The Call to the Light
Chapter 11
Inside the Falcon, it's a pit of emotions. Ben has to bite down in concentration at the inflamed swirls emanating from the woman, who's so scared she's pissed, the small Bothan and the grudging, irritated bounty hunter.
Rey is barely holding herself up. In the lit-up space, she's pale and sweating.
"Where's the boy?"
"It's all right," Rey pants. "He's at the co…"
Her eyes, already shining from bearing so much pain, go wide as saucers. She stares at the bounty hunter, who looks back at Rey in a resigned but no less dazed expression. In her mind she's projecting shock, and a trace of anxiety. Ben picks up on it, confirming that the blue-eyed man is familiar to Rey.
The moment is over when the floor underneath them tilts dangerously.
Cockpit, Rey clamors at Ben as she slumps against the wall. Blood is streaked against the surface.
Fuck this day. Fuck this day and fuck this ship.
"Get her patched up!" he bellows as he runs to the cockpit. The Force runs like static where he goes; Rey's had the boy act as a puppet, piloting the Falcon as she helped Force-lift the other passengers inside.
She's going to wake up with a deathly headache, if she hasn't passed out already.
The blonde is halfway out of his seat. "I don't know how I got here, I swear. I don't even know how – "
Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
Honestly, Ben doesn't know how he hasn't passed out in frustration yet. Or how he hasn't ripped something apart with his lightsaber.
He had to subdue the blond into unconsciousness before pulling him out of the pilot's chair. Breathing exercises is the only thing that gets him to concentrate on getting into hyperspace.
Once they're safely in the black, he slumps back in the seat. They're lucky the First Order hadn't been there, or found them. He scowls. It's still unclear whether he is wanted by the First Order for defecting, or if the Resistance knows about his defection.
They re-boarded the ship in worse condition than when they disembarked: They have no better sense of direction, no concrete information…and a total of four more passengers.
And they're running low on fuel. Their food rations will deplete faster, too.
Now he's hiding in the cockpit, ashamed that Rey is hurt and he's…he's killed. Just like that. And he wanted to, even felt relieved when someone (a stranger!) gave him permission. He hates the lack of control now. Maker. How did his father do it, with his half-cocked plans and escapades? How did his mother?
Patience, he tells himself amidst the cramped, familiar space and the scent of old seat fabric. He is a Jedi now. He'll get answers from his…new guests. He'll devise a plan.
Not to mention the fact that this ship has seen its share of accidental adventures.
You are Ben Solo. For once in your life, accept that you are your father's son and…get it together.
He needs another minute to run his hands over his face and just laugh.
Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
The main cabin explodes with noise when he emerges.
"Maker on a stick, Niall! What the hell kind of plan – "
"Keep your voice down, will ya?"
" – the Order did say 'dead or alive,' you know," Ben caught the rodent, the Bothan, say. "Did you ever think that maybe you should have let us decide whether we – "
"You're safe in one piece, hairball. You're lucky you're not – "
"'Lucky'? We've been mind-forced by an evil Jedi!"
"Shut UP!" Rey shouts, her voice like a violent clap in the room. Ben senses she's breaking like glass. Without a word he cuts through to her. He feels her pulse and checks out the scarf he'd hastily wrapped around her wounded shoulder.
"The least you petty thieves and…prostitutes can do is help the people who saved you," he says testily while eyeing the rattiness of the scarf.
"Sorry, we were…" the Bothan trails off.
There is a spike of outrage from the woman. "What, and suddenly you're a saint? Why don't you explain to me how Force manipulation and basically kidnapping constitute as saving us?"
"Hey, who the hell knocked me out!?" yells a voice from the cockpit.
Clenching his teeth, Ben looks up from his eyelashes at Rey, whose own troubled face melts for a second into a shared aggravation at the oncoming blond.
"Kriff, I think I've been Force-manipulated! I can't remember how I got here!"
"You can thank our new captain - " the woman, who had been quiet, quips.
"It's my ship," Rey protests weakly. She raises her golden eyes on the new passengers. As they rest on the blue-eyed man, they turn glassy with disbelief. "You have got to be joking."
"Easy, luv," the bounty hunter says calmly. When he meets Ben's accusing gaze by accident, he has the decency to shrug.
Rey seems to shrink in her seat, raising her mental shields so quickly Ben feels his head ache. Sensing the sudden distrust, Ben tilts his head, feeling hurt and betrayed.
Ben keeps his tone is eerily even. "How do you two know each other?"
"Well, I'll…I'll let the lady explain."
"Maker. You're Kylo Ren," the Bothan interrupts. "You're the one whose face is all over the holonet."
Ben throws his hands up. "Well, there's our answer. All we had to do is CHECK THE HOLONET!" he bellows.
"You gonna murder all of us now?" the woman demands haughtily.
"Korla," the bounty hunter mutters under his breath. "Shut your trap and sit down before I murder you."
Ben turns on his lightsaber, making everyone jump, but thankfully stop talking. He erects a new, fluid mental shield that absorbs his temper in a tranquil shroud.
"I think I will ask the questions now. Starting with you," he demands from the blue-eyed human. "Why exactly did you betray your crew to join us?"
It is no surprise the bounty hunter talks first. "Name's Niall. Niall Breaton. That's Korla. She's not a prostitute, she's a friend. That's Rumley, my main investment," he points to the Bothan, who gives a bored 'hello' gesture. "I'm…not really a bounty hunter, but I am a criminal. Thief, bodyguard, hired killer – whatever you want."
Behind Ben, Rey snorts knowingly. He ignores it. "You two seemed very eager to capture me," he prompts.
"Aye. There's a lot of new talk going on about you. By the way, what are we supposed to call you? Master Solo, Master Ren, or my Lord?"
"Or mass murderer. Monster," the blond, no longer innocent or petulant, adds. He fixes Ben with an even, cold stare that translates as determined hatred.
Ben surmises the level of distrust wafting from the blond. The woman is drowning in confusion, the Bothan curious but mournful, and the blue-eyed human…unreadable.
"I no longer call myself Kylo Ren. I defected from the First Order two weeks ago."
"We know," says Niall. "There's been a leaked story from the Resistance. It's all over the holonet. Apparently Missus Organa, your mum, was recorded telling the bosses of the Resistance that you saved her life and that you had reformed your murderous ways."
This is so utterly unexpected that Ben almost lets his lightsaber reach the floor. Never could he imagine his mother, a cool and unbreakable strategist, give into an emotional decision like this. She must have been fed up with keeping up the secrecy, the lie that he "died" in the Second Purge. Inside, he is a mixture of discomfort at her loyalty, and relief and pride for it.
"I…I see." He sharpens again. "So if it's a leak, has the Resistance made an official statement?"
"First Order beat them to it: They've kept their announcement underground, only for the lowest of criminal circles, but you're worth a hundred million credits, dead or alive."
Ben can only roll his eyes. The First Order would simply shoot the poor bastard who was able to bring him in.
"And I'm assuming that's what you wanted, temporarily," he muses. "There's a higher purpose here. These two – " he angles the lightsaber to the blond alien and the Tholothian, " – Are here because they are lost, and you care for them. This one," he eyes the Bothan, "I'm less convinced belongs in a circle like yours."
"That's because one of the bounty hunters from the Shadowbreaker had kidnapped and ransomed him. He's not so bad, but I figures, since he's already all the way out here, why not make a deal to get him back home safely, and earn a reward?" Naill grins. "It's honestly no different than a ransom, if you think about it."
Ben ignores the social quip. "So you didn't like your…co-workers. As I have recently been in your position, I can sympathize. Now…what is it you want from us?"
Niall looks from Rey to Ben. Ben ignores it, for now.
"Where are you folks heading off to?"
Ben keeps his gaze at Niall, but he opens his head to Rey. Rey's mind is so open, radiating honesty, he knows her opinion.
"Jakku. We have…business there."
"Jedi business?" the Bothan asks.
"Not any importance to you, but yes," says Ben.
Niall is silent. The woman speaks up, blessedly reasonable. "We're looking for someone. A woman and a man: Lorra Swalvig and Fordo Tangue. They went missing a few months ago and were last seen on a pleasure barge near the Outer Rim. It's a swamp planet, that's all we know."
"Family?" asks Rey for the first time.
They all nod guardedly. When Niall speaks, Ben begins to sense reluctance, and a thin, stretched-out sense of belonging.
"I was tryna get information off the bounty hunters, maybe earn a little extra bribery money. I think they've been sold. Now the law doesn't exist out here. All that matters is that you have what your enemies may want. That's all that you can count on in here. So," he nods at Ben. "You'll forgive me for looking at a walking…brooding piece of fortune just waiting to be taken outside. But," he nods to Rey. "Seeing as I know this nice lady, I thought, 'maybe next time, let this one go.' You see what I'm saying?"
Ben hovers the saber at the blond. He will address this particular issue now before he finds himself threatened or betrayed. "You. You've lost someone. Whom do you think I've killed?"
The blond gives an ugly, disgusted look. "How about everyone?! Do I need to have lost someone to hate you?"
It would be so much easier to just peek in there and see the real reason himself. But Ben can't, even as he stares the boy down. Not when he's assaulted people's minds like Rey's and the star Resistance pilot everyone's so fond of.
So he makes his next words sound as much of a threat as possible. "If you'd rather not seek refuge here, I'll drop you off in another day with your memory wiped and having no desire to hunt me down."
Purple eyes gleam in disgust. "You think this good-boy act can fool me?"
"Well, it will eventually – not that we care," Rey joins in as she puts her feet on the floor. She's had enough. "You can trust us. We're already trusting you to be on our ship, so fuck off if you don't like it. He won't harm any of us."
Ben feels himself relax and warm at her declaration, until she meekly adds, "…Physically. Verbally, probably."
"Oh, yeah, and why's that?" says the blond.
"Because I'm a Jedi too," she huffs, shuffling across the room to her own. She projects over to Ben that she wants him to follow. Sighing, he deactivates his lightsaber and gives everyone a glare demanding good behavior before following her.
Neither Jedi notice the way Niall gapes in bewilderment.