The overnight flight to Takodano is uneventful but it stresses Rey out all the same. Rose is acting very passive aggressive about what she saw with Finn. Rose is clearly hurt and disappointed. Maybe a little angry too. But Rey doesn't know if that emotion is directed at her, at Finn, or at both of them. Befuddled by it all, Rey doesn't know what to do. It makes her anxious. Rose and Finn are the people she feels closest to. They are all Rey has left and she doesn't want to screw that up. But what to do?
She is new to this friendship thing. Rey has no experience having an argument or a misunderstanding or whatever this is called with a friend. Rey doesn't know how to handle it. All the arguments she had on Jakku were with strangers, enemies, or rival scavengers. And that was nothing like this. She's not about to resolve this conflict by beating Rose with a stick. And her arguments with Kylo? Well, she and Kylo are in a class by themselves, Rey decides. Neither friend nor foe, neither enemy nor ally. But whatever they are to each other, it's not like she's going to look to Kylo for an example for how to manage relationships.
Rey feels like she owes Rose an explanation but Rose isn't making it easy on her. Rose is all business until they jump to hyperspace. Then, she abruptly leaps up from the co-pilot seat and announces that she's going to sleep in one of the back bunks. Goodnight, she tells Rey in a clipped tone that means 'don't come bother me' in no uncertain terms. And that leaves Rey to stew for hours alone with her thoughts.
Why did Finn kiss her? What was he thinking doing that? Rey hadn't seen the kiss coming at all. And, well, it's not like she has a lot of experience with kisses. But somehow, she always knows when Kylo is about to kiss her. She can even think of a few times when she wanted Kylo to kiss her, but he didn't. She has never wanted Finn to kiss her. The thought has never crossed her mind. Rey has never thought of Finn as anything other than a friend . . . until now.
Has she been making a giant mistake? Has she been so preoccupied with Kylo that she missed the gem of a guy who's right before her eyes? Rey had told Rose that she and Finn were just friends. But should they be more?
Finn is a great guy. Loyal, trustworthy, with a big heart and an easy, infectious smile. He is smart and brave and committed to his cause. He's plenty handsome too. But most importantly, she and Finn understand one another. Finn is effectively an orphan, like herself. And while his First Order upbringing was less harsh than hers, it was far from normal. If each in their own way is sort of damaged, the other knows why. For they know each other's ugly past. Finn has been to Jakku. She has tangled with the First Order. The only thing she and Finn don't share is the Force. But who cares about that? Lately, Rey is starting to wish she didn't have the Force.
Maybe she should consider Finn in this new light, Rey thinks. After all, not every guy can be as frustratingly beguiling as Kylo Ren. It might be sort of unfair to hold a normal guy up against him. Kylo had kissed her again on the landing pad of his castle before she left. She knew he was going to do that. To be honest, she would have been disappointed if he hadn't at least tried. Kylo is the aggressive guy who thinks he can take whatever he wants, so she sort of expects that kind of thing from him. Rey had ignored it for a moment, enjoyed it for a moment, and then resolutely pushed him away. Enough of that. Any more of that and Rey would end up in bed with him again. But she'd be lying if she said she didn't obsess over that kiss the whole way back to base. Kylo is far more of a temptation to her than Rey feels she can let on. Because she doesn't trust Kylo about anything, least of all with her heart.
But Finn? Finn she would trust with her life. Finn is the kind of guy who holds your hand as you escape because he's not leaving without you. Finn asks if you're okay even though he's the one picking himself off the ground. He gives you his jacket on Starkiller Base because he knows you're from the desert and you're cold. He wakes up from a horrendous injury and the first thing he does is ask about you. That's Finn. He's the good guy. The dependable guy. The kind of guy you settle down with because you can see yourself building a life and a future together with him. Finn is the furthest thing from Kylo Ren.
Kylo is the kind of guy who manipulates you and controls you. He says he wants you for an equal but you know it's a self-serving lie. In the end, Kylo will betray you. Like he betrayed his fellow Jedi students at the temple. Like he betrayed his father with a lightsaber through his heart. Like he betrayed his Dark Master on his throne. Kylo is only ever in it for himself. And when he gets angry, you're lucky if you get off with just an argument that ends in exile. Count yourself blessed that he didn't give you a Force choke instead. Because that's the kind of dangerously toxic guy Kylo Ren is.
The problem is that Rey can know all of this but still be attracted to him. For the head can lecture the heart, but the heart doesn't always listen. Kylo says they are destiny, but Rey fears it is just plain old lust. It's a pair of bedroom eyes combined with wild, sexy hair and a face that mirrors his every emotion. It's a physique of a demigod combined with an innate air of command and a childlike neediness. And when he begged her to stay on the Finalizer and then again on Mustafar, something deep within her thrilled to hear it. For Rey is the castoff, unwanted child scorned by even the lowly on Jakku. And she is lonely, oh so lonely in her soul. He knows it, too.
Finn . . . she should be thinking about Finn, Rey reminds herself. But as she droops in the pilot seat and drifts off to sleep, as usual it is to thoughts of Kylo. She's fantasizing about a redo of their night together, only this time she likes it better. Kylo treats her right, she can't get enough, and in the cuddly afterglow she agrees to rule the galaxy together. And, yeah sure. He can teach her the Force. The next morning, they wake up and live happily ever after as the Skywalker Emperor and his Jakku junk peddler Empress.
Hours later, the reversion alarm wakes Rey. A few minutes afterwards, Rose wanders in yawning. It's mid-afternoon local time when the shuttle touches down on Takodano. When they arrive, Maz's half re-built cantina is pretty full but Rey spots a table in the far back. Maz promptly appears to glare suspiciously at Rey and to identify their contact. Then, thankfully, Maz disappears right afterwards. Rey is relieved to have avoided another tense conversation with her.
"You stay here," Rose takes the lead like she prefers. Rey lets Rose do the talking even though a scavenger girl who traded scrap in a barter economy would probably cut a better deal for the Resistance. But Rey takes pride in these meetings. She seems to think that shady arms deals are her thing. And given Rey has already accidentally stepped on Rose's turf by kissing Finn, Rey is not about to raise any objections to her negotiating. "Okay, I'm here if you need me," Rey reassures her friend. Then, she sits back to people watch and sip on her drink.
Not a minute later, Rey looks up as a shadow crosses her table. A muscle-bound hulk of a man hovers over her. He has short cropped reddish blonde hair and a belligerent looking square jaw. Like every other man in Maz's cantina, he has a rough, dangerous look about him. But this man is far more dangerous than the rest, Rey knows. For he has the Force.
"Remember me?" he asks.
"Yeah. I do." Rey looks over his nondescript attire, thinking it a stupid ruse. For this knight is very distinctive. From his physique to the unusual tattoo that runs in a line of Aurebesh characters from one ear to the base of his neck, this man is not easy to forget. "You're out of uniform," Rey observes dryly. She refuses to be intimidated. She's seen plenty of tough guys back home. She instantly reverts to her Jakku posturing mode. "Remind me again. Which one are you?"
"The second," the man says as he slides uninvited into the chair opposite her. "Name's Nestor."
"Did he send you?"
"Yes. He's worried about you. He doesn't trust that ex-stormtrooper leader of yours." Nestor lets that thought sink in a moment before he speaks again. "He also wanted me to give you this." The knight slides a credit card across the table. Rey flips it over to see the amount and does a double take. She could live on that for a year in the Rim. "It's just to have," Nestor instructs. "Just in case. Don't contribute it to the cause, alright? That's for you as a backup plan in case you get in trouble and you can't make it to him."
Rey glances down at the amount again and raises an eyebrow. "That's quite a lot."
"Apparently, you're worth it to him." Nestor flashes her a good-natured smile that Rey doesn't return.
"He's the Emperor. He's got credits to spare," she points out. But Rey's no fool. She pockets the card.
Satisfied, the knight settles back in his seat and gives Rey his own appraising look. Nestor Ren's demeanor isn't hostile, it's more curious and direct. Rey's the hostile one. She's in a bad mood from the issue with Rose and Finn, and she is not enthused to unexpectedly encounter one of Kylo's knights.
"So you found the map to Luke, eh? You're lucky you're alive," Nestor tells her and his mouth twists in a grimace.
"Yeah, well, Kylo tried to kill me on Starkiller Base," Rey gripes. "That's why he's got that scar across his face," she brags a little just to remind this guy who he's dealing with.
Nestor Ren is not impressed. "He didn't try to kill you. If he had, you'd be dead." The knight continues his slow perusal. His eyes linger on the blaster strapped to the outside of her leg. "Got Luke's sword on you somewhere?" he asks casually, like this is normal small talk between strangers in a dive bar.
"Maybe," Rey is vague in her response. Then, she flashes a tight smile. "It's my sword now."
That provokes a grunt and another smile from the knight. "I can see why he likes you," Nestor observes and Rey doesn't know what to make of that comment. Mostly, she feels condescended to. If this guy next tells her she's cute, she might just pull her sword.
But Nestor Ren doesn't go that far. "He told me he offered to train you. That you were the one to light your sword first. He said you were the aggressor each time you met."
That characterization irritates Rey. "He was hunting me. That sort of makes him the aggressor, does it not?"
Nestor shrugs. "Ben was trying to keep you from Luke."
Obviously. "I had the map and he knew it. He was afraid I would find Luke and Luke would come back to the Resistance."
"No, that's not it. Not entirely, that is." Nestor Ren leans forward across the table now to underscore his words. "Ben was trying to keep you from Luke. He was hunting you to save you."
"Save me?" Rey echoes. She's not following his meaning.
The knight curls his lip. "Master Skywalker was never going to show his face at the Resistance or the Republic again. Not after what happened that night. Did Kylo tell you what happened that night?" the knight demands.
Ah, they're back to this. Back to Luke's temptation to kill his nephew in his sleep. Rey has to admit that wasn't Skywalker's best move. And the galaxy has paid for his misstep ever since. Rey sighs and looks away. "Luke told me that he made a mistake."
"That's putting it mildly," Nestor hisses.
His sudden vehemence gets Rey's attention. "Luke said he regretted the temptation to kill his nephew the instant Ben woke up. He was ashamed of that. Very ashamed of that," Rey reports. "He saw how Dark Ben had become and it scared him . . . "
Nestor Ren's face is indignant and righteous. "Yeah? How did Luke explain the others he killed first?"
"What?" She blinks.
"Yeah," the knight judges as he studies her confused expression. "I figured no one told you when you made that crack about Ben being the Jedi Killer. I knew you didn't know the truth. Luke sure wasn't going to tell you. And Ben never talks about it."
"What truth?"
"Ben wasn't Luke's first victim that night. But Ben was the only one who woke up. The Force intervened to save him. I guess we all know why now. We all should have seen that Ben is the Chosen One even back then."
"What are you saying?" Rey demands.
Nestor Ren's features grow hard and his voice is gruff as he tells the tale. "Luke started in the women's dorm that night. There were seven of them ranging from teenagers to grown women. He killed them all quietly in their sleep. Then he came next door for us. His mistake was in starting with Ben. The Force is with that guy. Ben woke up in time and put up a fight."
"Luke was the one to kill everyone that night?" Rey is incredulous. Has she understood right?
"They went at big time and it woke us up. Two Skywalkers in a duel is something to see, especially when they're both Dark as Sith at the time. Ben was trying to hold Luke off so we could get to safety, but Luke was powerful. He froze the rest of us in the Force while he fought it out with Ben. If Ben died, we were going to die too."
"What happened?" Rey is a bit shocked at this reveal. She doesn't know what to believe now.
"It was a close thing. Ben was desperate and losing. He reached deep for Darkness and it came through for him. He destroyed the entire temple complex with a single Force shockwave." Nestor Ren looks away, clearly reliving the crucial moment in memories. "I had never seen power like that before. It was unbelievable. Especially since it came from Ben."
Rey wrinkles her face with the unspoken question and Nestor Ren explains, "Ben was a terrible Padawan with a bad attitude. Back then, he hated the Force. He could barely move rocks and he mostly slept through morning saber practice. His uncle was hard on him and it pushed him away. His whole family was hard on him. They never understood Ben." Nestor sighs. "Few people do."
"Then what happened?" Rey thinks she knows the rest.
"We ran from the rubble and fled to Snoke. We feared Luke would come after us. We needed a protector. Especially Ben." Nestor meets her eyes. "You have to understand that Ben and the rest of us were taught to fear Darkness above all else. So when screw-up Ben Solo turned out to have impressive Sith moves, no one knew what to make of it. Least of all him. He had no idea of the pent-up Darkness he had unleashed."
Rey cocks her head, she's skeptical of what she's heard. She fears she's being manipulated by this guy as Kylo's apologist. "How do I know what you're saying is true? And why would Luke do such a thing?" The hero Luke Skywalker famously threw down his sword rather than fight his own father on the Death Star. "Luke wasn't a murderer!" she objects.
"He was that night. He kept saying that it was time for the Jedi to end. I think he intended it to be some murder-suicide thing."
That information gives Rey pause. "He told me it was time for the Jedi to end when he refused to train me."
Sir Nestor nods and shoots her a knowing look. "You got lucky. You lived. The other girls didn't."
"Luke wasn't capable of murder." Was he? She barely knew the guy. Rey mostly knew him by reputation, and that turned out to be very misleading. But still . . . "Luke wasn't capable of murder," she maintains.
"Not on a good day," the knight agrees. "But when he would get in one of those Dark moods he refused to acknowledge, Luke was capable of anything. We all knew when he was struggling with Darkness. He would start acting erratically. Talking to people long dead in the Force. Mostly, he was arguing with his dead father and Master Kenobi. It was like all that repressed Darkness would surge every now and then to make itself known. That was when Luke would retreat for a few days to meditate on his own."
"Oh."
"We all knew he was trying to control it. He would reappear after a few days and act like nothing had happened. But we all knew. No one said anything. We knew Luke was ashamed. We believed his teaching, so we were ashamed for him too."
"Oh." Rey is starting to understand where the origins of Kylo's ideas about balance had come from.
"Luke lectured over and over again about the risk of Darkness. How fear led to anger, anger led to hate, and hate led to suffering. How once you start down the Dark path forever it will dominate your destiny. He had a lot of fear about the Dark Side. In hindsight, I think that fear just made the problem worse. That guy was very, very powerful. But he was a Skywalker, descended from the Force and born with equal capacity for Dark and for Light."
"Luke was the Chosen One," Rey whispers aloud.
"Supposedly, yes. But he blew it." Nestor curls his lip. "To think that Lord Vader gave his life for that guy. Luke Skywalker was a mess."
"Yeah, that sounds like the man I met." And this story better explains why Luke cut himself off from the Force, Rey thinks. "He was so defeated. Not at all who I expected."
Nestor meets her eyes and holds them steadily. "The Darkness in himself was the greatest opponent Luke Skywalker ever faced. Not the Empire. Not Darth Vader. Not Darth Sidious. Not Snoke. And here's the thing-Darkness was the enemy Luke couldn't kill without killing himself. In the end, I'm sort of surprised he didn't commit suicide earlier. That guy was miserable because he was so repressed. Snoke would say that Luke was unbalanced, that he was unstable from self-hatred. From guilt."
"Wait-why does the whole galaxy think Kylo did the killing at the temple?" Rey asks. Even Han Solo blamed what happened at the temple on his son.
Nestor shrugs. "We left. None of us ever spoke to anyone about it other than Snoke. There was only one other survivor that night to tell the tale."
"You're saying Luke lied?"
"Is there another explanation? Snoke said we should just let the lie stand because Luke knew what he had done. And it was a convenient way to increase the fear factor for the newly minted Kylo Ren. Ben used the lie to his advantage."
"His own family believed it." Rey is aghast at this.
"I'm not surprised. They always believed the worst of Ben. His mother and his uncle were terrified of him. They treated him like a bad seed who was ready to self-destruct at any moment. The irony is that sanctimonious old Luke was the one to do that."
"And Han Solo?" she asks.
"Ben's dad was never around. I don't think he had been in Ben's life for years before his mother dumped him at the temple and washed her hands of him. Han Solo was some space racer back then. He was busy with his own stuff, I guess."
"I was there when Ben killed his father," Rey reveals softly. "Han Solo wasn't a bad guy."
"He was a bad father," Nestor answers back. "Everyone in Ben's family failed him. They lied to him, they neglected him, they ignored him, they discounted him. No one gave him the least bit of encouragement until Snoke."
Nestor Ren evidently has thought about this a lot, Rey sees. For he keeps unloading information. "You know, on the Force stuff, I could give Luke a pass. He believed the lies told to him and he passed them on. But on Darth Vader? Well, that was just a mean lie that was bound to come out. Did you know that Ben learned about Vader over the holonet? He couldn't even talk to Luke about it because Master Skywalker was in one of his moods. When Ben finally did talk to him, Luke had some elaborate construct of Vader being two different people. He was Vader in the Dark and Anakin Skywalker in the Light. Luke claimed that no one had lied because Darth Vader wasn't really Ben's grandfather because he had been Anakin Skywalker at the time. It was a load of crap. But it fit Luke's narrative about people being either all Light or all Dark."
"Oh." Again, Rey sees the origins of Kylo's ideas about the Force. And she sees why balance is so important to him. No doubt Kylo fears over time becoming some version of Luke Skywalker himself.
"As far as I know, Ben's mother felt the same way. I don't know. I never met her. Not coincidentally, it was very politically advantageous for her. It's a little awkward for a Senator of the New Republic to be Darth Vader's secret daughter all those years."
"What did Ben do when he learned the news?" Rey wants to know.
"He did what Ben usually did when things got bad—he ran away. He was quiet and angry back then like he is now. Nerdy too. He always had his nose in his datapad reading something. Mostly, he liked history. He was crazy for the Clone Wars back then. He complained over and over again that he wanted to go to a regular school and then to a university to study. That kid hated being a Jedi."
Rey says nothing. This is a lot to digest.
"Look, I know you met all the players involved-Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Luke. None of them were going to tell you this. To do so, they would have to admit to their own mistakes. And I'm not sure they would see it this same way anyhow. But I'm telling you now so you know the truth." Nestor levels with her now. "The point is that Ben never wanted any of this. Very few people know that. The power hungry, Jedi Killer Kylo Ren is a lie the whole galaxy believes."
"So he's the accidental Emperor?" Is that what Nestor Ren is telling her?
"Something like that . . . yeah. Look, you already know that Luke Skywalker wasn't the hero you wanted him to be. You should know that Kylo Ren isn't the villain many people believe he is. It's . . . complicated."
Yes, she sees. Very complicated. Very unexpected too.
"So five of you survived Luke?" Rey asks. She wants to know more now.
The knight nods. "There are three of us left. Oren challenged Ben and lost in a duel to the death. Tully tried to betray us to the Republic. Snoke fried him with Force lightning while we all watched."
Rey makes a face at this. "That sounds like him."
"Snoke made an example out of Tully," Nestor states flatly. "The Leader had only one rule for us knights—loyalty. We were to be loyal to the Leader and to Kylo above all else. If you breached that loyalty, it was kill or be killed. Otherwise, Snoke was far more relaxed than Luke. Snoke was very live and let live about most things, actually. He was a lot more lenient with us than with Ben as the Apprentice."
"And the rest of the knights?" Rey asks. "Who are they?"
"They are Force sensitives who the First Order identified from among their ranks."
Rey is still trying to wrap her head around what she has heard. "So you went from following Luke to following Snoke just like that?" That seems a radical shift to her.
"Pretty much," Nestor admits. "We didn't have much of a choice so we took the risk. We thought Snoke was some Sith no one knew existed. None of us had ever met him before we showed up seeking sanctuary. Snoke was very cagey about his past other than denying being a Jedi or a Sith. Kylo says it turns out he was both at one time or another." Nestor shrugs. He doesn't seem to care. But maybe that's because Snoke is dead.
"Did Kylo tell you he killed Snoke?"
Nestor takes this in stride too. "We were all expecting that at some point. That's how it works on the Dark Side. You learn all you can and then you kill the guy who taught you. Those are the rules. Ben's a Skywalker. We knew one way or another he would end up on top. Snoke seemed to know it, too. He had to know what he was taking on when Ben showed up to be the Apprentice."
Rey frowns at the former Padawan sitting across from her. "So you're okay with what the First Order does? You're okay with stuff like Starkiller Base? Like no quarter at Crait?"
Nestor nods. "It's a war. People die. Look, the Old Republic Jedi fought for their side back then. Now, we fight for our side. But unlike the Jedi, we don't lead military troops. Snoke didn't like the idea of Force-users in the military. He faulted the Jedi Order for mixing too much church and state."
"Oh." Er . . . what? That seems incongruous with the Supreme Leader being some ancient Jedi himself. But Rey doesn't pursue the point. "It just seems like you switched sides awfully fast . . . "
"It was fast. But it was the right thing to do." Nestor must see her confusion because he leans forward to intone gravely, "Look not on our sins but on our faith in the Force. Honor our intentions, Rey, for they are noble even if our ways are sometimes harsh. Like Emperor Ren, we do what must be done."
She nods like she understands, but she doesn't. Not really.
"We seek to do the will of the Force. As Force-users, the knights are all agents of change, and we act as instruments of the Force. The Force is not good. It's not evil either. It is awesome and it's reach and meaning are beyond our full comprehension. Mysterious are its ways."
Rey feels lost in these words and it shows.
"In time and with training, you will understand," Nestor Ren says gently. "The Force is more than lightsabers and tricks." Now, he reaches into a pocket and produces a small disc. "Here. Take it."
Rey picks it up. It looks like a small transmitter of some kind. "What is this?" she asks suspiciously.
"It's a tracker. It's undetectable on a com scan. No one will know you have it. Keep it on you at all times."
"So you can find me and the Resistance?" Rey plunks the disc back down on the tabletop and balks.
Nestor levels with her. "We don't need to find the Resistance. We know where they are."
"Then you know where I am," Rey retorts.
The knight gives Rey a patient but annoyed look he might give a troublesome little sister. "Just wear it and don't make a fuss. Give Ben one less thing to worry about these days, alright? He wants to know where you are so he can extract you if necessary."
Rey raises an eyebrow and challenges, "You mean before he attacks the Resistance?"
"Maybe. A tracker was the only way Ben got off Starkiller Base. He wears one, the knights all wear one, and you're going to wear one too. Quit pushing away people who want to help you," the knight instructs pointedly. "Ben has been very lenient with you. Snoke would not have done the same. Now," he switches gears, "You got anything for him? Anything I can pass along? Progress to report?"
"No." Not really, Rey thinks.
The knight is displeased. "You need to make headway. He's not a patient guy," Nestor Ren warns. "As it stands, Ben has you and your friends organizing a revolution from the outside and a skeptical military harassing him from within. To be in the middle is to be hit from both sides. He won't sustain this position for long unless you start to show results."
"I'm working on it," Rey shoots him a quelling look. She's not a fan of this preachy knight.
Nestor gets up to leave. "Which one of the little bartenders is Maz Kanata?" he asks as he scans the room.
"The woman with the glasses in the jumpsuit," Rey answers. "The one who keeps glancing over here suspiciously." Rey's eyes narrow. "Why do you ask?"
"I have business with her. May the Force be with you," Nestor nods curtly to Rey before he departs.
"What was that all about?" Rose asks as she walks up. "You were having quite a conversation with that guy," she frowns as her eyes follow huge Nestor Ren tromp across the crowded bar to intercept Maz.
"He's another friend of Maz," Rey lies. "I was chatting him up some. He might be a lead for us."
Rose looks intrigued. "Should we go talk to Maz about him?"
"Nah, let's get out of here. I feel a little like we're being watched," Rey makes up an excuse that's probably true. "Did your contact pan out?"
"He insisted on a down payment. I talked him down as much as I could. I hope he's good for those grenade launchers he's selling us, or we're out quite a bit. We'll know in two days' time at the rendezvous point. Did you pay your tab?" Rose asks.
"Yeah. We're good to go."
"Okay."
Rey and Rose walk out of the cantina to the large grassy clearing that serves as a landing pad. Rey set the shuttle down in the far back by the woods away from the rest of the ships. It's not convenient for a mad dash out of the bar, but it is the best placement overall for an emergency takeoff. As they head that direction, Rey tries again to clear the air with Rose. She doesn't want for there to be conflict among them on the flight home.
"So, when we get back, how about we grab dinner together with Finn for a quick debriefing?" It's an awkward suggestion but it's the best Rey can do if Rose won't speak to her alone.
It's the wrong thing to say. Rose shoots her down. "No, thanks. You two can go alone."
So much for playing it smooth, Rey thinks. Social skills have never been her thing. She's far too direct for true social grace. And so, frustrated Rey digs in and just comes out with it now. "Are we going to talk about Finn and the kiss? Look, I know you like him."
Rose plays dumb. "Of course, we all like Finn. He's a natural leader."
"No, that's not it."
Rose doesn't answer, she just looks away. They're coming up on the ship now, so Rey uses her remote to activate the shuttle ramp. After it deploys, Rose starts marching very determinedly into the ship. She's back to being all business as she ignores Rey's efforts engage on Finn. "You get us into hyperspace, okay?" she calls to Rey over her shoulder. "I'll be in the back. I've got some stuff to catch up on with my datapad. I'll send the others the details of today's transaction."
Rey sighs and hesitates a moment at the bottom of the ramp. It's going to be a long flight home with chilly Rose, she thinks to herself. The whole situation with Finn now kind of annoys Rey. She's feeling unfairly blamed. So she too marches into the shuttle, calling out to Rose, "Look, I'm sorry that you're upset, Rose. But this is not my fault." Is Rose listening finally? She's stopped at the top of the ramp facing inside. That encourages Rey to keep talking as she walks up. "I had no idea that Finn was going to do that, okay? I did not lead him on."
As Rey approaches Rose standing at the top of the ramp, something looks off. Is Rose waiting for something? She's not. She's frozen in the Force. Eyes wide and mouth open in a silent scream. Her hand is stopped reaching halfway for the blaster at her hip. Rey knows what Force paralysis feels like. How terrifying and uncomfortable it is. She also knows who uses that trick.
Sure enough, standing a little off to the right just inside the ship is the uniformed but unmasked Kylo Ren.
"Hello, Rey," he smirks. "Did you miss me? I missed you."