Author's Note: Happy weekend everyone! I'm really trying to pound away at this thing, hoping I can finish in time, but can you believe there's only 12 more days until TROS?! I am hyped!
The panic in Ben's voice froze her blood in her veins and her feet to the ground. Her eyes grew even wider with shock after feeling his emotions crash into her down the bond.
After the miracle she'd witnessed with Kezzik healing Astralis, she'd experienced an equally haunting obstacle not a moment later. Something very dark was at work here. Whatever had almost happened to Ben, he had reached out to her, and together they had managed to pull free. He was alive. Still locked in that cell undoubtedly, but alive.
She had to get Kezzik to wake up, maybe he could help her get Ben out of that cell. They needed to figure out who had done this. The dragons, Ben, that Force she'd sensed. Something was terribly wrong.
She managed to pull herself out of her stupor, and ran to where Kezzik had fallen, kneeling and taking him by the shoulder.
"Kezzik."
Dawn light spilled around them now, illuminating the massive shapes of the fallen dragons in a soft purple glow. Kezzik's pale face was bathed in that pastel glow of early morning. But his features remained a mask. When he didn't respond, she shook him harder. "Kezzik!"
He groaned, mouth contorting into a pained grimace and turned away from her onto his side. "Force, woman. Leave me the kriff alone!"
She sighed, relieved that he was at least, well enough to talk.
Kezzik's eyes drooped again, only for a second before he opened them again with a start, as though suddenly realizing what had just transpired.
"Astralis?" He pushed himself up to sit, turning to look at the giant creature.
The dragon's eyes were still closed but a rhythmic hiss of breath escaped her nostrils, and her chest rose and fell now. Her iridescent scales glittered in the dawn as her ribcage expanded and contracted with life.
"She's alive," Rey answered. "Weak, but alive."
Kezzik pushed himself up onto his knees, able stay there for only a few seconds before all the color drained from his face and he fell onto all fours. He attempted to lower himself to sit, but before he could, Rey caught him at the elbow and dragged him to his feet.
"We need to go," she said. He wobbled, like a baby nerf finding its legs.
This was taking too long, but she needed him. He, at least had Samra's ear, could convince her that Ben was innocent which was just a step away from convincing Qi'ra.
She darted a glance down one of the darkened hallways, worried that at any moment she would discover the true meaning behind Ben's warning that maybe they were already too late.
But what if Kezzik wasn't fit to stand let alone run to Ben's rescue?
"Kezzik," she turned to him then, brows creased, "we need to go, are you alright?"
"All in a day's work, my liege." He dusted off the front of his tunic in a smug gesture.
Rey shot him a side eye, before glancing back at Astralis. "How did you know what to do?"
He shrugged. "I didn't."
She gave an exasperated huff in response and started to drag him to the hallway at the back of the temple's atrium. She wanted to question him further about the healing, it was amazing how the Force seemed to guide him to just the right places in the creature's body, and she needed to know how that was possible. Eventually. But right now, there was just no time.
Kezzik smiled to himself, allowing Rey to drag him a little ways before he spoke again. "To light a candle is to cast a shadow – the light and dark lives equally in each of us."
Rey cast him a look of utter shock.
"What?" He shrugged a shoulder. "Didn't think I was listening, huh?"
"You could say that," Rey admitted.
She turned to go again, still dragging the Knight's elbow, but he was beginning to resist, slowing their progress.
"Ren didn't do this," Kezzik said. "So if that's where we're going -"
"I know," she said, cutting him off. "But I think Ben might know where to find who did."
Kezzik turned back to Astralis, then curled a lip at Rey. "Is that your feeble attempt at asking me to help you?"
Rey shook her head and started walking. Did she really have time to explain all of this? She might not have a choice, she realized, as he pulled himself from her grasp, heading back toward Astralis before he stopped to send a comment in her direction.
"You really love him, huh?"
"That's none of your business," her voice was sharper than she intended, but emotion had a grip on her throat.
"You never asked how I knew Ren didn't kill the dragons," Kezzik said. "That means you knew it, too."
She did not have time for this. An evil bigger than anything they'd seen, bigger than Snoke, was nearby and if she didn't -
He turned his eyes from the dragon and leveled his gaze at her. "What's going on Rey?"
She stabbed a finger in the Knight's direction. "Look Kezzik, what you did back there was amazing, but cut the bantha scat. You know I care about Ben. You know everyone else thinks he did this, so… Are you going to help us or not?"
His smile melted away and he stepped closer until he was inches from her, standing defiantly before her. A good foot taller than she was, Rey was reminded of just how physically imposing he could be.
"You want me to leave Astralis here? After nearly killing myself to heal her?" He laughed sardonically. "I didn't do this for you," he said, stabbing his own finger in her direction. "I didn't do this for Ren. I did this for Samra. And if whoever did this comes back to finish the job, I intend to be here to protect her."
"They won't."
"How do you know?" His tone was still twisted with mocking disbelief.
"Don't you sense it?" She narrowed her eyes at him, daring to reach out to try to feel that dense, dark fog nearby. He sighed, closing his eyes, grudgingly reaching out through the Force. Nothing happened for a long moment, until finally his face tightened in concentration and she felt his presence in the Temple's energy expand, searching. When he opened his eyes again, a shadow of realization veiled his features and she knew he had seen it.
"Yes, that's it," she said. "That darkness. And whoever… whatever that is has found what they came for. If we don't hurry, we'll all be dead anyway."
Quinn flipped the switch, turning the subspace transceiver off with a relieved sigh, then spinning his chair to face Finn who stood behind him.
Finn's hardened expression had melted into something Quinn hardly saw from anyone anymore. Something so rare, it seemed a gift in this moment. A smile.
"You did it," Finn said.
"Well, not yet. We have to see if those who promised to fight will be enough to overpower those that did not wish to rebel."
Finn clapped a hand on Quinn's back. "Trust me. If those stormtroopers feel anything like I did about being forced to serve the First Order, they will turn on their officers. And there are many more of them than there are officers."
"It's definitely a start," Quinn allowed. "Were you able to get through to the Resistance?"
Finn gave a slow, measured nod. "I think my message was received. What's strange is that I haven't heard back. So either their communication encryption has been breached and General Organa doesn't want to risk contact, or she'd decided not to get involved with what is going on here."
Quinn tried hard to stamp down the feeling of unease he'd had since arriving here on Yavin IV. He should be content with what he'd been able to achieve. He'd freed the children from Snoke and delivered them to Master Ren, he'd managed to mobilize quite a rebellion within the StormTrooper ranks, and he'd befriended an important member of the Resistance in Finn. They were working together. Finally.
Then why did something feel so wrong?
Finn jerked his head toward the door, following the noise drifting down the hallway.
Quinn pushed himself to his feet. "What's going on?"
Finn strode to the entry, pushing the door release.
Dozens of feet pounded down the dim hallways of the temple in a dull state of panic. The sound built louder and louder until faces and flustered bodies joined the noise. Men and women were calling out orders and questions, strapping on flight suits, holstering blasters, and Quinn had no idea what was going on.
He found a familiar face in the crowd and called out to her. "Samra," he yelled, trying to project his voice over the disarray. "What's going on?"
Samra froze, looking like a nerf singled out of a herd by a predator. Her eyes were wide with fear. "First Order ships. They're here."
The words slammed into him, taking the wind from lungs before he could speak.
Finn stepped tentatively toward Samra, his face draining of any hint of that confident triumph from minutes ago, replaced by what Quinn felt settling into his own core - bone jarring terror. "But that's…" he sputtered, unable to finish.
"Impossible," Quinn agreed. "Yes, it is. The First Order fleet is hours away by lightspeed."
But the crowd appeared to be preparing for some kind of defense, with talk of fighters, manning an ion cannon, and mobilizing a squad. Beyond that, Quinn had no idea what kind of defenses the temple had available and doubted it had anything able to fight a fleet.
Samra turned hurriedly from giving a last order to a young Dresselian pilot. "Well," Samra replied, "Tell that to the fleet that just came out of hyperspace on the other side of the planet."
It didn't make sense. Something was wrong with this. He'd only just spoken to his informant. Had they lied to him?
"Where is your main command room?" Quinn asked, his voice more choked that he would have liked.
"Down the north corridor," she said. "Qi'ra's there. If you have anything that can help us…" Her plea was interrupted as Samra spotted someone over his head, barking another order.
"Let's go," Finn said, tugging him along at the crook of his arm.
And Quinn let himself be directed, trying in vain to drown out thoughts of betrayal. No. They wouldn't. Dallon, one of his contacts back at the fleet, was a friend. He'd known him since they'd both been forcefully "recruited" to the First Order years ago. He would never betray him. All of his contacts were friends.
But something wriggled in the pit of his stomach, twisting and curling at his insides as they raced through the hallways. Finally, the nauseating unease overcame him and he was forced to stop and be sick in a dark corner.
Sweat trickled into his eyes by the time he was finished retching. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his forehead and wiped the remnants of his last meal from his chin. "Come on," Finn said, his voice gentle as one would treat someone who was mentally unstable. "Let's figure out what's going on."
And Quinn hoped it wasn't what he thought it was.
Betrayal.
Ben attempted to find some calm amidst the raging storm of Force he was feeling. He could not face any threat in this state. He was unbalanced and emotionally drained. The last time he'd tried to fight like this, he'd been easily dispatched by Rey on Starkiller base.
He felt it worth his time to fall to a cross-legged position and meditate.
He trusted Rey would come to him and together they would face whatever it was that threatened to tear his world from him.
Ben thought back to some of the words from the Jedi texts about balance, wondering if they held the key to helping him reign in his anger. To help him find the power in both the light and the dark. He thought back to one particular piece of writing and used it to hone his emotions, to center himself to a place of power, or balance.
Flowing through all, there is balance
There is no peace without a passion to create
There is no passion without peace to guide
Knowledge fades without the strength to act
Power blinds without the serenity to see
There is freedom in life
There is purpose in death
The Force is all things and I am the Force
He was still in this position, the words fueling his meditation, when the lock to his cell door clicked open and Rey stepped in.
Her face was tense, but it softened when she met his gaze. She glowed with sweat and the flush of adrenaline, but her lip curled into a smile and she ran to him. She caught him in an embrace and he bent to kiss her on top of her head, holding her tight in his arms.
"I felt you falling," she whispered into his chest. "What was that?"
"I don't know," he said honestly, taking her by the shoulders and attempting to put to words everything he was feeling. "But I," he swallowed, feeling his confidence slowly seep out of him, he gathered his courage. "I cannot lose you. We have to fight this, together."
The tender look she gave him bolstered his confidence, and he was glad for it. He knew he needed to fight this darkness with everything he had.
Ben brought his hand up her back, raked fingers through her hair at the nape of her neck, and he felt her lean into his touch. He cradled her head against the palm of his hand before he leaned down and kissed her. Her lips parted for him, yielding to the touch of his and she sank further into him, melting against his body as though she was meant to fit there. The surging tide of warmth that flowed through him as his mouth moved against hers nearly left him limp, but he somehow kept them both upright. The kiss evolved from a soft timid expression into something so intense, he felt Rey cling tighter to him as though she would collapse without his support. And he gathered her even closer, his light, his warmth. His Rey.
Someone cleared their throat nearby.
He would have gladly ignored whoever it was, but Rey pulled back.
"We should go." The hoarseness in her voice gave him the satisfying knowledge that she, too, had very much enjoyed kissing him.
Ben followed Rey's glance.
Of course it was Kezzik and he couldn't help sending the man a murderous look for the interruption.
Kezzik had already started in with some smart ass observation of their interaction. "I'm sure this dark threat to the entire galaxy will wait for you and your boyfriend to finish your tongue battle, but I, on the other hand, was getting a little uncomfortable."
He only half-heard what Kezzik was saying, as Ben grabbed Rey's hand and they strode from the cell together.
"What is it?" Rey's voice trembled as she spoke the question to him. "Who could it be. Snoke?"
"I think Snoke may be involved, but there is something else. Something bigger."
For once, Kezzik didn't have a sarcastic response as he followed them down the winding corridors. "What could be bigger than Snoke?"
"I don't know," Ben replied honestly. "But we suspect that the dragons were here to guard something. Possibly soul snares. Rey and I had only just read about them, methods that Dark Force users could use to trap souls, the souls of Jedi long gone, to fuel their power."
Kezzik clasped his shoulder, turning him forcefully around to face him. "Don't tell me those kriffing soul snares are here? And you waited until just now to tell anyone?"
As Ben stared back into Kezzik's icy green glare, he saw, for the very first time, a hint of fear from his boldest, most intrepidly stupid knight.
"I sensed them just now," Ben said. "Pulling me in somehow."
If Kezzik was paler than usual before, he was now beginning to turn a shade of green that Ben wasn't sure was physically possible for a human. The Knight's eyes were glassy, far away, when he finally found two words to describe the gravity of the situation they'd found themselves in.
"Oh Kriff."