Ben allowed Rey to slide back to the ground, and she felt his disappointment almost palpably through the bond, though it lacked bitterness. As yet unwilling to relinquish his embrace, she looked up into his dark eyes. You aren't angry?

Ben shook his head. I knew what your answer would be before I asked, but I still had to ask. At least now I know that there will come a day when you will come to me willingly.

Rey laced her fingers behind Ben's neck and pulled him down to her. I have always come to you willingly. She gently kissed him. Now I come to you eagerly.

Rey felt Ben's disappointment turn into anticipation and relief. She laid her hand against his cheek as she stepped out of his arms, and he turned his face slightly into her touch, trapping it there with his own hand. Through their bond, she could feel that beneath the layers of scars earned by enduring years of neglect and torture, Ben's heart held a vast untapped reserve of love that welled within him, desperately seeking an outlet. She saw now that every time they were together, the blackened shell that he had built around the tenderness of his soul chipped away infinitesimally, and he inched toward the light, or at least towards a state of equilibrium. When he implored her to stay with him, the request didn't come from a man craving the satisfaction of his lust. It was a cry from a soul withering in the desert, too long deprived of hope.

"How long do we have? How long would the Supreme Leader spend in an initial negotiation?"

Ben barked with a laugh of derision. "The Supreme Leader doesn't negotiate. His underlings root out dissention, and he obliterates it. By normal standards, you've already outstayed your welcome, and the storm troopers are right now dreading how many pieces of you they are going to have to scrape up and dispose of." Rey blinked in alarm at Ben's frankness. He continued wryly, "You can imagine Hux's disappointment."

"We've already taken too long."

Ben nodded. "What does the native population need?"

"They have been on the brink of famine for some time. The First Order insists that they grow the staple crops that are used to manufacture standard ration packs." Rey tipped her head, a thought occurring to her. "Off world, almost no fresh food is consumed at all, is it?"

Ben shook his head. "I haven't tasted anything other than standard issue rations since I stopped training with Skywalker. Storm troopers are fed a high-protein diet laced with chemicals that develop muscle and bone mass . . . and drugs that accelerate growth and make them more compliant. Haven't you ever noticed how tall most of them are?"

Rey lifted her brows and flicked her eyes up at Ben, towering nearly eight inches over her. Her lips quivered with amusement. "I've noticed. The problem, though, is that those crops were never meant to grow here. They are destroying the land, and there's not enough water for the crops and the people. The people retain very little of what they grow, and they are starving. Within a few generations, you will be lucky to have a native population here at all."

"Perhaps that's by design. Famine is an effective tool for controlling a population." Ben's brows drew together, and he flicked on a holo that sat on the table to display a projection of the planet. She could feel the cold, analytical part of his mind begin to hum, and his thoughts took on the orderly, rhythmic tone she recognized from his time aboard the dreadnaught. "How can there not be enough water? Most of the planet is lush and green."

As the holo rotated ponderously, Rey pointed to the mountains that ranged throughout much of the planet. "There are enormous reserves of water in the highlands, but the First Order has cordoned off all mountains in the planet. People suspect that there is something of great value they intended to mine there, but after conquest, industry ground to a complete halt.

"You saw for yourself that the women here command very specialized skills within the Force. Perhaps those walls don't barricade the mountains. I'd be willing they are there to bar the women from direct access to the abundant plant and animal life that is the source of their strength."

Ben frowned. "Maybe, but I won't know for certain without a geologic survey. It sounds like what people need right now is access to food and fresh water. I can direct the garrison to drill wells as a sign of good faith and instruct Socar to make plans to build infrastructure to move the water to the lowlands. With more water, they could increase food production and avoid famine." He glanced up at Rey. "Many problems would be solved if the reeducation facility were closed, but I will need a report from Finn before we can move forward." He nodded curtly. "Dis—"

Without thinking, Ben had slipped into the domineering attitude he used to manage the personnel of the dreadnaught, and he had almost dismissed Rey out of habit. He caught himself and bit his tongue to ensure the dismissal did not pass his lips. By the time he glanced up at her from the holo, though, she had already read his intent through the bond, and stood with arms crossed beneath a bemused expression.

She lifted a brow and cocked her head. "You were saying?"

Ben tapped the corner of the holo, and it winked out. He took a deep breath, and she felt sudden nervousness ricochet through the bond. He was reluctant to look at her. "I don't know how to do this. I know how to command and be commanded. I know how to take, but I absolutely know what it feels like to be taken from. I know how to weave my thoughts and feelings so tight that not even a master of the dark arts can penetrate them, but I don't know how to bind them harmoniously with yours." Finally, Ben looked up. "I did not intend . . ."

Rey came closer and took his hand away from where it fiddled with the holo. "I know what you intended." Rey lifted her chin, obviously expecting him to lower his face to kiss her. When he obliged, she continued, I don't know how to do this either. I've been alone all my life, but now we're bound as one. We will have to figure it out.

Rey turned away and approached the flap of the tent. Before exiting, she stopped, stood up straighter, and rolled back her shoulders. She could feel Ben's gaze trace the contour of her body as surely as though his hands burned through her clothes. His amusement and enjoyment of the display tickled tantalizingly through the bond. Stop. I'm trying to work myself up to looking angry with you.

Instead, Ben stepped closer to her. He wrapped his hands around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. Would it help if I dismissed you?

Rey felt a bubble of mirth build inside her, and she wasn't sure if it came from her own feelings or Ben's. Though she intensely enjoyed Ben's affection playing through the bond and being so earnestly plied across her skin, she shrugged her shoulder and squirmed away from him. Only if you meant it.

Rey was shocked at how thoroughly Ben snapped his emotions back from her consciousness. "Get out." Ice water surged through the bond, but not with the kind of vehemence that had been there before.

She felt assaulted, though his sharp withdrawal hadn't caused her any pain. Rey turned and glanced over her shoulder, and Ben's eyes were stone, his jaw set. Rey narrowed her eyes. You really are very good at this.

Ben's eyes softened and his lips trembled slightly, and she felt a tendril of sympathy snake back through their bond. I've had to be.