Chapter 25

Rey woke up with the sun, her arms wrapped tightly around her and facing the dying embers of the fire. Her body felt stiff, most likely a mix of being in such an awkward position for so long and the overworking of her muscles, both physical and Force-aligned.

Grabbing for her canteen, she took a long drink and finished the rations she had. She stood and kicked dirt over the fire embers, went to the stream, filling her canteen and prepared herself to go back to the facility.

It seemed without any kind of vehicle that it would be a half day's walk and so she began the long journey. Thankfully the planet was generally mild in weather and so her exhaustion would likely only come from her tired body. Rey knew that just that feeling of tiredness alone meant she was still not trained enough. A Jedi could surely recover in hours, not days after a battle of those proportions. Even if not from their wounds, at least from the aches.

The hours passed with Rey walking towards the facility, not seeing any change; not seeing ships, not seeing troops. She would be surprised if it was completely abandoned considering there was surely something left to salvage. Even so, she carried on, constantly aware of where both her Lightsaber and Luke's were.

Once she reached a mile from it, she put her hand against the weapon, ready to pull it and strike if necessary. The smell of ash and death was strong and Rey's nose scrunched as she continued on, quite disturbed by it. This was new to her and she couldn't lie about that. She couldn't say she was well seasoned in war or what it entailed.

Finding what remained of a southern entrance, she scrambled over rubble and climbed in, directing her search towards the hanger bay. She heard noises within the facility, but couldn't be sure whether it was the creaking of metal and stone breaking apart or the sound of others. Rey hurried her steps, not being comforted by the lack of life until she broke into a jog, wanting to get to the hanger quickly.

The door had caved in on itself. Crumpled under the weight of stone and metal and it took a lot of Rey's concentration and strength to cut through the door and hold the weight from falling until she went through.

Once she let go, it shrieked loudly and she hurried through to the wide, mostly open-to-the-air hangar. It was near empty, with destruction evident in every corner. Of the crafts that did remain, she checked them all, finding different pieces missing from each and considered how she could repair them if there was no whole craft to fix. Most frustratingly, they were transporters and she could only travel so far with them.

Checking the equipment inside did not get her any closer to having access to a radio and Rey began to sweat with worry. She took to climbing the Hanger and slipped through the open ceiling and looked over the facility, trying to spot something of use from there. Rey spotted several downed TIE-fighters several yards to the east and one of them seemed to be in decent order.

She slipped down the side of the roof and took off in that direction, hoping that its functionality didn't change as she went.

Rey reached the TIE fighter rather quickly and she pulled open the access, surprised to find neither injured or dead in the seat. The Stormtrooper must have crawled out and escaped rather than ejected.

She slid inside, checking the machinery and then slipped out again, looking for any breaches on the outside. It seemed to have been shot in one of its thrusters, which must have caused the pilot to lose their bearings and crash.

Going back to the hanger to collect tools, Rey made work of the rest of the day's light and went to fixing the TIE fighter. She wanted to finish as quickly as possible because she was still unsure if there were people around, or troops that would come back.

Just as dusk had settled, Rey climbed into the TIE fighter and started it up, feeling her hunger quite poignantly and bearing with it as she set off. The controls were not too dissimilar from any other small fighter jet and after a brief instance of getting used to it, she set off from the planet, seeing how far she could fly the craft, whether it could reach D'Qar or at the very least, a nearby planet. As she reached orbit, Rey could see the destruction of an air fight, pieces of ships lay drifting in space and few First Order ships still sat just outside of the planet, somewhat damaged.

She went as fast as she could, sprinting by them so they would not notice, or if they did, would not be alerted to one of their ships darting away. The radio went off as she went and Rey ignored it, gunning away from them.

Thankfully she escaped but noted that the spacecraft would not be able to cover the distance to D'Qar. Her quick fixes were superficial and even then, the Resistance would likely shoot her from the sky before she got in close. Rey put her sights on Saleucami, knowing the TIE fighter would have enough fuel to reach it in a day and she could find safer passage to D'Qar.

XxX

Landing down just outside of a large trade and porting outpost, Rey quickly abandoned the TIE fighter and sought to purchase a thin cloak once inside. Despite the incredibly hot climate, she did not want to risk being recognised as she walked through the large outpost, by her face or by the Lightsabers that hung from her belt. She had originally considered landing outside of Teleucami, knowing it was the planets biggest spaceport and the climate was much more temperate there, but Rey imagined that if anybody thought she was a Jedi – no matter how much of a myth they had become – it would not be long before the First Order was on to her.

She had landed during mid-afternoon, so the streets were much easier to navigate in the heat. Rey stopped at the first clothing stand she could find and dropped several credits into the hand of the Twi'lek operating the stall.

Quickly whipping the cloak on, she went to search for transport, deciding that wherever there was a cantina, surely there was someone inside willing to drop her at D'Qar, no questions asked.

Deciding to eat and walk around until the business of night time came, Rey bought what seemed like a fried fish on a stick and ate slowly, trying to speed time up despite being hungry. Though it was very hot, the heat was the one thing she was familiar with.

Rey couldn't say that the outpost was similar to any outpost on Jakku. Here there was a generally friendly atmosphere and though there were still unsavoury looking characters, at least she didn't feel as if she couldn't defend herself. As she walked and looked up at the brightening sky and noted the extra bodies floating through the market, Rey sought out with the Force, looking for her friends and feeling the steady beat of their lives threaded into the Force. Rey knew they had to know she was alive, could they not at least feel her too?

She sighed and started to walk where the stalls thinned out until there was only stone and dust. Rey found a bench and took a seat, folding her legs up underneath her and beginning to meditate, deciding that this was the best course of action.

Hours passed with Rey like that; wishing she was strong enough to call to her friends or Luke and tell them where she was. She could only really go as far as feeling for their Force signatures, she couldn't even go to Kylo, despite having a Force connection with him. It frustrated her that the blockage she had felt between her and the Force was still there and she was beginning to feel as if it was her own incompetence causing it. Though as well as that, her injuries weren't even fully healed yet: The blossom of bruising dusted her brow, her ribs and her forearms. Whilst it was not debilitating, it was present and Rey was very aware of her own mortality.

Late afternoon came and picking up something else to eat, Rey made her way to the first cantina she could find, sat at the bar and ordered something light.

'Is there anyone willing to drop me off-planet for a price?' Rey asked the bartender as she held her drink in her hand.

The Pantoran glanced at her and then nodded his head over to a couple of Grans in the corner.

'Thanks,' she responded.

Rey was ready to get up and approach the two, but was stopped when the doors swung open and three people cloaked in black leather walked in. They carried various weapons, clearly meant for offence rather than defence. Rey felt cold and uncomfortable immediately and looked to their faces, noting one looked human except for the grey skin and the large nose. Her fingers tightened on the metal cup. He looked just like the Anzat from her illusion, as if she had never thought him up by herself. Their eyes met and there seemed to be recognition before Rey looked away almost immediately. She finished her drink, considering in that second what she should do. Even if they weren't already imposing figures, if he was an Anzat like she guessed, it wasn't safe for her to be around him.

There was a hand on her shoulder then and Rey almost jumped from her skin, thinking the worst, but turned to see a semi-drunken man leering at her.

'Hello darling,' he slurred.

She knocked his hand away and he stumbled into the empty stool she left behind. Rey immediately walked to the door and was thankful that the three dark-clothed men were no longer blocking the way.

Rey could just go to a different cantina.

As she walked, she automatically found her hand gravitating to her Lightsaber within her cloak and she couldn't help getting frustrated at the fact that she still wasn't off this planet, that she wasn't with her friends and her master. That she was wasting precious training time by being lost like this.

'Now where are you going?'

Rey stopped at the voice as she rounded a corner. It was strangely soft and it stopped her from breaking into a run. She turned slowly, pulling her cloak tighter around her and bowing her head lightly.

'Can I help you?'

The man with the grey skin sniffed the air, met her eyes as if he were assessing her and then smiled. The two that flanked him; a Human with a heavy repeater cannon and a long knife at his waist, the other, a Thyrsian, had two long, thin swords strapped to his armour-covered back. Whilst the suspected Anzat had a large axe. Rey realised then, that they all held helmets in their hands, helmets that resembled the one Kylo Ren wore.

She grew nervous and the Anzat seemed to smell it on her, his smile widening.

'Are you feigning ignorance?' he questioned.

The other two looked incredibly incensed and Rey wanted to reach for her Lightsaber, though thought that if she were to fight them, she would not win. Her eyes caught the Thyrsian and his lip twitched as he met her gaze.

'I'm sorry, but I'm busy,' she responded.

'You're like a beacon, you must be aware of that. I can even smell him on you.'

Rey felt a muscle in her cheek twitch and could see her fate was set. They knew who she was and she shouldn't have been surprised. Whether there was a picture of her circulating among the First Order and their affiliates or the Anzat just had the capability to tell who she was, for him to know that she was connected to Ben, that wasn't good at all.

'What do you want?' she questioned, putting force behind her question. Even if she was intimidated, she wouldn't show it.

The Anzat looked at the two men beside him and laughed. 'I think you've been mistaken, we're not here to kill you.'

Rey narrowed her eyes and her hand fell against the Lightsaber at her waist. 'That sounds incredibly unlikely. You are Knights of Ren, aren't you?' she questioned.

He smiled and clapped his hands. 'At least for a human you aren't an imbecile.' The Anzat looked to the other two and folded his arms across his chest. 'Now what are the chances we would find one of the only remaining Jedis in a cantina on Saleucami?'

'Probably quite high considering you hunted her down.' The Thyrsian replied, looking amused.

The Anzat elbowed him, but he was hardly fazed by the pain he must have felt. His eyes only stayed on Rey resolutely and she imagined that if she made any wrong moves, the swords on his back would be in his hands at the blink of an eye.

'I say again, what do you want from me if you don't want to kill me?' Rey questioned.

'We have some business to take care of thanks to you.'

'What kind of business could possibly involve me?'

The Anzat smiled. 'Business concerning Kylo Ren and whether or not he'll die. Of any interest to you?'

For some reason, Rey found herself glancing at the human man who had been silent. It wasn't just that they were the same species, she felt the gentle pulsing of the Force flow through him and she imagined that was why he had been inducted into the Knights of Ren. Even if he could not wield a Lightsaber, having a connection to the Force, meant he had his own protection against its wiles. Against her. Rey guessed that mind tricks would work on none of them.

'You must have me confused with someone else.' Rey responded, swallowing to increase her gall and standing straighter.

His expression soured then and Rey watched as the Anzat's tentacles emerged from beside his nose and he stepped forward. 'You've been offered the opportunity to get a quick fix to your problems, so before this turns violent, I advise you come with us. No matter how talented you may be Miss Jedi, I highly doubt that you can overpower three of us. Especially with your injuries.'

Rey's hands turned to fists and she closed her eyes, trying to think of any way out of this. She couldn't die, there was too much riding on her for her to throw her life away and be gutted in an alley on Saleucami. She realised she was trembling then. The illusion she had, had about the Anzat felt like a lifetime ago, yet it had affected her deep enough that she was frightened right now.

The Anzat tilted his head and smiled, waiting for her response.

She nodded slowly. 'Fine. I will follow,' she murmured with her teeth grit tightly together.

'Wonderful.'

His tentacles retracted and he took the lead. Rey felt the end of the repeater cannon in her back as the Human pushed her forward. They took several alleys and the people they did pass either ignored the scene or hurried along after meeting the Anzat's eyes. Rey looked around her, looking for some means of escape but she soon realised that there was no way she would get out of this mess uninjured. The pain in her stomach had just reached a level she could tolerate without thought, but Rey knew it would hinder her too.

Rey imagined that they were leading her to the nearest port and she frowned, frustrated. The man pushed the cannon into her back again, making her stumble and she quickly straightened, glancing behind her and seeing his blank expression.

The port was bustling with people and they continued to pay her no attention. Rey shouldn't have expected any different, why would anyone want to involve themselves in the problems of others? Eventually she was led up a ramp and into a medium-sized freighter. The ship must have doubled as a home considering its size and no wonder, as Rey expected that the Knights of Ren were always on the move, ready to mobilise at a moment's notice.

She stopped at the cockpit's entrance, her eyes finding the bacta tank against one of the walls and seeing the woman she had fought only yesterday. Malikeen was severely burned and Rey guessed she had been caught in the explosion. Rey couldn't help but feel guilty, perhaps if she hadn't left her unconscious, she wouldn't be so badly wounded. Yet at the same time, these people had all helped kill her master's students and were the Mirialan's injuries not at least some sort of penance.

Rey was pushed into a seat by the human and the Anzat spun her around in the chair to face them all and Rey eyed the tank again, seeing the floating woman and wondering what steps she had made to get back to the other knights.

'Ah yes, you know Malikeen. I assumed you were who opened her cage,' the Anzat spoke simply. 'You'll be happy to know that she's the only reason you aren't dead right now.'

She glanced away from the Anzat and her eyes met the Thyrsian. He raised his eyebrows at her and she looked away again, sour.

'Iulus here was exceptionally pleased,' the Anzat continued, nodding his head towards the human who stood the closest to the tank. 'He was the one who suggested we come to this planet, said he had a gut feeling.'

'So what do you want from me? You have your Malikeen, so what else do you need if you don't intend to kill me?' Rey asked, rather exasperated. She could feel her speedy pulse and she grit her teeth as she looked between the three men.

The Thyrsian then turned away at a glance from the Anzat and he went shuffling through several containers and took out a small storage device. He slipped it into a drive on a command station and a hologram of an old and decrepit creature of a man popped up. He sat in a chair and was swathed in a cloak, his frame as thin and feeble as a skeleton.

Seeing her confusion, the Anzat moved beside her, his hand grabbing onto Rey's wrist. 'Have you not ever seen the man himself?' He questioned, relatively surprised. 'Supreme Leader Snoke.'

Rey felt her throat dry somewhat, not having seen the man and she was at least thankful that this was not a live feed. That the Knights weren't just selling her off.

'Press play Finna,' he nodded towards the Thyrsian.

Finna did as he was told and the low raspy voice of Snoke could be heard throughout the room.

Unfortunately, Malikeen was destroyed in the blast. We haven't been able to recover her body and Kylo is already tracking the Resistance vessel that sent off the missile. Naturally we will recompense you for your loss. Your payments remain the same.

The Anzat's hand gripped onto Rey tighter until she felt a bone crack and she twitched, wishing he would let go. Even Iulus' expression was no longer blank and he looked enraged before he looked back to the bacta tank and relaxed himself.

'As you see, our supposed master betrayed us. Now when we heard Mal's distress call, we questioned whether it was real. When we found her, almost dead, starved and delirious, we searched the whole facility until we could come up with an answer. Our leader apparently locked her up to fade away until he saw fit to kill her. I suppose your boyfriend also had a hand in her imprisonment, considering you met him yesterday too.'

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

Rey didn't see the strike coming and her head snapped away from the Anzat as he punched her. She felt blood spill from her lips almost immediately and she seethed in her seat. When she looked at him again, his tentacles were descending on her and she found herself automatically moving to leave the seat, but the Thyrsian was already behind the chair, holding her down by her shoulders.

'No, don't,' she said without thinking, hating her weakness.

'What do you think this is?' The Anzat questioned. 'Do you think we are incapable of killing you? Or we have no skills? There may not be any Jedi in this galaxy, but I assure you that makes no difference to us and I'd be just as happy to suck out every drop of the Force you have in your body if it weren't for this proposition that we have for you. Which you should be exceedingly thankful for. Especially when I am incredibly hungry and human Force users are so incredibly delectable.'

She closed her eyes and breathed, calling to the Force and letting it relax her.

'We are all very aware that you freed and fought Malikeen yesterday and then Kylo Ren himself pulled you from the rubble as if he were a hero rather than one of our own and the supposed leader of the pack. Malikeen saw it herself and it was one of very few things she was able to murmur before she fell unconscious.' The Anzat continued.

'Then what could you possibly want from me? I am not a Knight of Ren nor do I have any intention of being one. If you are angry at Snoke, or his underling, or whatever, why am I being involved in this?' Rey questioned, trying to not get aggravated again.

His eyes narrowed at her, his tentacles continuing to twist in the air. He then glanced at Finna and Iulus before laughing. 'Now here we have the new poster-child of the Resistance and she is telling us that despite their goal being to end Snoke's reign of terror, she has no intention of taking the chance when it is presented to her.' He clucked his tongue and shook his head. 'Now what would that old hand bag of a general think if she heard that?'

Rey glared at him and she was met with a cackle. The Anzat gestured to Finna and he let her go. He then grabbed a fold down table and placed it down beside them with a chair for the leader. The tentacled man took a seat and Iulus moved off, seeming to be making a pot of caf.

'Perhaps we began incorrectly. I am Barthius, twelfth of my name. These are my most trusted fighters, Iulus, Finna and Malikeen.' He gestured to them each, even to Malikeen as she floated unconscious. 'The Knights of Ren was a creation of my own as a means to an end. For one, I needed to be fed and secondly, what more fun is there than disrupting the galaxy. Now our friend the ex-wannabe-Jedi, well after the request of our long-term employer, was inducted into this group. He did not face the same scrutiny as those in this room. In fact, if I had it my way, I would have taken my battle-axe fifteen years ago and hacked him to pieces along with all those other stupid children.'

Rey felt her lip trembling, overwhelmed with sadness as he spoke so cruelly of the murdered younglings. Her masters most loved students and children who were taken from this world too quickly and too maliciously.

Barthius snorted as he saw Rey's tears. 'As if you could even think that we'd induct someone as weak as you.' He said, wiping the tears from her face with force and then poking her hard in the forehead.

'So, I was forced to bring him onto this ship and include him. Now after fifteen years, you would expect some semblance of trust, loyalty and respect, from him, from Snoke, but yet we have Malikeen in a bacta-tank and my anger building at the fact that our so-called fifth member, Kylo Ren has misled us along with Snoke. I imagine he was not the instigator, yet I would not blink if given the chance to kill that filthy human. No offence Iulus,' he had added, glancing at the human who was pouring caf into a cup.

'What is it you will do then?' Rey asked, watching as Iulus brought the cup of caf for Barthius. The Anzat lifted it to his nose and smelled the strong drink with a smile.

'Vengeance, naturally. Destroy what we helped build and make sure the deaths that we toll are satisfying.' He sipped at the hot liquid and then placed it down on the table, still holding onto the cup.

Rey could feel the beginnings of sweat against her forehead and she was frightened. 'Just Snoke?' she questioned, her mouth dry.

Barthius looked at her with an amused smirk. 'What? Do you want us to make a deal with you? For Kylo?' he questioned.

She nodded slowly. 'He deserves to be punished for his crimes.'

'Is death not punishment enough?' Finna questioned.

Barthius swirled his cup of caf around on the table and he seemed ready to burst out laughing.

'That's not my decision to make,' she responded honestly, glancing at the Thyrsian. Rey couldn't look at the Anzat any longer. Not a single minute in his presence had passed without her thinking back to her illusion, to how close she had felt to being killed, to being violated. 'I'd rather the family he betrayed saw fit to judge him than for him to die by your hand. Without you, without Snoke, he may have been different.'

Barthius stopped laughing and after a few seconds of silence, he sat up and nodded his head, looking amused. 'Fine, deal. You can have your boyfriend to take in. Though I think you are far too sentimental. He liked killing, he likes the power in his hand.' The Anzat paused and Rey looked back at him. 'I think you should consider it yourself. Feeling the ebbing of life through your hands is incredibly erotic.'

'You disgust me.'

He smiled. 'Ah, perhaps you'll realise eventually. The Force is an interesting thing. It can let you feel so much, feel how it makes up the mind, body and spirit of each one of us and being able to control it…well you can snuff a light out like that.' He snapped his fingers. 'Kylo got curious, power is compulsive in itself, one only needs a little push. I'm sure if you ask, he'll show you exactly what I mean.'

Rey grit her teeth. 'We do not have such a connection.'

These people knew nothing of Ben, they did not understand who he was.

'Uh-huh.' Barthius downed the rest of his caf and then stood abruptly. 'I suppose we're dropping you off home now, aren't we?'

She looked at him again, her brow furrowed. 'That doesn't seem like a wise idea.'

'Fine, take a shuttle then. Though we'll need to communicate.'

Barthius walked off and started shuffling through drawers and cabinets until he found an archaic communication device. It seemed to be running off a small crystal and Rey was rather surprised to see this.

When she looked back at the Anzat he seemed to be aware of what she wanted to know, but unwilling to give an answer. Rey would rather break their relationship as soon as possible and not communicate with him any longer than necessary.

'And I recommend being prudent with this information. A swift death is their forte and not mine,' he gestured to his men and gave her one last smile.

Rey was then pulled from her chair by Iulus and pushed across the cockpit until she was at the entrance of a shuttle. He pushed her in and the air lock closed behind her. She was left in the two-person shuttle and Rey took pause, not knowing what to do other than sit in the pilots chair. Eventually she separated from the freighter and took off into the sky, leaving Saleucami's atmosphere.

She sat there, drifting in space for several minutes, unable to think. The communication device remained in her hand, her wrist still throbbing from what must have been a broken bone. This was a terrible mess and Rey saw no solution for what she had involved herself in.

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