Rey was led by the three figures to an exterior access door. As soon as the surface lifted, they were abruptly greeted by the roaring sound of aerial dogfights and the howling frigid winds. Explosions riddled the sky as seeker turrets blasted at any signature it captured, friend or foe. Unfortunately, mostly X-Wings were taking damage, sending smoldering debris like comets whirring down omin the icy grounds.
Han looked back to Rey, who appeared comfortably shrouded in a thick Knight's uniform, and said. "My friend has a bag of explosive we didn't use inside. Where would be the best place to put them so we don't haul them back to the Falcon?"
Rey shook her head in answer though, knowing fully he intended to stow the arsenal along the planet to later activate. Even amidst the calamity that surrounded the motley gang, her thoughts could only focus on Kylo Ren. She still couldn't reach his thoughts and as she said before, she couldn't leave him here.
Finn then shouted above the volley of gunfire and explosions. "The oscillator, but there's no way to get inside!"
Her eyes once again drifted skyward. The Resistance fighters were mainly focusing on the hexagonal structure not far from their current position. Her heart thrummed and leaped with apprehension. She still couldn't feel him, no matter how hard she pushed. But despite this transgression and the ascending fear in its wake, Rey knew this place better than her three companions, and not by exposure. Her attempts at scavenging the starship carcasses suddenly proved viable.
"There is a way!" Rey told Han, squinting against the hard wind. "I've seen inside these walls. The mechanics are all the same. I can get us in. Just…," she eyed their blasters and Chewbacca's bowcaster. "Try not to garner too much attention."
With Rey leading and Finn assisting, the four reached the innards of the hexagonal building with no compromises. Fortunately, they hadn't crossed paths with many personnel, only droids. Rey assumed a vast majority of the companies had been summoned to fight for the base. Now inside the complex, the group encroached upon a closed service hatch. Rey fell back to scan the intersecting corridors for possible personnel, someone to at least flag down. At the last second, her eye caught the movement of a female officer hurrying down the corridor, opposite of their position.
"Wait here." Rey whispered to Han as she raced quietly towards the unsuspecting officer.
"Ma'am?" she called out once she was close enough, startling the woman slightly. Rey squared her shoulders and slowed to an authoritize pace.
"Yes?" The officer replied, taking heed to Rey's obsidian outfit. Her eyes were wide as Rey approached. Seeing a knight approach clearly made her uncomfortable. What kind of reputation did Kylo have on these people?
"I need access to a service hatch back that way," Rey gestured behind her shoulder. "Do you mind using your badge?" she figured asking never hurt and it came to no surprise when the officer declined.
"We have strict orders to keep those doors loc-"
"You will give me your access badge and retire to your private quarters," Rey said steadily, her eyes not once wavering from the glossiness that took over the officer's stare.
The officer blinked vacantly and slowly nodded. Mutely, she reached into the innards of her dress uniform to retrieve an access key before softly whispering, " I will give you my access badge and retire to my private quarters."
Rey yanked the access key from the officer's grasp and was back at the flanks of Han and the others in seconds.
"I got it!" she grinned as she wheeled around the corner, key in hand. She was relieved the mind tricked worked as well as it did. Rey wasn't looking forward to burrowing into access panels and yanking free components and cannon plugs.
Han scoffed with incredibility. "How so?"
She brushed passed them and ran the face of the badge against a solid red light. It flashed green and the hatch slid open to reveal another empty corridor.
"Huh." Han grunted. "Nice job, kid."
As Chewbacca and Finn strode passed, Han hung back, allowing the Wookie and ex-Stormtrooper a few seconds to get ahead. Rey was grateful they did; she had some important news and preferred to tell it in private.
"Han-," she began, but he cut her off.
"What happened?" His eyes bore into her, imploring her to indulge him with every fathomable secret she harbored. In her chest, her heart kickstarted in panic.
I'm pregnant. she wanted to say, but it wasn't that easy. Saying it aloud meant acknowledging and acknowledging it meant it was true. And the truth was, Rey was terrified.
"Hey," he whispered gently, grasping her by the shoulders as he watched her eyes widen. "It's going to be okay."
She gritted her teeth as she dipped her head to stare into the floor. Her vision blurred while a warmth spread across her cheeks. It was getting difficult to breathe now. The desire to rip open her wounds and bare the injuries of her actions swelled almost painfully in her chest. As much as she refused to see this separation from Kylo Ren as abandonment, it was hard not to. First Finn, then Han, then Kylo. She took a deep breath, dragging the air through her lungs and exhaling carefully. When she glanced back up at Han, she felt like he knew already, for her trembling hands had drifted over her stomach where he now observed.
He looked up under a concerned brow. "Do you love him?"
She struggled to nod. Did she? Was that possible? If she said yes, was that the truth or another lie she told herself in order to survive?
"It doesn't matter anymore," he said, stepping in to drape an arm over her shoulder. He pulled her against him and pressed his lips to her crown. "What matters is getting off this damned planet." For a brief moment, they embraced until an agitated chuffing emission sounded as Chewbacca backtracked. From his massive black paw hung a bag of explosives. Han patted her back as she quickly wiped away threatening tears before turning towards the Wookie.
"Right," Han began, "Let's plant them at every support beam we can find. He motioned upward, "You take the top, Chewie. I'll get them bottom. We'll meet back here."
Han took an armful of the small ordnance and headed around the perimeter of the oscillator while Chewie carefully ascended a nearby ladder to the catwalk above, leaving Rey and Finn empty handed and apparently useless. Rey's eyes followed Chewbacca making his climb before she gestured towards Finn.
"Maybe we should get up high and keep a lookout?" she suggested.
"Yeah, good idea."
Rey led the way, heading towards the far side of the massive oscillator, opposite of Chewie. She found a set of access stairs that zigzagged its way upward. Quickly, they hiked up until overlooking several levels about Chewbacca and Han's location.
"Should we split up? So both sides are covered?" Finn panted. Rey nodded, splitting off towards the right while he remained. Moving quickly around, Rey was oblivious to the dark figure that had made its way down the center of the oscillator, provided by a narrow, rail-less catwalk. And it wasn't until she was positioned directly above Chewbacca did she feel him. She slowed to a still as the realization took over. I feel him...?
He was distant, a faint signal but his location was still a mystery. Frantically, Rey began to glance around while her heart worked itself into a frenzy. Motion below caught her attention, but it wasn't Kylo Ren she spotted, but a gang of Storm Troopers flooding into the massive complex, climbing and descending. In seconds, the flurry of white armor infiltrated the levels, narrowly missing the very levels Chewie and Rey patrolled.
Her hands wrapped tightly around the railing until her knuckles went white. Within her, the signal grew stronger as more troops flooded in. She leaned over the railing to peer down, searching, searching, searching... He was down there, somewhere among the throng, she could feel it. She pushed with her thoughts, but a voice rang out with a single word, shattering her concentration and diverting her eyes from the Stormtroopers to the thin pathway below.
"Ben!"
