Part XI
The surface of Noonar was dark when they landed and Ben pulled her gray cloak from one of the closets in their chamber before slipping his cowl back over his head. It smelled like her shampoo, which happened to be military grade soap, but is was still her scent and he savored it.
The city they landed in was populated and his ship was very recognizable. Perhaps Ben should have thought this through better, but they just pulled up the hoods of their cloaks and hurried out into the night before too much of a crowd could form.
They ran hand in hand, laughing like kids sneaking out of the house late at night, as they ducked into side streets and alleyways. Not many people had seen the Supreme Leader without his mask on, so once they made it deeper into the city, Rey and Ben slowed their pace and leisurely walked, hands joined and hung between them.
Finally finding a restaurant that boasted local fare, they entered and found a dark corner to sit in. He insisted that she order anything she wanted and he told her about all the different cuisines he had tried in his travels and which spots he most looked forward to taking her in the future.
The meal was amazing and Rey even got to try something called iced cream, which she thoroughly enjoyed. With as much suggestion as possible, Rey ran her foot up his leg a few time, batting her eyes, and need settled on her plump lips. They didn't have much time left together and Rey craved his touch.
Ben bent his head, smiled and laughed down to where her foot was stroke his crotch, "I'll get the check then…"
Back out on the street, they made their way towards the small landing area situated on the outskirts of town. As they neared an increasing number of people had gathered and their voices were all a murmur of wonder. Ben pulled her back into an alleyway and pulled at her hood. "You need to keep your face down, hood up, and make sure that none of your clothing is exposed from under the cloak."
Rey nodded up at him before bowing her head to the ground. The large hood hindered her vision, but it also meant that no one could see her face. The only guidance she had was Ben's hand at her lower back as he ushered her forward.
As the noise of the crowd grew, a voice called out from in front of them, "Make way for the Supreme Leader!"
All she heard was the shifting of feet and clothing as Ben continued to press her forward. Whispers around her overshadowed the fact that the hundred or so people around her were bowing as they passed.
With a wave of his hand, the ramp to the shuttle lowered and he guided Rey the rest of the way up before turning to the crowd, "Thank you, people of Noonar for your hospitality." The ramp closed behind him and he made his way to the bridge.
"How long did you say it should take me to get off world?" Rey pressed her hand to the access screen and looked over her shoulder at him.
"Under a minute."
The engines came to life and she started to spool the thrusters, "Then you better get strapped in Supreme Leader…"
In a fury of buttons and switches, Rey had them off the ground in no time and as the wings lowered and when they just enough clearance where the afterburners wouldn't hurt the people or buildings below, she pulled the trusters to full and they shot away from the small planet.
They broke atmosphere in less than forty-five seconds and Rey keyed in the return coordinates to Er'Kit, pushing the craft into hyperspace.
"Gods," Rey sighed, slumping back in her chair. "I can just see the headlines tomorrow. 'Supreme Leader whisks mystery woman off Noonar'." She ran her hand through the air as if to spell it out. "Let alone the speculation of whether or not I'm your whore…a consort of some kind. It will be assumed that you are looking for a mate and every high blooded Core born woman will be thrown at your feet."
Ben sat back with a smirk on his face, only slightly enjoying her jealous rant, but he was soon caught.
"What are you smiling about Solo? I don't find any of this amusing."
"You are just cute when you are envious of other women who couldn't possibly turn my head."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "This isn't about the influx of primped and proper ladies that will be paraded in front of you. This is about the fact that Noonar is too close to Dathomir where the Resistance thinks I should be."
While Ben knew that Dameron wasn't the brightest star in the sky, he heard stories of his flair for suspicious thoughts and rash actions. He didn't want even a hint of distrust coming to Rey from the people she also considered family, and he couldn't lie to her and deny he wouldn't cut each and every one of them down should they attempt to jail or hurt his love.
Finally to put her out of her misery he sighed, "There won't be any story tomorrow, any hints or questions towards my love life, and defiantly not any parade of women."
All she offered him was a discrediting look, unbelieving that he could assure no trouble from their mad dash to the shuttle.
"It isn't something that I am proud of at this time, and it won't be this way forever, but the First Order controls the news outlets. In time an independent publication may catch wind of the story, but I hope by then it will just prove that you have been a positive influence in my life for months."
"You control…you censor the news?"
"It's mostly to guard our scouting mission, equipment orders, and movement of the important players, but yes, I have a team of media specialist that watch the tickers."
She huffed, "It's difficult to be upset with you when you are logical," her gaze dropped to the floor feeling defeated in her beliefs of autonomy, but then she looked back up at him. "You must promise that you will return freedom to the press once it is safe to do so.
Ben leaned into her space, holding her chin between his thump and the knuckle of his forefinger, "I promise."
"And thank you for protecting my honor…" she whispered into the small space between them.
He smirked, "I plan to do all sorts of things to your…honor," his gaze raked over her hungrily, "what I am protecting is your hide."
Her brow furrowed and he continued, "Do you doubt that your beloved Resistance wouldn't lock you up and try any means necessary to extract what you learned while in throes with the Supreme Leander?"
Pressing her lips together Rey didn't doubt it, but she also didn't want to get into which side had the moral high ground since she had once been strapped to Kylo Ren's torture table. "I only have one beloved and he's right here."
Ben wasn't sure what he did in a past life to deserve the gorgeous woman before him, because his sins in this life were vast and he would never stop atoning for them. So after setting the shuttle back into orbit, he indeed threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and took her to bed.
After hours of being wrapped up in each other, and a quick but still satisfying shower together, Ben let Rey set a course back to Er'Kit and back to her transport. The landing was smooth and the four guards came out of her ship and stood at attention.
As the ion engines were winding down Rey looked over at Ben, "This wasn't enough time."
"I know," he stroked at her cheek and smiled, "and since I've done a crap job at picking our destinations, how about you pick next time."
Her face lit up, "Anywhere? I can pick anywhere?"
"As long at it's not in Hutt Space, you can pick anywhere."
They kissed in their quarters as Rey pulled a new pair of leggings from her side of the closet. They kissed in the main bay of the shuttle he shifted her pack on his shoulder. They kissed on the ramp and with their feet sinking into the shifting sands on Er'Kit.
He walked her to the gray transport and kissed his Empress as his guard stood steadfast with their backs to the couple. "Let me know when you can get away again and I will meet you anywhere in the galaxy."
Rey nodded and boarded her ship, closing the hull door was becoming more and more painful, but she needed to get to Despayre and pickup the new recruits before Poe sent a search party for her.
So as she left the atmosphere and set a course for the Despayre, she took the small bottle from her pack, shook one small white pill into her hand and downed it without any water.
Despayre was an awful place and Rey was thankful that she was only touching down long enough to refuel and picked up the four new recruits. The Wookiee sat up front with her and they had a pleasant conversation in Shyriiwook. She was happy that Chewie would have another of his kind on the base as only a hand full of people understood him and it could be lonely to not have anyone to talk to.
Rey would know…
Life on the Resistance base was monotonous at best. Fighters would go out on missions and then she was left to fix whatever damage occurred during their planned attacks. She wondered if Ben was ever in the dog fights, wondered if the scorch marks on his shuttle were from X-Wings, if Poe had ever fried upon him. She found herself getting increasingly angry about the celebrations each time the pilots came back to base. They would make tick marks on their ships, one for each TIE they downed.
The loss of life had to stop.
So on day three hundred and sixty-four, while Rey sat in a storage closet, hiding from Rose who was pestering her about being something called a maid of honor, she nibbled on some dried fruits Ben had given her. The vent above her offered some heat from the chill of a mild winter that had settled over Dantoonie.
Her attention was drawn to the steel grate when she hears a raised voice filter through the duct work.
"We have to strike now," Poe's determined voice carried.
"How will we even know he will be there?" Another male voice interjected.
There was a sound of a fist coming down on a metal table, "It's his birthday celebration. It's all the holos have been talking about for days and it would be foolish for the guest of honor to not show up to his own party."
There was a low murmur through the room and then Poe spoke again, "This is our best shot at taking down Kylo Ren once and for all."
Rey sucked in a breath and didn't need to hear any more. She prayed that the Force would open the bond and also cursed herself for declining the comm that Ben tried to give her before they left Er'Kit.
Pacing in her quarters she thought about all the things she had to say to him, how much she dreaded this day, how foolish she had been to think that it would never come. So when the bond opened and he stood before her in full regalia, sans mask, the words that tumbled from her mouth were a surprise.
"You didn't tell me about your birthday."
His otherwise blank expression was broken as he lifted one of his eyebrows at her before turning and looking off to her left, "That will be all for now gentlemen. We can reconvene in an hour."
A long moment later he turned back to her, "Hello there my darling."
"Don't try to sweet talk me," she said placing her hands on her hips in a very Leia fashion. Remembering that his life was held in the balance and she could be upset at him later, she shook her head and waved her hands as if to waft the thoughts away. "That doesn't really matter right now..." she looked at his confused but amused face. "You can't attend your birthday celebration."
"Look, my love..." he started to cross the room over to her, taking her hands in his, "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about it, but this event is more than just a party for me, it's an important gathering of the minds for our New Order."
"You don't understand Ben, you can't go…Poe is planning…" her throat clenched and tears started to spill form her eyes.
Ben's face crumbled and he pulled her to his chest, stroking her head and shushing her calmly, "Okay, okay, I won't go."
Still pressed to his chest, Rey looked up at him, "Come to me instead. Be half way across the galaxy with me where I know you will be safe." Her eyes pleaded for him to agree.
"Of course, my love. You get to pick this time remember." He cupped her cheek and he saw her expression relax with relief.
Rey pulled away from him and moved to her dresser before quickly scribbling down a set of coordinates. She passed the paper to him before placing her hand over his heart, the steady beat under her finger tips set her at ease and she covered the scar on the side of his face with her other hand, "My home."
"My star," he whispered against her lips, only able to kiss her for a tender moment before the bond closed.
Alone in his office, he uncurled the paper in his hands and looked at the series of numbers before chuckling.
Days later he walked unannounced into his General's office. "Hux," his unmodulated voice was deep and echoed through the room. He wanted to smirk when the red head jumped to attention from behind his desk, but instead he just clasped his hands behind his back and slowly paced the room. "I will need you to represent me at the party tonight."
"But sir, the entire purpose of the party is to celebrate your birthday," the last words came out between gritted teeth. Hux didn't understand why every one was making such a fuss.
"The leaders of all the important clans, tribes, and worlds will be in attendance and I need someone I can trust to make sure that everything runs smoothly in my absence." Ben couldn't trust Hux as far as he could throw him…and that was far with the help of the Force, at least across the bridge of a Command Shuttle if he remembered correctly.
"And might I ask what is more important?"
Now he did smirk, "You can ask whatever you want, but I will choose not to answer. Just know that I have other pressing matters that require my immediate attention."
"Yes, sir," Hux said again though clenched teeth.
Ben turned to walk back to the door before turning one more time, "You will take the Mark II shuttle."
"Sir," Hux inclined his head accepting the order and then he was once again alone with his papers and schemes.
On day three hundred and sixty-six Ben took a generic shuttle away from Coruscant and set course for the planet in sector I13…Jakku.
Rey arrived a day early, parking her shuttle behind her old AT-AT. It seemed like a life time ago that this was her world, that this was her existence. But the deserts still shifted and the wind still wore away at the metal coatings of the ships in the graveyards.
Surprisingly her home was relatively untouched and she spent the extra time removing sand from around her speeder, checking water storage, and getting her stove and flight simulator up and running. Her arm wraps were back in place and her saberstaff hung proudly at the small of her back.
Being back in her old home felt like she was looking into someone else life. She moved around the small space as if it was second nature, but it also seemed so far removed from what she had become. She couldn't be Rey of Jakku any more, while this place had given her a foundation, had taught her to fight and survive, she was now an Empress in scavenger's clothing hiding out on a lowly planet in a lonely sector.
It was mid-afternoon on the next day when she heard the familiar hum of ion engines and she rushed outside, cupping her hands over her forehead in able to try to catch a glimpse of the craft coming to rest next to hers.
For just a moment she feared that he had changed his mind and sent one of his Knights or Guards to deliver the bad news. She knew where the party was being held and the Force be damned, Rey would march right up to him and drag him away herself if it meant his safety.
But she was able to breathe again when she saw Ben walk off the simple transport shuttle. Gone were his formal surcoat, and there wasn't a stitch of black on him, having donned robes similar to those that Luke wore on Ahch-To.
"I don't even know what to say," Rey said as she rushed to him and ran her fingers down the seam of his vest, "but I am so happy to see you."
He kissed her before saying anything else, knowing that is what she needed. "If Poe is planning an attack, he needs to believe that the Supreme Leader is still planning to attend the party."
"Different shuttle…different clothes…" she mused.
"Yes," he smiled down at her, his hands trying to touch every piece of exposed and warm skin. "But please tell me what we are doing on Jakku," he said with a joking tone. After their meet up on Er'Kit, he was sure that Rey would never want to see a sand dune ever again.
Rey shifted on her feet, thinking now that this was a mistake but the words still tumbled from her lips, "I wanted you to know me…all of me…not just my memories. I wanted to show you where I came from."
Gods he loves this girl…While he knew some of her upbringing, had felt her emotions about her past through their connection and through memories, it was something entirely different to see her in the environment. "I'd really like that…" was all he could think of to say to express how honored he was by her opening up.
Truthfully she couldn't take her eyes off him and she wondered if this is what Ben would have looked like if he had completed his Jedi training. The only thing that gave him away was the black cross guard lightsaber that hung on his hip.
Ben felt her ogling him so he pointed to the AT-AT Walker half buried in the sand. "That home sweet home?"
"Yep," Rey said rocking on her feet again and popping the 'p' at the end of the word. "Come, I'll give you the grand tour."
He followed dutifully behind her and first they took a walk around the entire armored vehicle. Rey pointed out modifications that she had made along the way, solar panels here and a secret hatch there.
"Wanna see my pride and joy?" She said with excitement.
"Of course," he answered, taking her extended hand as she pulled him towards the rear of the Walker. Ben attempted to hold in his laugh when she threw back a tarp and revealed red, rusted…thing…that appeared to be held together with just a prayer. But as she stood beside it, beaming with pride, he almost felt bad for chuckling. "What is that?"
Rey's face fell a little, "It's my speeder. I built it myself."
"A speeder…" he mused, thinking that the monstrosity was most likely older than himself.
"I built it…I mean I got it up and running when I was fourteen."
Now, this did impress him. At that age, he was tinkering around with mechanics but his father wouldn't dare let him work on the Falcon and his mother wouldn't let him have his own speeder, saying that he got in enough trouble as it was. So even though her bike didn't look all that pretty, and most likely broke down every other day, it had meant another piece of her freedom from the thugs of Jakku.
"You want to take a ride?" Rey asked with intrigue.
Ben eyed the speeder again and wondered if it even ran after all this time and suspected that it was a death trap on it's best days, but he was polite and smiled, "Maybe later…but why don't we get out of this heat."
She took his hand again and they walked around to the belly of the AT-AT where Ben had to duck through the main hatch. There was barely enough room for him to stand and he looked around the bulk of her living area. A small kitchen was off to the left and a crudely woven hammock hung to the right.
Rey showed him how her water system works and explained how she had wired batteries together to give her little home power. "You are going to love this…" she said moving towards the back of the space and pulling him behind a metal divider.
He whistled low and slow, "How in the hell did you get that thing out here?"
Leaning up against the hulking flight simulator, Rey shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm stronger than I look."
"I know," he said pulling his fingers down the right side of his face over his scar. "Which Destroyer did you pull it out of?"
"The Inflictor. It's in better shape, but I did have to take parts from four or five simulators to get it to work." She went to stand behind the flight chair she had pulled out of an old X-wing. "You want to try it out?"
Seeing that she was practically bouncing with excitement, Ben agreed, and took a seat. Rey pushed a few buttons and the machine fired to life. Reaching out his hands, he took the flight stick in his right hand, flexing his grip and rolling the pad of his thumb over the firing trigger.
Rey watched him in awe. His movements were like fluid and he seemed to anticipate the enemy's flight patterns even though the program was run by a computer and he wasn't able to sense human pilots intentions through the Force. Within minutes he had completed the simulation and the words 'New High Score' blinked across the screen.
"You little shit," she said, pushing at his shoulder playfully. It wasn't that she ever had anyone to play against, but she had beat all the scores saved on the hard drive.
"Having experience flying the real thing helps."
She scoffed and pushed him out of the seat, spending the next half hour trying to beat his score with no avail. As evening approached, she gave up and set about fixing them something to eat. "Is today really your birthday?" She asked while stirring a small pot on her makeshift stove.
"Tomorrow actually."
Bitting her lip, Rey plated their meals, "It is weird that I don't know how old you are?"
"Age never seemed like a deciding factor with us, but if you must know, I will be turning thirty-one."
Rey did a little more math in her head and then turned to him, "Your birthday was two days after Crait."
He snorted, "Last year wasn't the best."
"I'm sorry," she said walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He stroked his finger tips along her wrapped arms and missed being able to feel her skin. "I'm sorry I left you."
"I'm sorry I let you go," Ben replied as he kissed the inside of her wrist.
They ate their dinner outside, sitting on top of the AT-AT, Rey showed him one of her favorite parts of Jakku…the sunset.
As night fell, they were trying to figure out what to do about sleeping arrangements, "We both can't fit in the hammock," Rey offered. "I don't even know if it would hold your weight."
"Are you calling me fat?" Ben joked.
"No, I'm calling you built as hell," she quipped and bit at her lip thinking of what he looked like under his Jedi-like robes.
Knowing all the different avenues that this conversion could go down, all of them led to Rey being naked and sweating. Being determined to sleep in her home with her, Ben told her to 'hold that thought' and he strode out to his transport shuttle and gathered every blanket he could find.
Entering the AT-AT again, he set the stack on the hammock before tucking one of the blankets under his arm and pulling Rey back outside. Laying out the thick felt blanket on the sand, he patted the spot next to him.
Rey laughed and tucked herself into his open arms as they both laid back and looked up at the clear night sky that was so full of stars that there appeared to be more light than dark.
"See that dim dot right there?" He pointed up above them.
"You mean the star?"
"It's not actually a star…"
"What is it then?"
"That is Chandrila." He said turning his face towards her.
Rey reached up as if she could touch the planet if she tried hard enough, "You were there all along."
"One day," Ben said kissing her temple, "I will show you your place in the night sky of my boyhood home. You were always there, glowing bright and brilliant."
Pressing her lips to his, Rey sighed before tucker herself back into his side. "Jakku's a little more bearable with you by my side."
AN: Hurricane Micheal passed through our area with little more than some wind and rain, but the Panama City area looks like a war zone. This storm is still on the move through Georgia and I'm thinking about the Carolinas, who are still recovering.
So to anyone sitting through stormy weather tonight...here is some fluff.