CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
By the time they reached the fighter, and maneuvered it out of the cave and onto the beach beyond the blasted portion of the tree grove, Rey was exhausted. But she put on a brave face, refusing to allow Kylo Ren to see how drained she felt.
You think he really can't sense it? Her inner voice chided her. Of course he would know, tuned into her body as he was. But he didn't make any mention of it, or baby her, for which she was grateful.
Rey braced her arms and legs against the open hatch of the fighter, balancing there to keep an eye on the beach and the sky. Kylo Ren sat in the pilot's seat, testing the controls. Naturally, with the benefit of his longer strides, he'd reached the fighter first. Rey knew she could, at times, best him in a light saber battle, but she couldn't outrun him.
Secretly, she was glad that he would be the one to fly the fighter. Although she trusted her own talents as a pilot, she was afraid her exhaustion might blunt her finer skills.
"Seems to be in good order," Kylo Ren said.
Rey glanced over at him. "I have been firing it up from time to time."
He gave her an approving look. "Of course. I'd expect no less. Now, all we need is to calculate the best trajectory…"
His words were drowned out by the roar of another set of engines. A larger ship, breaking through the scattering of clouds dotting the clear sky. Coming in for a landing.
"It's Poe!" Rey shouted, leaping out of the fighter.
When the ship coasted to a stop, Rey was already halfway across the beach, Kylo Ren on her heels.
Rey! He yelled in her mind. Don't be foolish. We need to get out of here before he sees…
"Victory!" Poe called out, as he stepped out of the open hatch and spied Rey and Kylo Ren. "We routed the bastards. Destroyed one of the ships and sent the other one jumping back to wherever. Get it next time," he added, with a wink.
He sauntered down the gangplank but stopped short halfway. His mouth fell open as he stared at the blasted section of the beach. Shading his eyes, he looked from Rey and Kylo Ren to the ribbon of glass and the gaping emptiness where a grove of trees had stood. "What the…?" His brown eyes widened. "What'd you bring with you, Solo? Some new weapon?"
The excitement in his voice over this discovery made the hairs on Rey's arms stand on end. He thinks it's something he can confiscate for the Alliance.
It's what she would've thought, not very long ago.
"Not exactly." Kylo Ren laid one hand over the hilt of his light saber.
"But the soldiers—how did you obliterate them so completely? And all those trees? Or did they have some weapon that backfired on them?"
We must tell him, Ben. We can trust him.
No, don't you see his eyes? He wants the weapon that can do that, Rey. Wants it more than glory. He cannot know.
He must. If only, she tempered her unspoken words with a gentler tone, so he can tell your mother why. Rey lifted her chin and met Kylo Ren's fierce gaze. Why we can't return.
She felt resignation wash away his defiance. Very well. But then we must leave. Disappear. Understand?
Rey simply nodded before turning back to face Poe as he descended the gangplank.
"They did have a weapon," Rey said quietly. "A cannon of some sort. We had taken down several of the soldiers, but they were going to fire that cannon at us and we…We took it out."
"With what?" Poe looked them both up and down, his questioning expression fading into confusion. "What could do a thing like that?"
"We can," said Rey, laying her fingers on Poe's arm. "Listen to me, Poe. Ben and I—we combined our powers in the Force to save ourselves. In that moment, fighting to survive, we simply allowed those powers to meld and create the energy that could…"
"Do that?" Incredulity lifted Poe's voice to another register. "Just the two of you? Nothing else?"
"We drew upon the Force," Kylo Ren said. "But yes. It was the power of the dark and the light, working as one. Channeled through us, and our light sabers. We did not realize," he added, sliding his arm around Rey's waist, "quite how powerful that would prove to be."
As Poe's gaze fixed upon Rey's face she read a conflicting sea of emotions in his eyes—amazement, admiration, pride, desire, and one more.
One she did not expect, despite a previous warning.
Fear.
Rey refused to look away, but she leaned in closer to Kylo Ren. "Poe, we must ask a favor. You must allow us to leave. Without handing us over to the Alliance. Without telling them what we have done here."
"I"—Poe wiped the sweat beading on his forehead with one hand "I can't do that."
"You must. We now know that we have to disappear for a while. Learn what all this means, and how to control our combined powers, before we can share any of this with anyone. Neither the Alliance nor the First Order can be allowed to capture us, Poe. It's too dangerous."
"But, Rey, this power, in the hands of the Alliance…" He shot a sharp look at Kylo Ren. "He could be brought to heel, for your sake. I'm not Force-sensitive, but even I can tell that."
"Don't be a fool," Kylo Ren snapped, the old fury rising in his expression. "Yes, I would do anything if it meant protecting Rey. Perhaps you could even force me to work for your rebel cause, using her as leverage. But she would not. Not to save herself, or me. I know this, and"—he looked down at Rey with an expression she'd never seen on his face before—"I am fine with that."
"So I'm supposed to let you fly off to someplace without alerting my superiors?"
"You admit you have some?" Kylo Ren asked, with a lift of his dark eyebrows. "But yes, although…" He glanced back a Rey. "You may tell my…You many tell General Organa. But only face-to-face. And alone."
Poe stared back at the blasted section of the island, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "It goes against my better judgement, but for Rey's sake, I'll do it. But you can't take that fighter."
"Of course we can," Rey said. "There's a larger ship waiting to rendezvous with Ben…"
"You mean with Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order. Which I doubt he is, anymore. At least, I doubt he will be, despite his power in the Force, once word gets back to Hux and the rest of the fleet." Poe looked them both over, shaking his head. "You really think a First Order ship will allow you to dock now? They'll blast you into space rubble before they do that."
"I know," Kylo Ren said. "But there's a possibility that I can pilot the fighter to another location where we can secure a larger ship…"
"Yeah, hell of a improbability is more like it. I know this stretch of space. Not much around, and certainly nowhere you'd find such a transport. I'm not risking Rey's life over your vanity, Solo." He held up one hand to silence Kylo Ren's retort. "Now look, I have an idea. Yeah, I have those from time to time, so don't give me any of that superior attitude." He pointed back over his shoulder. "I have a ship. The Eclipse, she's called. Large enough to have hyper drive."
"But, Poe, we can't take your ship," Rey said.
"You damn well better. " Poe shot her a cocky grin. "Best idea I've had in ages, so listen up—you take my ship, and BB-8. He's got the comm codes, so if anyone in the Alliance questions your presence, which they shouldn't seeing as how they should accept the Eclipse as one of their own, but anyway if they do BB-8 will have you covered. Then once you're in position, you can jump to wherever the hell you want. I assume you can figure something out about that. A proper hiding place, I mean," he added, with a glance at Kylo Ren.
"I think I can manage."
"Right, so it's settled then. I'll just use that fighter of yours to rendezvous with one of the other Alliance ships. If I get any questions, I'm sure I can come up with a good story."
"I'm sure you can," Rey said, breaking away from Kylo Ren's hold and dashing up to Poe. "Thank you, dear friend." She kissed his cheek before stepping back. "That's a very great sacrifice. Especially giving up BB-8. You know we may not be able to return him. Not anytime soon, anyway."
Poe shrugged. "There are other droids. And you might need him. Not just on the ship, but also, if you ever felt inclined to use that special upgrade of his. You know, the one where you can receive messages directly from the General." He cast Kylo Ren a significant look over Rey's shoulder. "You can send them too, you know."
"Interesting," was all Kylo Ren had to say in response, but Rey sensed the tumult this statement stirred in his emotions.
"All right, well I guess this is goodbye." Standing directly in front of Kylo Ren, Poe leaned in and kissed Rey, quite thoroughly, on the mouth. "Don't forget me."
"I won't," she replied, her smile broadening as she sensed Kylo Ren fuming. "And you be sure to tell Finn that I won't forget him either. Or any of my friends in the Alliance. We'll meet again, one of these days. I swear."
"I know we will." Poe turned and walked a few paces off before turning back. "I was going to say, May the Force Be With You, but I guess it already is. So I'll just say—see you soon." He waved and turned away again, trudging across the beach, toward the fighter.
"Not that soon," Kylo Ren said under his breath. "Force willing."
Rey bit back her grin. "We must go. Poe said we should leave first."
"Right. Well, let's see what this thing can do." Kylo Ren jogged up the gangplank, pausing to press his hand against the logo of a sun half-dimmed by another, darker, orb etched into the ship's hull. "The Eclipse, huh?"
Rey joined him, linking her arm with his. "Dark and light, melded together. I think that's a good sign."
"Probably only a coincidence," Kylo Ren said, but he still gave her a warm smile before they stepped inside the ship.