Apparently someone had thought ahead and stocked both Rey's and Ben's closets with clothes. Rey threw on her soft grey outfit, the same one she'd worn when she went to find Luke. Ben managed to find a blue sweater and black pants that sort of fit, it was all tight but wearable.
Just as Rey reached the door Ben stopped her with a hand on her arm, "Hey…"
She turned to look up at him. His hand slid down her arm to lace his fingers with hers, "I love you," he said simply.
She smiled up at him and squeezed his hand, "I know."
Ben dipped his head down to give her a quick kiss. He wasn't sure what was in store for them when they left the comfort of their room but he wanted her to know he'd be okay and he wasn't going anywhere.
Rey kissed him back, gave his hand another squeeze, and then led them out towards the main hangar. Whispers and eyes followed them as they went but Rey held her head high and Ben's hand tight. She found Finn and Poe standing with Lando around the main holomap in the center of the hangar. They all looked up at them and their entourage as they entered, Poe averted his gaze, cheeks still red, Finn stared daggers at Ben. In other words everything was fine.
Lando motioned for them to follow him and he took them back to the room where they'd first found him. Closing the door before Ben's guards could come in after them.
He motioned for them all to take a seat at the table, "It seems Maz has come through."
"She found the Cypher?" Rey asked.
"Found and obtained it," Lando said leaning on the back of a chair, "This means we need to move fast, before they realise what we have."
Poe cleared his throat, "I've already contacted our allies near the mid rim, they're all covertly preparing for a coordinated jump on Bracca on our signal."
Finn spoke, careful to keep his gaze from meeting Rey's, "We can't gather in one place, they'll know something is up. So Poe figured we just have everyone jump to Bracca as soon as the shield is down, hopefully catch them by surprise, and take out their transmission towers and that planetary shield before they even know what hit them."
Ben nodded, it made tactical sense, "What do you want us to do?" referring to himself and Rey.
He could tell Finn was holding himself back from saying something from the way he worked his jaw. Lando slid a datapad over towards Rey, "Maz sent us the schematics for that experimental facility of Parnadee's on Bracca. We think that is where the force users are coming from. I want to know what she's up to. This isn't the only facility, I'm sure of it. I need to know if there are people to rescue there or if we should just bombard these places from orbit. If she is holding innocent children there I can't just destroy it, we have to try to save them. It's what Leia would do."
He sighed heavily, "I'd wait until after we take Bracca but I am pretty certain they have countermeasures in place. If we take Bracca they will destroy everything before we can get to it and kill everyone involved. So while we send teams to destroy the planetary shield and transmission facilities from the planet's surface you two will infiltrate the facility. Until the shield comes down and we send the fleet in you will have no back up. We have no idea what you're going to run into. Maz's people never managed to make entrance."
"So we will have a very short window to infiltrate a top secret facility, find out what they're doing there, and possibly liberate hundreds with no guarantee of extraction." Ben said, leaning forward.
Lando grimaced but then nodded, "Essentially, yes. I believe our chances are good. This is our best move. If we can take Bracca the whole mid-rim could follow from there."
"You know Parnadee isn't just ruling the midrim? She's settled in the Unknown Regions as well, she is working with the Chiss. Even if we manage to take the mid-rim she will be able to fall back, lick her wounds, and take another run at us at a later date." Ben was working out the logistics in his head.
"I know," Lando said, "That's why we need to find out what she's up to with the force sensitives. We all know how one of you can be enough to turn a war. If she has hundreds… We need to know what we are up against…"
Ben and Rey exchanged a glance and Ben said, "We used that facility for training purposes, if they were turned to the darkside they lived and were trained as praetorian guards or specialized stormtroopers. If they didn't we killed them. At least that is what I was led to believe. I get the feeling that more was going on than that. I was so focused on Rey and Palpatine I didn't pay enough attention to it… I left the details to Parnadee and her people. I created this mess, it's only right that I fix it." he looked up at Lando, "When do we leave?"
"0600 tomorrow. You and Rey will pilot a cargo ship using codes from the cypher. Our other teams will infiltrate in a similar way. I need this done quietly. If they raise the alarm before we get that shield down everything will be lost and you will have no way off the planet." Lando leaned forward to look at each of them, "Can you all handle this?"
Everyone nodded and Lando gestured that Rey and Ben could leave, turning to talk details with Finn and Poe about their separate missions.
Rey held the datapad to her chest as they walked back to their quarters, Ben's hand on the small of her back. She could feel the eyes on them, it made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. They'd always watched her, been curious, whispered about her behind her back, but this was different. It felt more ominous, like the intent behind those stares had turned darker.
Ben felt the shift in her mood as they walked and he rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe her. He could feel the tension radiating off of her right up until they entered her room. She released a sigh and her shoulders sank. He turned her so that she could pull her into his arms, hugging her tightly to his chest, kissing the top of her head.
"See, that wasn't so bad," he whispered into her hair.
"I beg to differ... Finn wouldn't even look at me."
Ben cupped her face in his hands and tilted her head up so she was looking at him, "Finn will get over it. He loves you like family Rey. He might not like what you and I have but I think, eventually, he will accept it."
Rey sighed and pursed her lips, she knew Ben was right but it didn't make her present situation feel any easier.
"Look, we will get there when we get there. Until then we have each other, yeah?" he ran his thumbs soothingly over her cheeks.
"Let's eat something and go over those schematics. Maybe we can come up with a plan that might work before the morning…?" Ben gave her a soft kiss before releasing her and moving over to the kitchenette to make them something to eat.
Rey watched him, feeling a deep happiness at the fact that she could do just that. Just watch him as he did mundane things. She sent a silent thank you to the Father for helping them find their way here. It felt like it had been a long time since Exegol but in fact it had only been around two months. So much had changed. There was still so much to do. At least now she was no longer alone. Now she had someone who understood her, all of her, and loved her anyways.
Ben turned a soft smile at her over his shoulder and her stomach did a little flip. Maker was she a lucky woman.
She went to hug him from behind, burying her face between his shoulder blades and giving him a squeeze. He chuckled and leaned back against her, "What's this for?"
Her voice was muffled by his shirt, "For being you. For being here. For everything."
A happy rumble filtered through his chest into her and they stood like that for a while as Ben finished preparing them something to eat.