As soon as they jumped to hyperspace Rey was out of her seat, going to check on Zorii. The woman was barely conscious, breathing laboured, probably broken ribs, maybe internal bleeding.
Ben stood behind her now, a concerned look on his face, "Do you think you can heal her?"
Rey placed a hand on Zorii's arm and closed her eyes, feeling for the injuries, there were almost too many to count. She opened her eyes and looked up to Ben and a very worried looking Poe, "I haven't force healed anyone since Ben brought me back on Exegol. I can try but I'm not as strong as I was…"
Poe nodded, "Just.. Do whatever you can." He knelt beside Zorii, placing a hand on her face, "Hey, hey, it's going to be okay," he soothed.
Zorii's eyes opened and settled, unfocused, on Poe.
"Okay," Rey took a deep breath, closing her eyes again to concentrate. She let the force flow through her and into Zorii, helping it weave damaged tissue back together, she concentrated on the most grievous injuries first. She stopped some internal bleeding and healed Zorii's lungs but when she went to knit the ribs back together Rey couldn't make the force do as she directed. She hit a wall. Ben offered her his strength but it still wasn't enough. With a frustrated sound Rey sat back, shaking her head, suddenly very dizzy and exhausted, "I'm sorry…" she slurred, "That's all I can do…"
Zorii took in a deep breath and the color seemed to return to her cheeks. She blinked a few times and then grimaced, gingerly holding her side, "Wh… How…?"
Rey could feel darkness creeping in at the edge of her vision, she was going to pass out. "I need to lay down." she said, trying to get up. A blackness descended upon her and distantly she heard a thud, then nothing.
"Do you think she is going to be okay?" It was Finn's voice.
"Well I am still here so I'm going with Yes." Ben said, slightly annoyed.
"She's been out for hours. I've never seen this happen to her before." Finn sounded closer this time, "When she healed that snake she was fine after."
"Finn, she died killing Palpatine. I gave her my living force to bring her back. Who knows what that did. She told you she hasn't been as strong in the force since Exegol." He sighed, "The loss of my physical form has also left a wound in the force inside both of us."
"So, you're saying that she won't ever get back to where she was?" She felt Finn's hand upon her forehead then.
"I don't know, but the Father told us that we would find some kind of answer at the end of that map he gave us."
Force did her head hurt. Slowly she managed to open her eyes, looking up at Finn and Ben, "Hey… Talking about someone when they're in the room is rude," she said hoarsely.
Both of their faces went from worried to jubilant in an instant, "Rey!" they both said, one with happiness, one with love.
She groaned and tried to sit up but was gently pushed back down onto the bunk by Finn, "Whoa, slow down, you hit your head pretty hard after you passed out."
"Where's Zorii?" she asked blearily, looking around the crew quarters.
"She's fine, Poe is with her, she wouldn't lay down, said she was more comfortable sitting up. I wrapped her ribs and she has some bruises but otherwise I think you healed the bad injuries." Finn said, "I think you saved her life."
"We all did," she said with a soft smile before looking at Ben, "It was like, like there was a wall, a line the force wouldn't cross for me…"
"I know, I felt it, I couldn't push past it either."
"Could you teach me to force heal?" Finn asked, a curious look upon his face.
Rey considered this, "Maybe, Luke writes that it's a rare skill, not all force users can do it. We can try though, when I'm feeling better."
Finn nodded, "Until then I'll just carry Bacta spray."
Rey laughed lightly, wincing at the pain in her head it elicited, "I feel like Bacta spray is probably more useful than me right now." Ben sat quietly, just watching her, a concerned look on his face, she tried to wipe it away with a smile but he just leaned forward and smoothed a ghostly hand over the blankets on top of her.
"Anyways," Finn said, heading for the door, "We should be getting close to our last stop. Poe says it looks like those codes did the trick and no one is following us, but just in case we're going to Endor instead of Ajan Kloss."
"Alright," Rey said, watching Finn leave.
"You scared me. Do you know how awful it felt to watch you fall and to not be able to catch you?" His expression said it all. It was agony for him.
"I had to do something Ben, you know I did." She tried to touch the hand he had resting on her stomach but her hand just passed through like it always did.
He sighed heavily, "I know. I know. You've never been one to watch someone suffer and do nothing."
She decided to change the subject,"When we were on the Finalizer you saw something, I felt it. It upset you. What was it?"
"Do you know anything about the Chiss?" he asked as he crawled onto the bed to lay next to her.
"Blue, glowing red eyes, not very nice?"
"That's them. They allied with the Empire after the fall of the New Republic. They're from the Unknown regions and when the empire fell they harbored the First Order there. Since we didn't have reliable maps of the area we were limited by how far into this region we could explore. We didn't know how they did it but the Chiss were able to navigate without nav computers, without maps, from one point to another. There were rumours they used force sensitives to plot a course."
Rey turned over to face Ben in the bed, a confused look upon her face, "They use the force to navigate?"
"Those were the rumours, yes. When we were on the Finalizer… I saw them. Children. Chiss Children. Force sensitive. Chained to their stations and sedated. That's how Parnadee found the same planet we did, that's how she is moving in the Unknown regions. That also means she has made a deal with the Chiss Ascendency."
She frowned, "So she is gathering allies and searching for weapons."
"Exactly, she is getting more dangerous by the minute; this truce between the Generals is going to turn into all out war soon. We're talking galactic war, no one will be safe. No one will be untouched. The window of opportunity to stop it is closing fast. I'm afraid we are out here chasing ghosts when we should be taking the First Order down while they're still weakened."
Rey closed her eyes while she considered what he said, should they abandon their quest? Return to the Resistance and somehow stop the First Order once and for all? Maybe. But maybe not. Deep down she knew that something in the force wanted her to see this mission to its end. To see what lies at the other end of that map…
"I'm no use to them like this Ben. I need to see this through and hope that when we come out the other side we still have time to stop what you're predicting."
He nodded thoughtfully, "I agree. Just can't help but think strategically. I put myself in Parnadee's place and if I was her…. When I was her… That is what I would have done. Somehow, we have to stop it. We have to. This is my mistake and I need to fix it."
She placed a hand on his ghostly cheek, "We will fix this. We will find a way. I know it."
He smiled then, "What would I do without you?"
"No, no, no, the right question is what will you do with me?"
"Oh I can think of a few things…"