyes stare forward. She looks inside the old apartment suite. Rey enters before he does. Ben follows her inside. His hands feel against the wall for the light switch. He finds a button and presses against it. The home seems to come alive in an array of red tones.
A chill runs through him as a dark energy resonates throughout the home. He can suddenly understand people's aversion to living here. It's like Palpatine himself hasn't truly left. Ben looks to Rey. She walks into the main room as if nothing is bothering her. She moves all the way to a large rectangular window at the end of the room and places her hand against the window pane.
Her eyes look back to him as he enters the room. "All the years I lived on Jakku...I never imagined I'd be in a place like this."
Rey's hand drops from the glass. She turns back to him and takes a few steps forward. Ben steps toward her till only mere inches separate them. A feeling of déjà vu seems to come over him. This room feels oddly so familiar to him despite never even being on this planet before. Ben looks down into her vibrant green eyes. Her eyes seem to search his. There's a draw he feels between them. She loves him. He knows that she does, but what does he feel? His heart feels scorched as if it were set aflame.
The map…
It's harder to turn away from her than he thought it would be. Ben looks around the room. He's not sure where he should look first.
"Maybe I'm asking too much," Rey says. "But, why are we here?"
"There's a chip," Ben says. "It has information that Snoke has been searching for. I'm not sure why he believes it would be here, but he appears to be confident that Palpatine was in possession of this information at some point."
Rey's eyes linger on him for a moment. Her lips part as if she means to say something, but she seems to decide against it. He can sense a new sort of conflict within her, and he's starting to second guess his decision to take her here. The dark energy resonating in this home might be enough to renew her doubts in the dark side of the Force.
Ben walks towards Palpatine's desk and feels underneath for any hidden compartments. Nothing. His eyes lift to see Rey walking towards a hallway. He rises to his full height and watches her from behind the desk. Rey disappears into the hallway.
What is she doing? Ben rounds the desk and follows her through the apartment suite into a bedroom. Rey opens a closet. Her fingers touch a long black robe. Her fingers run along the thick material. She almost seems in a trance like state as she looks down upon the black robe.
"Rey…" he calls out to her.
Rey's eyes pull away from the robe and meet with his. He steps toward her and looks into her eyes.
"This place," her voice is almost breathless. "It feels so strange."
"One of the most powerful Sith to ever live once resided here," Ben says. "His energy is imprinted here."
Ben's hand touches the side of her arm. Rey steps forward and rests her head on his chest. Ben's hand lowers around her waist. Sadness seems to pour off of her. The energy filling the apartment suite must be too much for her.
"You can go wait in the ship if you want," he suggests.
She shakes her head before she looks up to him. "I'm okay. It's just all so strange."
Ben looks down to her. It's as if he's being drawn to her with such a strong magnetic force. His hands run along her back. He leans forward and presses his lips against hers. An electric feeling seems to run through him. He moves her back against the wall. His tongue traces along her lips. Rey's lips part in a gasp, allowing him to slide his tongue inside her mouth. His tongue seems to do this dance with hers as his hands move up her body.
In his mind, he can see all the things he wants to do to her. He wants to rip her uniform from her body. He wants to...
A cold feeling comes over him and a sharp feeling seems to stab him. Anger resonates throughout the room in heavy waves, and suddenly, he remembers exactly where he is. If he intends to go further with her, this is definitely not the place to do it. Ben forces himself to pull away from her. Her breath is heavy as her eyes look to him. He can sense warmth radiating from her. Temptation lingers in the back of his mind, but he resists. His hand rests on her shoulder for a moment longer. He withdraws his hand from her and takes a step back.
Ben goes to the closet that Rey had previously opened. He looks to the top shelf and sees nothing but dust. Ben kneels to the floor and feels underneath all of Palpatine's old robes for anything that might contain the map. There is nothing but old shoes.
"I don't think it's here," Ben announces. "We should still look, but I doubt this is where it is."
Ben rises to his feet and to the nightstand next to the bed. He opens the drawers to see nothing but dust. Ben slams the drawer shut. He walks out of the room and goes back into the main room. He searches the walls and the floor for any sign of hidden compartments.
It isn't here. He's not sure how he knows. He can just sense it. Ben closes his eyes and focuses. Where else could have Palpatine hid the map?
He thinks of the many places that the Emperor could have been during his reign. Mustafar maybe? It seems like a long shot, but he'll make the suggestion to Snoke when they return to the Supremacy. Ben turns back to see Rey walking towards him.
"It's not here," Ben says. "We should leave. This place is just…"
He doesn't exactly have a word for it, but it makes him uncomfortable just being inside this building. He looks to Rey. Her eyes lower to the floor. He goes to her and places his hand on the small of her back. He leads her outside of the apartment suite and steps outside. Ben turns back and looks to Palpatine's estate. He's not sure what exactly he felt inside there, but he hopes to never step foot inside the building again.