Their first clue that something was wrong at Lando's office was the complete lack of security, they didn't encounter a soul in their dash there. The second was the sense of foreboding in the force as the drew closer. It was enough for both of them to ignite their sabers and approach the office with more care.
Ben used the force to push the office doors open, prepared to fight anything that may react, but nothing happened. Rey shot him a questioning look before they both proceeded, side by side, sabers at the ready.
The office was dark, lit only by the night sky and street lights down below. Lando's chair was turned away from them and, from what they could see, no one else could be in the room unless they were in that chair.
"We know it's you…" Ben said menacingly, "Where's Lando?"
Voe spun the chair around, pouting, "You're no fun Solo. I had a dramatic speech prepared and everything for you."
Rey didn't hesitate, she used the force to try and grab Voe by the throat. Voe pushed back, of course, but it was enough for Ben to jump up on the desk and bring his blade right up under her chin. They had her pinned, if she released her push on the force, Rey would strangle her, if she moved Ben would part her head from her shoulders. Yet she smirked, "Kill me and you'll never find your precious Chancellor…"
Neither Rey or Ben budged, keeping up the pressure.
"Or, we kill you and just follow the trail your clumsy men left behind for us." Ben said, inching his blade slightly closer, causing her to flinch.
"We left no trail." Voe said through clenched teeth.
"Tell that to the three dead men in our apartment.." Rey said, pushing a little harder, causing a sweat to break out across Voe's forehead.
Voe laughed darkly, "You haven't figured it out yet, have you? How we control them? No matter who you capture, none of them will reveal their secrets, even to you…"
Ben clenched his teeth, "Tell us what you've done and I'll let you live. My patience is wearing thin..."
Voe leaned back, exposing more of her neck to his blade, "Do it then Ben… Do it. Give in. Kill me and fall again."
His eyes darkened for a moment as he considered it, "Killing you will not cause me to fall if killing you means I can bring peace to the galaxy."
"Then just do it," she said, a smug look upon her face, "Why the hesitation if you're so sure?"
They were so focused on Voe that neither of them had noticed when a few small dark shadows made their way into the room, surrounding them, until one of the shadows ignited a saber.
Rey had just enough time to turn and parry a strike that would have cut her in two before another assailant fell upon her. It was like Bracca all over again, children came at her from every angle.
Ben moved without a thought when he realized the danger, his blade snicked down and to the side and Voe fell with a scream. Not a killing blow but enough to weaken her, opening her shoulder in much the same way as Rey's had been on Bracca, leaving her right arm useless. He dropped down and pushed with the force, throwing everyone except Rey against the walls of the room.
He took Rey's hand and hauled her up onto the desk with him, giving them the high ground, they stood back to back, prepared for the next onslaught.
The large window behind Voe shattered and at the same time Jannah entered the office followed by guards, blasters blazing.
The children quickly dove behind the desk, gathered up the injured Voe, and then jumped out the shattered window.
Ben and Rey ran to the window, looking down. No one could have survived a fall from that height but it was like they'd vanished into thin air.
"Where'd they go?" Jannah asked, not believing her eyes.
Ben squinted down into the darkness, pointing, "There."
Sure enough what looked like a small ship now rocketed up into the sky and before their security forces could follow it went to hyperspace from within the atmosphere, causing more than a few gasps from the guards around them.
Ben let out a frustrated sound, slamming his fist on the windowsill, leaving a dent. Rey disengaged her saber and put a soothing hand on Ben's shoulder.
"Who was that?" Jannah demanded.
"Voe. She was one of the Jedi students I studied with under Luke. She works with Parnadee now… and they have Lando." Ben said it all as he turned from the window, resisting the urge to slash the desk before him to pieces. He turned off his blue cross hilt saber and clipped it to his belt before pushing his hands through his hair.
"General Parnadee just kidnapped the Chancellor of the Galactic Alliance… This is an act of war." Jannah said, voice low.
Rey rubbed Ben's back, she could feel that he was close to losing his temper. Slowly his anger receded and sense returned, "We need to call a meeting of the senators, we need the leaders of the militia. It is going to take our whole fleet to get him back…" Ben said quietly.
"How do you know he is even still alive?" Jannah asked despondently, "When I was a trooper they would have just killed him."
"Because they want something we have," Rey answered, "If he is dead they have nothing to bargain with…"
"Also because I can still sense him, Uncle Lando is still alive…" Ben said placing a reassuring hand on Jannah's shoulder, "Rey and I will find a way to bring him back but we are going to need one hell of a distraction if he is in the middle of Parnadee's fleet."
While Jannah busied herself with contacting the senators as well as Finn and Poe, Rey and Ben got changed into their usual clothes and made their way to the research facility holding the children they'd saved from Bracca.
The lead scientist on the team beamed at them as they entered, "Ahhh, Mistress Rey, Master Solo, good of you to visit." he was completely unaware the Chancellor had been kidnapped, and they decided to keep it that way, for now.
"Any progress Doctor?" Ben asked.
"Actually, I've found… Something. It could be nothing but…" The Doctor waved for them to follow him. He led them to a holomap, he had it set up to display Kamino.
"I remembered an old report I once read about cloning and how it was done on Kamino. Now, we know these children are not clones but…" the doctor changed the image to what looked like a small computer chip, "I found this yesterday buried deep in the brain of the… Deceased… Child you brought here…"
"And?" Rey asked, not seeing the importance.
The Doctor brought up another image of a similar looking chip, "This is a holonet direct link cybernetic chip, many billions of people in this galaxy have one. Most don't get one implanted until adulthood. I noticed that all of these children had one on scans but didn't think anything of it until I looked closer at the one I found yesterday. If you look here," he pointed to a spot near the center, "The chip has a secondary receiver…."
Ben and Rey exchanged a glance, "Okay…" Ben said, "But what does that mean?"
"I think.. I think that these chips aren't actually holonet direct links… I think they're used for something else. On Kamino they inserted chips like this for direct link training of clones. It has been theorized that these chips may have played a part in the abrupt change in behaviour that was observed in clone troopers near the end of the Clone Wars. It is a very controversial belief and was widely disregarded but…. I believe it could be the answer." The Doctor could see that they were still confused and sighed, "I think that these chips are being used by someone to control their thoughts, their actions. A secondary signal beamed on the right frequency could, theoretically, work."
"So you think someone could be controlling them remotely using these chips?" Ben asked, suddenly very interested.
"Yes… Though I have yet to run tests on my hypothesis." The Doctor walked over to one of the Bacta tanks, "Unfortunately we can't remove these chips without the risk of causing severe brain damage in the process…"
"Is there any way to block the signal?" Rey wondered out loud.
The Doctor raised his brows, "Well, yes, there should be. An EMP would temporarily disable it, or you could destroy the transmitter sending the signal in the first place and stop it all together. Though I don't truly know how this technology works it shouldn't exist, it's abhorrent. Whatever I do learn should be destroyed once we've saved these poor children."
"Agreed," Ben said, "Will you bring your research with you and brief the senate about what you've learned? A situation has arisen that will require immediate response and a defense against these children is welcome."
The Doctor nodded, "Of course, when and where do you need me?"
Upon their return to the senate building they found a starkly different atmosphere, the debutantes and non-essential staff had all been sent home, all that remained was security, military, and the senators themselves.
Jannah met them as they re-entered the building, briefing them, "The Senate is ready to convene at 1200 hours. However we still have no leads on where my Father was taken, or even where we should strike first."
"They will contact us, I guarantee it." Rey said as the three of them strode down the hall towards the offices.
"It will be a trap." Ben said, "But our researchers have found something that should give us an advantage."
"Good." Jannah said, "I'll make sure everyone is briefed under the strictest of secrecy, all communications in and out of this building are being monitored."
"You should try and get some rest," Rey said softly to Jannah, but the woman shook her head, a determined look upon her face.
"I can't rest, not when they have my Father. I just found him Rey… I can't lose him again." Jannah's voice shook and Rey placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I understand," Rey said, looking over at Ben, "More than you know."
Jannah nodded and forced a smile before turning to head back towards Lando's quarters.
Ben and Rey were left with the question of where they should await the meeting. They chose the Jaaku Senatorial office, since their apartment was full of dead bodies at the moment. It was modest but comfortable, a few couches, chairs, a small kitchenette and a large desk. The office overlooked another building, the view nowhere near as grand as Lando's office. It would do.
Ben flopped onto one of the couches with a heavy sigh. Rey stood over him, looking down. He reached up to her, opening his arms, his face was complicated, mixed emotions fought for control.
Rey laid down next to him on the couch, letting him wrap his arms around her, squeezing her tightly to his chest. She rested her head on his arm and tangled her legs with his.
"How long do you think we will have to wait for them to send demands?" Rey asked into Ben's shirt.
He shrugged, burying his face in her still curly hair, taking in a deep breath of her scent before answering, "Hard to say.. Could be hours.. Could be days.."
Rey shuddered at the thought, "I can't wait days…"
"Neither can I. If we must I will take a ship and go to the Unknown Regions myself to find him." Ben's words were hard, laced with the steel of certainty, "I will not let him suffer longer than he has to."
His words gave her some comfort but she still felt helpless, without knowing where they'd taken him they were lost. The Unknown Regions were vast and the two of them could not hope to scour them in a hundred lifetimes let alone one. She felt Ben kiss the top of her head, running his hand over her hair.
"Why didn't you kill her?" Rey's voice was barely above a whisper.
Ben leaned back so he could look down at her, "You know why."
She shook her head, "You said it yourself, it was the right thing to do."
He sucked in a breath and pursed his lips, turning his gaze behind her, "Rey.. Something I did contributed to her becoming what she is today. She blames me for something. I would never forgive myself if I didn't at least give her the chance you gave me…"
Rey lifted a hand to caress his cheek, trailing over the spot she'd once sliced open, "You're a good man Ben Solo."
He looked back down to her and smiled softly, "thanks to you."
"No, no, I just gave you love, you made these choices on your own. You saved yourself, I just gave you a little push." her fingers moved down to his lips.
He kissed the tips of her fingers before pressing his forehead to hers, "Will I ever be free of my sins?"
"No," Rey said softly, "But you can be forgiven. Forgiven but it will never be forgotten, and that is okay."
"How did you find it in yourself to forgive me?" he asked shakily.
"I knew why you did the things you did. I didn't agree but I understood. I saw myself in you. When I thought I'd killed you on Kef Bir… Suddenly nothing you'd done mattered. I just wanted to save you. So I did…" Rey's fingers moved down to his neck, "It scared me to know that I could easily have made the same choices you did, but I knew that if I had, you'd have forgiven me. So I let it all go..."
He leaned down to catch her lips in a gentle kiss, lingering long enough for that spark between them to ignite once more, "How long until the meeting?"
She nudged his nose with her own, "A few hours…"
"Plenty of time," he whispered hoarsely before pulling her tight against him once more and placing a fiery kiss upon her lips.