"This ship is nicer than Poe's."
"Of course it is. I was Master of the Knights of Ren before I became Supreme Leader. I rated the best there was."
"Does that include your wife, love?"
"Oh, I sense that I am in danger here." Ben chuckles wry and clasps Rey's hand. "You know you are more to me than any treasure there is."
"More than Wicket?"
"Now you're pushing it."
She pouts in that way she has and then kisses him. "Ben, what were you and your mother talking about?"
"A lot of things." He sighs. "We never were very good at talking to each other."
"Things are better now, though, right?"
"I like to think so." The specter of his father's death- of his murder of his father- hangs over them, and Ben knows that his mother may never fully forgive him for that crime even if she can put aside the other things he did as Kylo Ren.
"There's something else. Something you're not telling me." Her voice is calm. No angry accusations. Just the acceptance that she knows something is wrong- and the certainty that he will tell her when it's time.
"Yes. I'll talk about it when we get to Bespin. I can't focus on that right now." He pauses. "There's something you should know right now."
"What's that?"
"I told Hux you killed Snoke."
She smacked him lightly. "Hey! What were you trying to pull?"
"I was still Kylo Ren then. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But you need to know now in case it comes up while we're talking to Hux. He might make reference to it and I didn't want you to be surprised."
"Pinning regicide on your wife does seem like a very Kylo thing to do."
"You're not mad at me, love?"
Silence.
Long enough to make him nervous.
"Rey-?"
"Of course I'm not mad, love. I'm sure you'll think of some way to make it up to me."
"Is that a threat? It kind of sounded like a threat."
"Less flirting more flying. You wouldn't want Poe to think he's a better flier than you are, would you?"
"Of course he thinks that."
Committeelurched into the sky once more.
"We definitely need to get this thing fixed when we have the time, Ben. Not exactly the smoothest ride I've ever had."
"..."
"Don't say it. Don't even think it." She sighs. "Ben, how are we going to handle this? Hux could simply blast us out of the sky. You can't stop a Dreadnought's blaster bolt can you?"
"Don't know," he admits easily. "I've never tried. I'd rather not find out. I have an idea of how to handle Hux. At least till Poe and Brea get into position."
"Share with me?"
"Hux is … predictable. He likes things to happen in a certain way. When they don't, he tends to get … upset."
"Now who does that remind me of?"
"I haven't the faintest idea," Ben replies in an offended tone. Then he smirks. "Just follow my lead. You'll get the gist soon enough."
"Generally before you do, Solo."
Ben smirks. He pressed the com switch. "This is Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, calling First Order Dreadnought. I don't remember giving authorization for you to come to my private residence, General Hux. I trust you have a good reason."
"Ah, Ben Solo," Hux appeared on screen almost immediately. "Sheeva Ren was so good as to inform us of your defection to the Resistance. I thought my first official duty as the new Supreme Leader would be to take you in for a proper trail regarding the death of my predecessor Supreme Leader Snoke."
"I don't recall tendering my resignation, General. I was just enjoying my honeymoon with my new bride."
"Your bride? That scavenger-"
Hux began to choke.
"I suggest you refer to my wife in more polite terms, General." Ben's voice was as casual as if he was discussing the weather. He gestures.
Hux relief was visible as he began to breathe again.
Why didn't you do that without contacting him? Rey was curious to find out.
I have to be able to see him to pull that particular trick. All he had to do was break communication and it'd be over.
He doesn't know that?
It's not like I would have told him, and I guess Sheeva hasn't either.
Sheeva came to stand beside Hux. "Don't worry, Supreme Leader. He will not be able to attack you again." She was sporting silver prostheses that had not yet been covered with artificial flesh. Knowing her, Ben rather suspected she wouldn't bother. "I will protect you in my role as the Master of the Knights of Ren."
"That's right, Sheeva. Lend the good General a hand. Oh wait you're rather short of them at the moment."
Sheeva glared at him. "Traitor!"
"She's just jealous, love," Rey said, putting herself in view of the camera to give Ben a chaste kiss on the cheek. "All those years and she never caught your eye. And now some nobody from nowhere just up and stole your heart." Rey couldn't resist a smirk. "If you knew what I know about him, Sheeva, you would have tried harder. Definitely worth it."
"He's nothing! You're nothing!"
"General, how's Phasma?"
The question caused Hux to blink in surprise. "She is... mending."
"I'm glad to hear it."
Hux stared at him. "You almost sound sincere, Ren … Solo. I mean Solo!"
"I don't hate Phasma." Ben smiles. "Or you. We were … comrades."
"For a moment I thought you were going to say friends." Hux's eyes are shadowed at that moment. "I did not like or trust you as Kylo Ren, but I respected your dedication to Supreme Leader Snoke and the First Order. How far the mighty have fallen."
"There are things worth more than power, General."
"Is this where you speak to me of the power of love?" Hux asks with a sneer.
"There are worse things, General." There's a trace of regret in his voice. The things he knows about Armitage Hux- the things that he had once found amusing about the ginger haired man's past- now merely made him sad. "A bit of advice for you though- if you decide to hop into bed with Sheeva- literally or figuratively- be sure to keep an eye on her. I would have killed you- but I'd have done so honestly. She'll be swearing her allegiance and stabbing you in the back with the other."
"The only thing she cares about is her own power, Hux." Rey is much less sympathetic. "You're a fool if you think that she'll ever be satisfied with just the Knights of Ren. If you win a throne she'll take it from you."
"So you say, scavenger."
"Enough talk, General! The traitor is in our sight! You should kill them both before they unleash any Jedi tricks!" Sheeva glared venom at the both of them through her mask.
"Master Sheeva Ren is correct. As much as I enjoyed this reunion, I'm afraid that I need to get on with my work, Kylo- Ben Solo. Do you have any last words?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, Armitage."
"You cannot beg your way back into the First Order now!" Hux was practically frothing at the mouth now.
"Not that. For this."
And at that moment Poe Dameron and Brea Darklighter blast the interdictor spheres on the Dreadnought into pieces. The ship rocked.
"Jump to light speed!" Poe cries. "We can't take out a Dreadnought with what we have now."
"He's learning," Rey murmurs.
"General, if you surrender in the future, contact the Resistance." Ben hit the accelerator.
Committee lurches but doesn't jump.
"Damn it!" A frantic glance to figure out what's wrong.
Rey smacks the dash.
And Committee jumps into hyper-space.
"How did you do that?"
"I can take them apart. I can intimidate them into working right," Rey says with a deadpan look. "What was that about Hux? You were almost... nice … at the end."
"He's like us," Ben says softly. "Like me."
"He is nothing like you. Even at your worst as Kylo Ren, you felt the pull of the Light. There's no light in Hux. Just an unrelenting evil. You don't have to be a Darksider to be a monster."
"He is now. But once … once he was a scared little boy that had no one to teach him compassion." Ben sighs. "He's in love with Phasma."
"You really think so?"
"I believe so. And if he is- if he has that much humanity left in him- maybe there's a way to end this war without the Galaxy burning down around us."
"Look at you." Rey kisses him quickly on the lips. "Finding hope for everyone. I hope you're right, but some people will stay mired in their darkness no matter how often we reach out to them." She lays a head on his shoulder. "But I love you for having that hope. For becoming a man who could think such things."
"Thank you, love." He sighs and strokes her hair with his free hand.
"Is it crazy that I'm going to miss Mustafar?" she asks him. "I know what it represented to Darth Vader. I know what things happened here- to Anakin and Padme. But even with that- even with the Darkside so strong there- I've never been as happy as I was there. With you. Do you think we'll ever be that happy again, Ben?"
"I know it." Ben kisses her more deeply this time. "If we can find a moment of joy in that place, we can find it anywhere."
Now if only we can find what we need in Cloud City. If only Lando doesn't sell me out …
Author's Note: If I had known this story was going to be this long I never would have started out in present tense. At any rate, our heroes are now heading back into the Galaxy at large. And off to Cloud City!