Author's Notes…
Fiftieth chapter! I decided to do something a little… fun. As a milestone. I hope you guys like it, hehe.
The Bond That Ties Us
Chapter Fifty
The Radar Technician
As Ben and Rey stepped into Leia's room, they were greeted by the sight of three individuals around her desk: Leia herself, Poe Dameron, and an unknown. Ben tensed, prepared to leave, but pieces of the conversation drifted their way.
"…Need to find Matt. He's the radar technician we have in the cells," Leia was saying. Her hands were planted on top of her desk. She hung her head.
"What's the big deal?" asked Unknown. "The troopers are all brainwashed, anyway. Half of them don't have a personality."
Poe and Leia laughed, the sound somewhat derisive.
"What?" asked Unknown.
Poe crossed his arms. "Matt…" He shook his head. "He straight-up sucks, it's awful, no one can get him to shut up. Kylo Ren this, Kylo Ren that. You should have seen him asking the General questions! 'What's Kylo Ren's favorite color?' 'Did you know how awesome he was going to be when he was a baby?' 'What was the first indicator, do you think, that he was on the dark side?'"
"All right, Dameron, enough. I've got a headache just thinking about it," Leia muttered. She looked up, and the others followed her gaze to where Ben and Rey stood in the doorway.
Run.
What, why?
Just do it.
Ben was halfway out the door when Leia's voice rang out, "Ben Solo, you come back here right now!"
Damn it.
Ben sighed and obeyed his mother. He didn't go anywhere near the desk, and his hands were clenched at his sides. Rey could feel his effort to stay cool, to not go over and snap Poe's head off his shoulders. He kept himself close to the doorway for a quick escape, whenever the opportunity presented itself.
"You're perfect," Leia said. "He'll tell you anything! Why didn't I think of this sooner?" Leia jerked her head at Unknown, and he left looking relieved. Ben and Rey parted briefly to allow him to pass between them.
I don't like where this is going.
"One of our prisoners was a radar technician for the First Order. He had a higher security clearance than the others. The problem is, we can't get him to talk."
"We did interrogate General Hux," Rey pointed out. "We have information from that to give you."
"General Hux's information is limited, even if he did have an informant within. He wouldn't have the security access that Matt does because he's been in prison for four years." Leia sighed. "The only issue is that Matt is… a great fan of my son's."
"To say the least," Poe muttered.
Ben narrowed his eyes at the ace pilot. "The First Order's campaign was highly successful. Our workers were completely dedicated to their work, and to those they served."
The two men glared at one another, at a standoff.
Leia cleared her throat. "Do you think you can do this for me, Ben? Talk to him? I'm sure he'd tell you anything you wanted to know. The Force wouldn't even be necessary."
Ben wouldn't break his staring contest with Poe, so Rey spoke up. "We can go. Just tell us the information you need?"
"Ben will know what to ask." Leia looked at her son and the commander. "Are you two finished, or…?"
Ben curled his lip. He exited the room, and Rey followed suit with a wave good-bye. Poe winked at her, and she knew he'd been having fun goading Ben. It was easy to goad Ben, sure, but that didn't mean he should have done it, so she rolled her eyes at him.
Men.
They knew the way to the prison. They'd been there only a handful of hours ago. It wasn't as if their clearance would have expired already. Rey wondered why Leia hadn't had them do this in the first place. Maybe she just hadn't thought about it, like she'd said, or maybe she had thought it'd been handled, under control. Maybe she hadn't wanted to thrust a big Kylo Ren supporter in Ben's direction. Maybe—
Are you done speculating yet?
If you had such a big supporter, why didn't he notice you when we were in the cells earlier?
Plenty of the prisoners were asleep. Perhaps he was one of them.
How do you feel about this? Do you feel comfortable?
I'll be fine.
They were down the lift and into the prison. Rey shivered as Ben asked one of the guards were Matt was. Even the guard groaned a little at the thought of having to deal with the technician. Rey's curiosity grew. He gestured, and as they came around the corner, he pressed the intercom.
"Prisoner. Stand up."
Ben and Rey looked bemusedly into the cell. A second later, a blond man with glasses was plastered against the glass of his cell.
"Supreme Leader Kylo Ren! It's you!" His voice was low and deep, almost dry despite his enthusiasm. "I dreamed about this day!"
He looks… like you… if you were wearing a wig…
We look nothing alike.
But—it was—a doppelganger! How did he not see this?
"I dreamed I was you, you know," Matt continued. "I had your lightsaber, and I was able to use the Force to throw one of my enemies into some sort of machine." He shrugged like it was nothing. "It was awesome. Can you teach me to do that for real? I think I can use the Force—I've tried, you know. Do you have an eight pack? I heard you had an eight pack. Can I see your lightsaber?"
Rey's mouth hung open a little.
"What would you say was your biggest achievement in the First Order? My favorite was when you took out five of those Resistance pilots with only two shots! Is your hair that natural color? Are you coming back to the First Order, to take over as Supreme Leader? Could I become your apprentice?"
Rey looked at Ben. His face was impassive, and so were his thoughts. He was trying to decide how to feel about this.
"Did you always know you were going to be on the dark side? Is that why Supreme Leader Snoke found you? What's it like to be a Knight of Ren? When you destroyed the Resistance fleet, how did it feel? Is this your girlfriend? She's beautiful." Matt took a breath long enough to face Rey. "What would you say—?"
Matt's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed on the ground.
Good decision.
Ben lowered his hand from where he'd waved it. Our propaganda campaigns were far more effective than I imagined.
Or he's just crazy. You really don't think you look alike? Because he is the spitting image of you!
We look nothing alike, he reiterated. I was going to just pull the information from him willingly, but it's not worth the headache. I put him asleep so I could do it that way.
Rey smirked. How sweet that you didn't want him awake during the process.
Ben huffed. There's no reason to hurt him. He's practically in love with me. He nodded to himself. Such diligence should be rewarded.
She laughed. You're kidding, right? He looked at her. Oh, you're not kidding. Well, I don't think you need me for this, so I'll be—
Right here, with me. Ben eyed the figure sprawled out on the floor of his cell. He scares me.
You have command of the Force—
I don't care. For all I know, he derives greater power from the Force being used on him.
That's ridiculous.
What if it was your biggest fan?
Point taken.
"We're back with the information!" Rey announced cheerfully.
"Oh, good," Leia replied. "That didn't take long."
"Ben knocked him out. We pilfered through his mind after that." Rey sat on the edge of Leia's bed, bouncing a little. Ben took up a post against the wall. "Isn't it strange how much Matt looks like Ben?"
The General tilted her head. "I… haven't thought of it. I suppose if you squinted… maybe…?"
What?!
How was Rey the only person who saw this?
"In any case." Leia pushed herself up from her chair, her tablet in her hands. "Thank you for getting the intel you did. It will really help us. Do you want to debrief me about Armitage Hux first?"
You want to do it?
No. Just going through that guy's mind was exhausting.
Rey bit back a grin. She turned on the bed, drawing one leg up on the edge, holding onto her knee. She was grateful Leia wasn't making them have some kind of big, official meeting. It would make it feel more like Ben and Rey were there to join them, and they weren't. This was just a pitstop… as nice as bonding with Leia had been.
Once Ben and Rey had told Leia all the information they'd been willing to impart with, they departed from her company. They needed to get back to their room and decide their next course of action.
Something of a plan was taking shape. They'd shared everything that had to do with the First Order except for the Knights of Ren. While they were taking care of them, the Resistance would be chipping away at the First Order, armed to the teeth with intel. It would be less for them to deal with once they were finished with the Knights.
I think we should handle Hendou Ren. He's closest.
I agree.
So how do we tell the Resistance… and your mother… that we're leaving?
I was thinking the truth. We tell her we're handling the greater threat. She won't interfere. No one is unhappy.
So is that your natural hair color?
I will not dignify that with an answer.
