Cloud City
Ben came out of the fresher and came through the restaurant looking for a quieter part of the city. He found a corridor that seemed darker than the rest and as he turned the corner, and there sitting in the middle of the floor was Rey staring back at him. Before she could speak, he looked around to see if there was anyone nearby, and then looked for cameras. He'd have to be careful what he said, even if Rey wasn't seen by the cameras. He was actually glad to see her, even as he was attempting escape. He pulled her up and ducked into an area that seemed to be some kind of window bay. He pulled her next to him so they both could stand together and peer out the window while they spoke.
"I'm trying to leave the city," Ben whispered as Rey looked around in awe of the skies of Bespin.
"This place is beautiful! The sky is so colorful!" Rey said marveling at the atmosphere. Ben felt she was holding something back or just ignored him.
"Yes, I imagine so, but right now, I just want to get away from here. I've told you, I've been here before," Ben said quietly, then started to whisper. "I need to get a ship. I think I know where I might be able to get one."
"Ben," Rey really didn't know how she could say this. She could tell he was already nervous and upset. She sensed his urgency. She had another important matter to bring up though, the fact she was in his room on Arkanis, and that he was also there as well. She whispered in case anyone could hear in the hotel suite, "I'm in your room in Arkanis. You are laying in the bed. I tried to wake you up, but you seemed passed out? Almost comatose?"
"What? I'm right here, how could I be...there?" Ben asked quietly turning to look at her.
"I don't know," Rey whispered. "I don't understand it. I sense you there, and here, only it's different than when I was on the base."
"What do you mean different?" Ben said looking back out the window.
"Just different? I can't explain it," Rey said with a confused look on her face.
They heard some noise and Ben pulled her away from the window and tried to walk down the corridor quietly without drawing attention to himself. He was trying to find Lando's own private berth.
"Why are you in my room? How did you get there?" Ben asked as they walked down the corridor together.
"I used the Force to find you. I could tell what hotel it was by the activity outside. I jumped on the roof, then came in through the balcony," Rey explained.
"No one saw you? They probably have guards outside my door," Ben answered.
"I did have to do a mind trick or two, but I'm there right now," Rey said shaking her head. "Or am I walking around your room now that I'm doing that here?"
"I hope so instead of venturing outside of it. Or perhaps, like me, your state is more immobile, as if in meditation," Ben answered not really understanding what was happening and more worried about getting out of Cloud City.
"I wonder if I can pull you back in? If you're there, and I'm here..." Rey said looking around realizing that Ben seemed to care for her welfare as well as his own. She really could only see the area directly near Ben.
"I don't see where you are at all, can you see anything here?" Ben said stopping.
"Just a little?" Rey said a bit confused. Their connection still baffled her even though by now she really couldn't count how many times it's happened. Ten or fourteen times?
"Oh no," Ben said ducking out of the way and into a shadow. He could see someone else hiding down the hall and could hear some sounds.
"What?" Rey said only seeing Ben and blank walls.
Ben put his finger on his mouth, indicating he couldn't speak. He also felt Skywalker in the vicinity as well as hearing footsteps. He looked over at Rey, but she started to fade away. Ben shook his head and waved his hands trying to reach out to her, but she was gone. Ben could see R2-D2 rolling off in the distance going in the opposite direction, so he assumed that Skywalker was there. He stood where he was quietly and hopefully hidden. He looked in the other direction and saw stormtroopers following some officers pushing a repulsor cart carrying a long object he couldn't quite make out. He let them leave, then moved to another corner until he found where he remembered he could access Lando's personal hanger. At least it's where he thought the hanger was. As he was walking, he heard more voices, and they were somewhat familiar. It was Windrider and Ree. What were they doing here? He almost wondered if they somehow manipulated their way down to get some real food somewhere here in the city. After all they were always bothering him to steal the fruit.
"Antilles! Hey Antilles!" Windrider called out running in his direction.
Kylo Ren straightened himself up and spoke, "Lieutenant Windrider, Lt. Commander Ree, I didn't know you had been sent down here as well."
"We didn't know you were either," Ree spoke then whispered, "We just disengaged the hyperdrive on that rebel freighter under Admiral Piett's orders. I don't understand if they have captured the prisoners, why they want it disengaged. Wouldn't it just be a mute point? That is one strange freighter!" Ree laughed.
"Yes, I imagine it is," Kylo Ren answered a bit annoyed to have run into them, and hoped they would just go away.
"We're expected back to our shuttle right away and back on the Executor. You headed back there, or do you still have duties to perform here?" Windrider asked.
Kylo Ren lifted his hand and waved it in front of them. "You will go to your shuttle and you never saw me."
"We will go to our shuttle and we never saw you," Windrider answered.
"What?" Ree asked looking at him with a puzzled look.
"You will go to your shuttle and you never saw me." Kylo Ren waved again.
"We will go to our shuttle and we never saw you," they both answered walking away.
Kylo Ren relaxed his shoulders and decided he would have a quick look at the Millennium Falcon himself.
When he got on board the ship, he saw what Windrider and Ree had done. They had not only disengaged what looked to be a recently repaired hyperdrive, but they had removed a few important wires. Kylo Ren looked around for any tool boxes or parts boxes that looked like they might have something that might replace what was taken out. He knew that the ship would eventually get away from the city, but he could at least replace those wires. He wasn't surprised to find a bunch of mixed matched boxes, but he found what he was looking for, and put them on the hyperdrive. He didn't reengage it, but when R2-D2 or Chewie would figure it out, it could easily be set right. It wouldn't be such an obvious fix when they were escaping the Empire in the state he found it in, but perhaps it would give them some extra time to get away. After all, his entire existence could depend on it. Maybe he already did this in the past. He didn't remember hearing anything about them being recaptured after escape.
Kylo Ren had to stop a minute before he left. The ship didn't look like he remembered it. There had to have been a few modifications done to it after the war, but he didn't want to linger long. He looked out carefully before leaving the ship, hoping to not be seen, and then walked over to another nearby berth. He could see what he was looking for some distance away, and he tried to figure out how he could make his way over there from the inside. He found instead another berth, this one appearing to be part of the mining concern and he found a ship that would have to do. It was a small transport shuttle, and he used the Force to open up the ramp and he went inside. There wasn't much to the ship, but it would do and it's small size could be an asset as far as getting away from the city went. There were already quite a few ships evacuating the city. He tried to think of somewhere to go. He punched in some coordinates and once he got out of the atmosphere he was in hyperspace.
Arkanis-The Present
Rey found herself drawn back to the hotel room on Arkanis when she heard a noise. She ducked under the bed and listened as the door opened and two individuals, most likely stormtroopers, as she couldn't see them, entered the room.
"No one here. Might have been in the next room," the stormtrooper said calling into a comm.
She could hear the other voice, "He might have gone on a bender. Passed out?" The man laughed.
"That's our Supreme Leader. Watch yourself, GH-9201," the other trooper cautioned.
"Right," GH-9201 said as they both left the room.
Rey wiped her brow and was afraid to come up for a few moments, then she sat up again. She spotted Kylo Ren's lightsaber next to his robes. She called it to her and it flew into her hand. The room was dark, save for the light coming in through the window from a sign not far outside. Outside the room, she heard another man's voice, a commanding one, addressing the stormtroopers. The door opened again, and she heard footsteps again. The person said nothing, and then Rey heard the squeak of the chair as the person's weight fell into it.
"Ren, Ren, Ren," General Hux sighed. "Such a layabout. Leave me to your 'dinner'. I really don't know why we had to come to this planet. We already had them on our side. My side."
Rey could hear the man get up and take a few steps. She covered her mouth hiding almost underneath the bed.
"It could be so easy to kill you," General Hux taunted leaning over him. Almost daring Kylo Ren to come to again to try and use the Force on him. "I'll get you in the morning. That is if you haven't recovered from whatever this is exactly."
Hux poked at Kylo Ren's face a bit, but there was no reaction. Then, with a disgusted look on his face, he held Kylo Ren's nose and put his other hand on his mouth. Kylo Ren's eyes opened briefly, and Hux stood back, horrified. Hux bent back down and looked closer, but Kylo Ren was still out of it. Then Hux started smacking his face.
"Wake up, Ren! Wake up!" Hux shouted in his face then pounded on his chest.
Kylo Ren's eyes opened then picked up Hux and pushed him across the room. Kylo Ren growled as he did it, sat up slightly, then quickly plopped down again on the bed.
"What is going on here!" Hux shouted picking himself up and then dusting himself off. He stormed out of the room and then slammed the door to the suite as he left completely.
Rey moved up from her hiding spot and looked down at Kylo Ren. He had moved a bit from the incident with Hux, but it made no sense to her. She then took his hand and held it, but he seemed much darker and colder than he was the last time she had felt him in the vision in the past.
Hidden Resistance Base-The Present
"Alright, tell me what's going on here!" General Organa stated looking out from inside the ramp of the transporter that had been in use as a makeshift communications center.
Poe began to speak, "Finn, you tell her. General Organa, I want you to know I had nothing to do with this. I was off the ground when it happened."
"Tell me what!" General Organa said her arms across her chest.
"It was Rey, she stole the ship. She told me before she left," Finn said pleading. "I did try to stop her."
"Poe, leave us. Finn follow me. Rose, return to your station immediately," Leia ordered then started briskly walking in the direction of her tent.
"I tried to stop her, ma'am," Finn said apologetically as he nervously walked behind her.
"I know, Finn. Do you know where she went?" Leia said as she stopped to look at Finn, then she put her hand up and spoke quietly, "No, tell me when we are somewhere we can have a more quiet conversation."
"The Falcon, she talked to Chewie. It might be better there," Finn said frantically.
Leia sighed, "And Chewie didn't even tell me?"
"Maybe Chewie didn't know she was actually leaving. I don't know what he knows, I don't understand him!" Finn shouted a bit flustered.
They saw Chewie working outside the Falcon. Leia sighed a moment as Chewbacca seemed intent on his work, "Chewie, may Finn and I have a word with you?"
Chewbacca roared.
"Yes, it is. Apparently, she's left. I can't believe you didn't tell me," Leia said going up the ramp.
Chewie roared a question then followed Finn and Leia.
"She said she had to help Kylo Ren. Just because he killed Snoke to protect her?" Finn said not really believing it. "She told me to tell you after she left. She took her beacon."
"I only hope she doesn't get caught. We've been lucky, Finn. That crazy girl," Leia drew a long breath and shook her head.
"I can go after her. I even begged her to let me go with her, she wouldn't let me," Finn said speaking very quickly and nervously.
"Finn, there's something going on, I can't explain it. I don't even understand it," Leia spoke seriously. "I understand why she's gone and has done what she did, but I just wished she had come to me before she left."
"Really? What's going on?" Finn asked wide eyed.
Chewie roared and Leia nodded her head.
Finn had a puzzled look. As Chewie roared some more and Leia just kept nodding.
"Chewie just told me her plan," Leia said translating. "Thank you, Finn, you may go. I'll deal with the issue of Rey. Just don't do anything rash. Understand? I mean it, you aren't to go after her. You would risk everything we've built here."
"What if she needs help!" Finn called out frustrated there was nothing he could do.
"She can take care of herself," Leia reassured him. "You do know about Kylo Ren correct? I shouldn't assume. You're having been in the First Order, or from just what you've heard on base. Not everyone does know the truth about him."
"I didn't spend a lot of time around him, ma'am. I know he has strange powers, but then so does Rey. What he did to me on Starkiller base, and, uh, what happened to Solo," Finn said nervous and quick.
"He's my son. Or whatever he once had been was my son," Leia answered quietly and sadly. "Rey didn't go there because I asked her to, Finn. She went of her own accord."
Finn answered. "Wow. I'm sorry. You're so... different. That means..." It took Finn a minute to process it, and he had been too occupied to see how Leia might feel after everything he'd been through. "She did say she wanted to help him. After what he did to me? I thought I was her friend. Or is it really a revenge type of deal? I didn't understand her when she told me to be honest. She's not doing this for you, you said that. I'm just confused. I guess I've been busy doing my own thing,"
"Finn, I understand you feel you are not an official member of this organization, but you do have a home here. I'd appreciate if you keep everything regarding Rey's disappearance and our conversation confidential. I'll let everyone know that Rey is on a mission. I appreciate you coming to me," Leia said grabbing his shoulder.
Chewie roared slightly aggressively.
"It's alright, Chewie," Leia answered her furry friend and hugged him. "Chewie is a bit overprotective of Rey, Finn. He's quite taken with Rey, but he has come to think a lot of you as well. He's worried you'll go off and do some kind of stunt like you've done before. Like he and I have room to talk, Chewie right?" Leia laughed, "She'll find you again. We don't need more worry than we already have."
The Executor
He had him, but he was gone. Luke Skywalker was gone.
When he dropped down into the depths of Cloud City, Darth Vader could sense that his son lived and was somewhere under the city. Princess Leia and the Wookiee had gotten away and somehow he felt it. Some current in the Force that strengthened for a moment, then disappeared after the Millennium Falcon picked up Luke Skywalker. In spite of the fact that it had been far away, the ship somehow turned back and found Skywalker hanging below the city. Darth Vader knew it was that same moment when he felt that odd fluctuation. He had returned from the bridge to his chambers disgusted with himself. He knew the hyperdrive was disengaged, and yet, they were able to reengage it quickly. He'd discuss that with Piett later. After a few moments of collecting his thoughts, he'd search out that strange so called descendant of his, Kylo Ren, and discuss if this was the way it had played out and if he would encounter Skywalker again.
After some time of processing his failure at Bespin, and dealing with a few urgent issues, Darth Vader made his way to the quarters of Kylo Ren. He opened the door and he was not there. Did they put him back on hanger duty?
Darth Vader then called out to an officer in the hall, "Get me Lieutenant Trave and Lieutenant Sheckil. Have them meet me on the bridge."
Darth Vader walked through the sparse quarters. When he got to the fresher, he picked up a hairbrush and Kylo Ren's toothcare system and wrapped them in a towel he found in the room. He put the towel on the table.
He called out to one of the stormtroopers, "Send me the medical droid. I will be on the bridge."
"Yes, sir," the stormtrooper answered obediently.
Darth Vader made his way to the bridge and found Trave and Sheckil waiting at attention, "Lord Vader, you summonded us." Trave spoke with a nervous gulp.
"Yes, follow me," Darth Vader order as they went to Admiral Piett's private office. Once they got there, Darth Vader closed the door using the Force then spoke, "Did Lieutenant Antilles return with you to the Executor?"
Sheckil gulped hard, "Lord Vader, he was not at his commanded post. I've made inquiries and it is of my opinion that he has deserted."
"Lieutenant, are you sure? Perhaps he merely lost his way in Bespin?" Darth Vader said pointing to him.
Trave cleared his throat, "We did seek him out in the city. That is, after the chase of the escaping prisoners. We found no body, Lord Vader. I feared he perished in the crossfire, but none of the stormtroopers reported seeing him. I believe he may have stolen a ship and left the city."
Darth Vader clenched his fist. He knew one day that Kylo Ren would possibly return to where he came from, but it sounded as if he left on his own and may be somewhere else in the galaxy. He'd try to reach out into the Force to see if he could feel his presence as he had his son. That would not tell him where Kylo Ren was located though, unless he were near. He thought of the fact that Kylo Ren kept insisting that he was Darth Vader's descendant. He had Kylo Ren's personal items sitting on the table of his quarters. Perhaps he would have them analyzed?
"While organizing the search for Skywalker's lightsaber and hand, was there any success?" Darth Vader questioned the men.
"No, though we have arranged for a garrison to be placed in the city and that anything of that nature should be brought to the Executor's attention," Trave answered a bit more relaxed yet still tense.
"Very good," Darth Vader spoke. "You are dismissed for now. I may question you again on this matter."
As he came out of the door, the medical droid was waiting, "You sent for me, Lord Vader?"
"Yes, follow me," Darth Vader said returning to Kylo Ren's quarters.
Once they got there, Darth Vader exposed the items he had collected from the fresher, "Is it possible to take a scan from the biological material left on these items?"
The droid moved it's arm and flashed a beam across the items, "Yes, Lord Vader. There is sufficient material for an adequate scan."
"Very well, come to my chambers when you have finished," Darth Vader stated as he briskly walked out of the room.
Darth Vader knew he was taking a risk analyzing Kylo Ren's sample, but if the Emperor had gotten wind of it, he might just assume it was Skywalker at this point. Plus, there were other ways to deal with a droid.
Darth Vader thought again about what he felt in the Force after Skywalker flew as he headed to his shuttle. Skywalker was calling out to someone. The Millennium Falcon had come back to retrieve him from his perch under the city. How? He knew he didn't sense Kylo Ren sneaking on board that ship, as he would have sensed him there. He only sensed Luke when he called out to him. He wondered if it was some technology on Skywalker's person, but he distinctly felt something in the Force. There are Force sensitive Wookiees. The Princess may have just seen Skywalker hanging from below. He wouldn't be surprised if Calrissian had found his way on the ship. It was reported that he had been seen with the Wookiee and Princess Leia while they fled the city. Vader looked up at the holo that contained data on sightings and encounters with Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca the Wookiee, Han Solo, and the Millennium Falcon. He had already researched Calrissian and concluded he had no history previously tying him directly to the rebels. His ties to Solo and the Wookiee seemed to be before their association with the rebels. Princess Leia had a lot of data, her being a public figure before she had gone into hiding with the rebels. It was interesting how often he and Her Highness had come to blows. And yet, she still lives. Could she be who Luke contacted? He always pegged her as having a strong mind as his attempts on battle station some years prior had been unsuccessful. Her father had powerful connections and probably prepared her more than his other fellow traitors for her own protection in the event she was caught. He paused a moment when he realized her age and compared it with Skywalker. She was adopted was she not?
The medical droid buzzed to be allowed in and Darth Vader raised his hand to allow it to enter as he had the data on the rebels still hovering above him.
"I've finished my analysis, Lord Vader. You may find this quite fascinating. The subject you had analyzed has registered a very high count in regards to Force Sensitivity. Quite remarkable in fact," the droid spoke as if it was baffled itself.
"As I suspected," Darth Vader spoke only to acknowledge that he had gained the confirmation that the individual known as Kylo Ren was powerful in the Force. "Wait here, droid."
Darth Vader looked back at the data in front of him and studied Princess Leia's profile closely. He had planned to use her as a device to control Skywalker until he could be turned, then turn her over to the Emperor for a public trial and execution. As he dug deeper and noticed her age, a thought came to him.
"Droid, were any biological samples taken from the rebels on Cloud City?" Darth Vader asked the droid staring at the data.
The droid took a moment then stated, "Yes, some samples were taken from two of the prisoners."
"Run that analysis on the sample I had you take earlier against the the samples taken from the prisoners in regards to biological relationship," Darth Vader commanded.
As the droid was analyzing the data, Darth Vader poured over the files going back to Luke Skywalker. He wanted to make sure there wasn't anything there he missed. He had gone over his data repeatedly before, but this time, he wanted to see if he could find any connection to Princess Leia prior to her confinement on the Death Star.
"Lord Vader, it appears that it matches Chewbacca as a relative," the droid answered mechanically.
Darth Vader clenched his fist. This droid was unreliable and malfunctioning, "Impossible. That sample I had you analyze was a human. Did you find anything in the samples taken from Princess Leia Organa?"
"No, Lord Vader. The sample you had me analyze was indeed human. There were no samples taken from a Princess Leia Organa. Only Chewbacca and Captain Han Solo. The data clearly states that Chewbacca is a human male, and that Captain Han Solo is a Wookiee."
"They must have mixed the samples up," Darth Vader groaned. He'd find out who had been responsible for the mix-up and execute them himself. Still, he had to ask. "How closely are they related?"
"Well, the analysis in regards to the data seems a bit wrong, Lord Vader. I can only conclude that they are half brothers with the same father perhaps in regards of the data," the droid answered.
Darth Vader shook his head then pulled up the holo on Captain Solo. Surely, he was doomed to die.
"It's impossible. Droid are you sure? How did you draw that conclusion?" Darth Vader shouted in anger the fact the sample was mislabeled and possibly poorly handled also made him doubt the validity, "Did that prisoner's sample register a Force sensitivity count?"
"No, Lord Vader. It was the age of whomever the sample was obtained that led me to draw that conclusion," the droid answered. "They both seem to have only a small number of years between them, and it's statistically impossible for one to be the father of the other."
Darth Vader stared at the droid. It's circuits started to fry spontaneously as the droid screamed while it slowly bent and crushed from the power of Darth Vader's mind. Smoke emitted throughout it's circuits and the droid became so disintegrated that the most brilliant splicer could never obtain even the most remote information held in that droid's memory.
Darth Vader turned to look again at the files on the rebels. "Obi-Wan. That is what ties this together. It had to be Obi-Wan."
He then brought up the files on the late Senator Bail Organa.
Hyperspace
Kylo Ren tried to relax in the cockpit staring out into the blue haze. When he was thinking of where to go, he thought first to go to Jakku. That would have been a place where no one would expect to find anything, but then he did remember that was where the First Order used as it's jumping point, and there was probably an Imperial presence even there. He thought of a dozen other places, and even thought about going to Arkanis, visiting that academy and taking out Brendol Hux's bastard child in his nursery. While it amused him for a brief moment, he knew that the enemy he knew was better than the one he didn't, and he would just be replaced by some other individual. It might change his own path as well.
When he had first started the trip into hyperspace, he had a brief instant where he swore he saw Hux standing over him and that he pushed him away with the Force, but that image faded. Was he starting to jump back to his own time? Where he belonged. He swore he was really there for a moment. The next time that happened, he would try to hold on.
He learned in his youth to take a few jumps before deciding to go somewhere in particular when hiding, and that was something he learned from Han Solo. He chose Takodana as his destination. It was an odd choice, he knew, because when he was last there, he destroyed Maz's castle, but it was also where he met Rey. He knew that it would also be a refuge of sorts for any traveler who had lost their way. He wondered if Darth Vader knew he escaped, or if he assumed he just faded back to his own time.
He started to meditate and found himself standing over Rey who was sitting crouched down as if she were hiding and peering away from him.
"Hello," Ben spoke standing behind her.
Rey shook and then turned around slowly, "I should have sensed you. I imagine because you are also on the other side of me that may have something to do with it."
"You are still in my room? I can't see it," Ben said crouching down to sit, so he could hear her better. "Why are you whispering?"
"Someone was just in here," Rey whispered. "I don't think he saw me. He made a bit of noise though as if he fell."
"Hux maybe? I thought I saw him for a second a couple of hours ago. I looked at him, then pushed him from me." Ben said in a normal voice, assuming no one could hear him.
"This just happened. He was just here. He said he could kill you right now, and he would get you in the morning," Rey crawled a bit to get in closer to his face so he could hear her better.
Ben could feel the warmth radiating from Rey's body heat. He could feel the strand of hair brushing near his face.
He paused for a moment and then spoke,"I'm in hyperspace. I stole a ship. I'd tell you to tell 'Your General', but since you aren't there..."
"Did anything change? That you know of anyway?" Rey whispered now sitting right next to Ben, their hips nearly touching.
"I don't know. From what I was told and what I know, it seems to have happened the way it did. I did see them, Rey." Ben spoke then turned away from her and said quickly, "She spat in my face. It was before I saw you last. I couldn't talk there. I'm sure if she knew I could change things, she might wish I had never been born."
"It was probably the Imperial uniform. She didn't know who you were. She seemed concerned, Ben, really. When I saw her. Look, I can barely talk to you here," Rey whispered.
"You know how to make them forget if someone sees you, Rey? Do you? Oh, and I saw him too. I was ordered to stay with him in his cell before they tortured him. Darth Vader disappointed me, Rey," Ben said seriously.
"Because he tortured them? He's Darth Vader," Rey whispered rolling her eyes.
"No, I found him weaker than I expected. I expected more out of him. Actually, Han Solo was braver than I expected. Darth Vader is a slave to the Emperor," Ben said sadly.
"Like you were to Snoke?" Rey whispered, "As for expectations, I thought the same about Luke. That is when I first met him."
"Skywalker," Ben groaned.
"What are we going to do about your situation, this situation?" Rey pointed to the bed that Ben couldn't see.
"We." Ben said quietly then spoke, "Let's try something."
Ben took off his glove and put his hand out to Rey. Rey went to take it. She felt him as if he were flesh, and she was really touching him. She could see the entire cockpit he was sitting in and the light of hyperspace. Then she heard a noise coming from the door in the other room. She ducked down.
"What are you doing?" Ben said still holding her hand.
Rey moved her head in a nod to indicate to Ben she couldn't talk. She let go of Ben's hand and he disappeared as she ducked quietly under the bed.