When Stars Collide
Chapter 32: Batuu
The meeting room is small, dingy, and poorly lit with crates stacked on either side and a small table in the middle. Even though the door is closed behind them, the sound of the ventilation system floods the room. Between the loud chatter from the bar patrons outside and the noise of the air circulation system, they have enough privacy. No matter how loudly they talk, its doubtful they will be heard by anyone.
There are also two chairs beside the small table, but the Knight opts to stand. Their imposing figure covered in the dark black and chrome clothing of their station.
Hux takes the seat opposite the Knight. No longer a Knight of Ren, Vaylen's Knight now, he thinks.
"Vaylen couldn't come himself?" He asks with a sneer, trying to maintain the façade of confidence he used to have, before—before the stakes were higher. Before Rey. He hopes the Knight can't read him well or won't see the telltale muscle in his jaw clench.
"He wanted to be sure you could be trusted," the Knight replies, voice clipped through their modulator. "It's all precautions."
"Indeed."
The Knight rounds the table, coming to stand directly in front of Hux. Extending one gloved hand in Hux's direction, the other settles on the vicious-looking black and red lightsaber strapped to their hip.
Instantly, Hux's head begins to prickle in pain, the beginning of a migraine.
"I know what you're trying to do," he replies angrily, teeth grinding painfully against one another. "It won't work."
A slight cock of the head and the Knight leans over him, lifting his chin with a gloved hand.
"You'd do best to comply, General," the Knight says. "Vaylen wants to be certain that you mean to aid us in our endeavor."
"He can take my word," Hux spits with vitriol.
The Knight takes one step back and then crosses their arms over their chest. The silence eats away at Hux, he wants to rise from his seat, but he doesn't want the Knight to use that to determine anything about to him.
So he waits.
"Did you at least bring the Ysalamir eggs?"
"Straight to business then." Even with the modulator, Hux catches some sort of accent. But he can't place it.
"Always."
"They're here," the Knight concedes, lifting a durasteel crate onto the table and pressing an access code onto the pin pad that secures the latching on the container. As soon as the box opens, Hux can feel a charge in the air. Or rather, a silence of sorts. Like he's breathing inside a bubble underwater.
The eggs are small, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. He eyes the Knight as he reaches forward slowly and takes one of the eggs out of the padded compartment.
"Do you have any idea what these can do?" He asks, looking at the Knight with a smirk.
The Knight pauses, one hand fingering the clasp of their saber again. A nervous tick, Hux decides.
"I don't need the Force to cut you in half, General."
"Now, that is a threat." Hux grimaces. "I thought Vaylen just wanted to be certain I was here to help. It's true what I told him before. The Resistance will aide us in overthrowing the Supreme Leader."
"What then?"
"After Kylo Ren is dead?" Hux muses. A welcome thought, it would undoubtedly be a safer galaxy without the dolt, though he doubts Rey would see it the same way. "Whatever Vaylen wants."
Rey's first instinct upon seeing Ben is to pull out her saber and charge him with all the anger and fury and pent up emotion she's been holding onto for the last few weeks. But thankfully, she has enough self-control not to fall victim to her baser urges. At least not this time. She's older now, and she knows that charging him and fighting wouldn't solve anything right this moment.
Instead of attacking, she bolts, turning on her heel and dashing away from him and back into the crowd as fast as she can.
Kriff the Force. Kriff Ben. Kriff, all of them.
"Rey!" He calls, the tone demanding as he stalks after her.
She doesn't listen. She runs.
And Kylo Ren advances on her like she's the prey again. Like they've performed this dance so many times before. She runs, and he follows. At least this time, she knows better than to attack first. At least she's learned that one lesson.
Brushing past shops and shopkeepers, she barely notices that the crowd around her has begun to fall back, to disperse and run into their shops or back to their ships. Spotting the stormtroopers and the dark menace that leads them, the natives of Batuu are hardly in any hurry to be shot or dismembered by some dark wizard with a laser sword.
As she rounds one shop, she slides into an alleyway, hoping it will lead her back out into the open. But it doesn't, it's a dead-end, and Kylo Ren is closing in behind her.
"Rey," comes Ben's deep voice from the modulator inside his helmet. "I just want to talk to you."
She has no choice now, backed into a corner, and she turns slowly. She's avoided this for the better part of a year, and she has no desire now to end his life. Even after all he's done.
He's Leia's son. Han's son. Luke's nephew. They love him. Loved him. Leia loves him still. She couldn't forgive herself if she killed Ben. Still, the urges are there. The desire to lift up her saber, ignite it and bring him down. Perhaps that is just the darkness inside her that is always there, that always tries to pull her down, but she is stronger than that. Stronger than the dark.
Taking a step back, she eyes Ben, and the company of stormtroopers that stand behind him, armed and ready to fire at her. Though she has her lightsaber, she's doubtful that she could take them all on and Ben and still walk away without injury.
"What?" She finally asks. "What do you want?"
"I went to G'lennfrey," he says darkly, though he sounds tired. "And you were gone. And I saw your—saw where you stayed."
Every word he says is tinged with a raw ache of overwhelming hurt that makes Rey feel weak and makes her heart beat rapidly in her chest.
"I—I've called in bounty hunters," he continues. "I've put his name everywhere, alive or dead. But if you come with me, I'll call them off. If you leave with me now, I'll let him go. I promise."
Dread winds its way through Rey's heart and into her stomach, icy numbness flowing over her. Is that why Hux hasn't called her? Had Ben—had someone caught Hux? She presses her mouth into a hard line.
"Is that all?"
"Is that all—what?"
"You'll stop pursuing Hux if I go with you?" She asks. "That's all you're prepared to do?"
"What else would you ask of me?"
"What about—pardoning the Resistance, what about saving my friends? What about all the other things you wouldn't do for me before?"
He cocks his head, trying to make sense of what she's saying.
"Do you think—"
"Are you really going to wear that stupid helmet for our entire conversation?" She demands.
She wants to rip it off his face, to smash it into pieces with her saber. It symbolizes everything Ben has always been trying to hide, his face, his past, his family. Where he comes from. It's pieced together now, broken, like the man who wears it. Perhaps like the helmet, he also will be shattered and remade. But for now, he isn't Ben, with the mask, he's Kylo Ren.
He freezes for a moment. Then his hands go up to the release on either side, and with a hiss, the mouthpiece opens, and he removes the helmet.
Perhaps this was a bad idea. Looking at Ben Solo now, hair matted with sweat to his forehead, a sad face with dark circles under each eyelid and his soft pink lips, Rey has almost forgotten why she was upset with him. He looks so worn and tired. Pity and hurt intermingle as Rey tries to push down her feelings.
She cares about him. Still. Even after all he's done. She can't help it. A Force bond is a sacred thing. Not to be taken lightly. And she's been inside his mind. She knows that understanding someone is so very close to loving them. Even if it isn't the type of love he wants.
The stormtroopers behind Kylo fidget uneasily, and Rey's gaze softens. He looks so exhausted, so—heartbroken, and still so incredibly lonely. But she has to remember, he did this to himself.
"Better?" He asks tightly, his dark eyes meeting hers with an intensity that makes her doubt herself.
"Much better," she concedes.
He works his bottom lip before he speaks again, "Do you think I wouldn't have offered you all those things before if you'd simply asked? But you didn't want me. You just wanted me to end the war."
Hux rises from his seat, still gripping the Ysalamir egg in his hand. He wants to leave with them, that's his goal. But he also needs to press the Knight a bit more, find out more about Vaylen's plans, and hopefully, leave with Vaylen's promise of support.
"And what does Vaylen want?"
Vaylen's Knight, Hux considers, is thinner than he'd realized. Though at first glance, they wear an impressive amount of armor and a cloak, all black, and grey, giving the appearance of largeness when, in reality, the Knight is only barely eye level with Hux and very small boned.
The Knight hesitates for a moment, perhaps not so tough without the Force after all? Then the Knight takes a small step back.
"I don't speak for Vaylen."
That causes Hux to frown again, "you don't speak for Vaylen? Then why exactly are you here?"
"I'm following his orders."
"So, you're as much a pawn as I am," Hux gives the Knight a grin. "At least I can speak for myself and the Resistance. And the Jedi, Rey. I have their support, in addition to the ships and officers I've already obtained. I'm well equipped to take the Supreme Leader on, though it would be much simpler if Vaylen would only agree to continue our partnership. I'd hate for him to have to deal with any disloyalty on board his own ship."
He must sow a few seeds of doubt, it's the only chance he has.
At that, the Knight laughs a bright and ringing laugh even through the modulator that makes Hux blink. He hadn't assumed any gender for the Knight, but now—somehow that laugh—makes him think the Knight might be a female.
"You speak of loyalties, but you have no idea who is loyal to Vaylen, or what he's capable of," the Knight replies. And now, Hux can't shake the idea that the Knight is female. Of what species, he doesn't know, humanoid obviously, but something about this new information feels like a missing puzzle piece. An answer to a question he hasn't yet asked.
"Do you trust Vaylen?" He asks suddenly.
"I'd trust him with my life," the Knight replies. "He is a loyal man. Faithful to his commitments."
Hux smiles sharply; there it is. There's the bit he's been trying to work out.
"And you believe he will keep his word? He won't suddenly, turn his back on his commitments or cheat the system?" He gives the Knight a grin and a raised brow.
The Knight wavers, hand still resting on the lightsaber, "I would never doubt him. He'd never—"
"Then I have nothing to fear, and neither do you," Hux replies with a smirk. "I will take these Ysalamir eggs with me, and I will go to the Resistance. I will meet with Vaylen and discuss the terms of our partnership, and we will work together to build a new galaxy."
"One—"
"What?"
"You are permitted to take one egg," the Knight says. "Vaylen would like for the others to return with me. When you meet with him to discuss terms, if he finds them satisfactory, he will give you the rest of the eggs."
Hux had anticipated as much. But one egg was better than none, provided there was a separate incubator available.
"Agreed," he replies quickly. "Did Vaylen provide a transport incubator for the egg."
The Knight studies him for a moment and then says dryly, "He assumed you would bring one."
Hux curses and sets the egg back in the incubator. He won't chance it, they're too valuable for him to make a mistake. Of course, Vaylen had been one step ahead of him.
With that, the Knight seals the crate again, and the feeling of being underwater dissipated. Hux can't help but feel relieved at that, and it seems neither can the Knight. They stand facing him, one hand still resting on the lightsaber.
"Vaylen will send coordinates to you. You're to bring the Jedi," the Knight spits the word out like it's a curse. "He's very interested to meet her."
"I have no doubt," Hux says with a smile. "He always did like pretty girls."
A thunderous crackle erupts through the silence of the room as the Knight's head snaps up, and they ignite their lightsaber in one swift motion.
But Hux isn't afraid.
"You're lying," Rey says, her voice barely a whisper. "You said to let them die, let the past die. Even if — even if I wanted more, you weren't willing to give it."
Ben swallows, taking a step towards her. His eyes gleam a bit as he leans forward and says, "I would have given you anything you asked if you'd joined me."
Rey glares up at him, why does he have to be so kriffing tall?
"So, you wouldn't have let my friends go unless I joined you?" She says, frowning at him.
He hesitates, eyes searching her face.
"If we were together, I would've done anything you asked."
Her fury erupts then, "If you really cared about me, then you wouldn't have asked me to join you! You can't make a relationship conditional. You can't demand that I choose you only on your terms!"
He cocks his head, "And why not? You've made it clear that you have your own set of terms. I didn't comply, and you left me. Left me for dead." Something in his voice trembles as he speaks to her, the sorrow, the hurt. The complete and utter betrayal. It's all about to come tumbling out. He felt betrayed, and so did she.
"But that's— that's different," she stutters. "Those are my friends. Wanting to kill them all and starting a new order, that's wrong. That' s—."
Ben sighs, "I didn't say I'd kill them. I didn't—don't want them dead. I just—for once. For once in my life, I wanted to be the most important thing to someone and for the last time. I wasn't."
Blinking slowly, he rests his face in his hands. "I thought if I knew that you chose me, over everything and everyone else. Then I could find the strength to—to be the person I needed to be. Wanted to be."
Rey softens, the embers of her anger dying out. "Ben," she says kindly. "You are the most important thing—."
"Not to you."
"That's not fair," she replies. "You—you do mean something to me. But you are the most important thing to your mother. She misses you, Ben. She wants you back."
Ben laughs dryly. "She sent me away, and now she wants me back? I know you know what it's like. To live your life without anyone ever caring about you. Feeling so alone all the time."
"I know Ben," She sighs. "I know how you felt, how you feel. But you did, you truly had people that cared for you. And just because they didn't care for you in the way you wanted, that doesn't mean that they didn't care at all."
The hot, crackling red blade is pointed to Hux's collarbone, singing the lapels of his uniform without even touching them.
"You will not speak about Vaylen that way," the Knight commands. "You don't know him."
Hux smirks, eyes narrowing. He doesn't move.
"I know enough."
The tip of the blade glides up to his throat and pauses.
"You know nothing," the Knight says.
"I've seen quite a bit. I have spies everywhere," Hux continues. "I know what Vaylen gets up to in the dark corners of The Harbinger. And with whom. I've known for a long time."
"Then tell me," the Knight orders, "why I shouldn't just run you through now? Won't you just go off and report to the Supreme Leader what you know and put an end to this coup?"
"Because," Hux replies evenly. "As I've told you. I'm here to help. Imagine a world where it doesn't have to be a secret? Where you don't have to hide it? That is what we can accomplish, that is what we can make a reality. By ending Kylo Ren, by joining forces with the Resistance, you can have what you've always wanted."
Ben shakes his head, "It's so different. Having parents and knowing they don't have time for you. There were times I wished they were gone, that I didn't know them. They were always so busy, so important. I knew they cared, knew they loved me. But they didn't understand me. And, after a time. They became afraid of me." He pauses, eyes rising to meet hers. "I was the culmination of so many things, I was too soft, like my father. Too stubborn, like my mother. Too rash, like my grandmother, and too scared like my grandfather. But going your whole life and being told one thing, even if it's for your own protection. It's a betrayal. It's lying, and it just proves that they didn't know me at all. If they'd truly cared about me. They would've told me about him. About Darth Vader. I wouldn't have felt so alone. I wouldn't have felt like—like I was a mistake."
"Oh," Rey says quietly. At least it seems that Ben has been doing some self-reflection over the past year. "I can't imagine."
He snorts, "you're the only one who can. I—I saw it in you. I knew we were the same. Back then."
She nods. "I know Ben. But it's too late. If I could go back and change things. If I had been thinking I would've talked to you. But in my own naivety, I thought I already understood what you wanted."
"It's not your fault," he says quietly. "We both stood by our own convictions. And now, well, here we are."
"We can still make it right," she says, earnestly, eyes pleading with him. "You can still make it right."
"It isn't me who has to make things right," he spits out. "It's her. She had every opportunity to tell me to apologize. She had every chance to— to show me that she cared. And instead, she went off and led her precious rebellion. She always had to be the one challenging the status quo, nothing was ever good enough."
"Ben," Rey reaches for him, gripping the side of his face gently. "You've both made mistakes. But only you can make things right. You know your mother isn't in any position to bargain with you. You have to make the first step."
The stormtroopers behind them shift again, Rey had forgotten about them.
"Supreme Leader?" One of the stormtroopers says, one hand holding a blaster, the other lifted to the side of his helmet. "They've spotted the fugitive. He's here."
Ben whirls, "Where?"
"Oga's cantina, in the back room. There's been a—there's been a commotion."
"Are you talking about Hux?" Rey interrupts, heart thudding.
It's one moment that Hux is sitting, staring up at the Knight. The next, he's being pushed back, hard. He flies against the door, cracking against it with full force and then sliding down. The breath has been knocked out of him, and he's gasping for air as the door slides open behind him, and he sprawls back.
"Are you alright?!" Lira asks, her face appearing over him as he looks up from the ground.
He can't manage to speak, he can only wheeze.
"Get him out of here," the Knight orders gruffly. "I'll speak with Vaylen, and he'll decide what becomes of him."
Lira reaches for him and helps pull him up, letting him lean his weight against her so he can stand. He's dizzy, and his throat hurts, but he's giddy. Apparently, he'd found the Knight's sore spot.
Ben turns back to Rey.
"Yes," Ben says slowly. "But be careful, they're under my orders. I could —."
"You could what?!" Rey almost screams. "I told you if you hurt him—I'd kill you."
She says the last part as a whisper because she knows it's a lie. If she tried to kill him. If she did hurt him. Wouldn't it also hurt her? She can't be sure she needs to learn more about the Force bond and how to control it.
"I won't hurt him," Ben says with determination, "if you come with me. Please. I won't let anything happen to him. But this is the last time I'm going to offer."
She wants to laugh, he always says it's the last time. But it never is.
"If you let him go, without hurting him," she replies evenly, "I'll think about it."
"That's it? You'll think about it?"
"That's my final offer," she says smugly. She knows where Oga's cantina is, she just needs a distraction so she can run. If she can get to Hux before Ben, before the rest of the First Order, she may have a chance to get off Batuu without injuries.
"Sir?" The stormtroopers press in around Ben now, awaiting orders.
"To Oga's cantina, arrest the General. I want him alive." The stormtroopers head off, leaving Ben and Rey alone in the alley.
"Ben," Rey says, her voice full of warning.
"Rey," He replies with an equal measure of frustration. "Once I have him, we can talk."
"You think I'm just going to let you take him?"
"You don't have a choice, you're outnumbered."
She looks around desperately, she needs to find something, anything to use to help her escape. Her eyes fall on the ALV automated filtration systems and piping attached to the side of the building. Without thinking, she reaches out with the Force.
Hux and Lira are almost out of the cantina when the Stormtroopers arrive, six of them, heavily armed.
"General Armitage Hux," one stormtrooper says loudly, quieting the din of the patrons within the Cantina. "You are under arrest by order of the Supreme Leader—."
Lira doesn't wait for them to finish, she springs into action, pulling her blaster out she stuns two troopers before shoving Hux against a crate and kicking over a table to use as a barrier.
"We have to get out of here!" Hux cries, drawing his own weapon and stunning another trooper.
"Out the back door!" Lira urges, dodging blaster fire and sliding into the cramped protection of the upturned table. She grips Hux by the sleeve and takes one last shot over her shoulder before she drags him back down the way they'd come.
Ben doesn't have a moment to react. His usually strong instincts are mottled in Rey's presence, and so he doesn't expect the pipe beside him to burst, or the spray of hot foam that hits the side of his face.
He howls, lightsaber igniting as he tries to wipe away the thick foamy covering that clings to his face.
"Reyyy!" He screams, whirling around.
But when he can finally see again, she's gone.
Rey dashes around Ben and back into the crowded streets of Black Spire Outpost. She runs in the general direction of Oga's Cantina.
More stormtroopers are arriving as she ducks into a side street, out of the way and watches them with a heavy heart. Was Hux alright?
But they don't appear to have anyone in custody. Instead, several of the troopers appear to be recovering from stuns, and one trooper is radioing for more backup. That's when Rey sees them out of the corner of her eye.
Hux and Lira sneaking around the backside of the Cantina while trying to blend into the crowd outside. Though they're conspicuous enough in their First Order uniforms, Rey wants to call out to them. But she sees the two troopers following closely behind them, trying to take aim.
Diving forward, she ignites her saber and charges at the two troopers, blade deflecting one shot after another till she sends a stunning blast back at one trooper, and he falls to the ground. The last trooper freezes, eyeing her saber and then turns and runs.
"Rey!" Hux calls out before she can silence him. And in a heartbeat, he's there. Arms around her, lips pressed to her forehead for a second before he's kissing her. "How're you here? Am I dreaming? I know I hit my head, but I didn't think—."
She pulls back, they don't have time for this right now.
"We have to go now. Kylo is here. He's after us. He's on his way!"
Lira has come to a halt, eyeing Rey and Hux. "He's here?"
"Yes, he knows I'm here as well. It's better if we split up. I have to warn Chewie and get back to the Falcon. Can you meet me?"
Hux nods, stoic again. "Give me the frequency, and I'll connect with you. Lira and I will head back to our ship. Comm me as soon as you get to the Falcon, we might need to do an emergency pickup maneuver."
Rey nods, she knows what to do. She leans forward and plants a soft lingering kiss on his lips.
It feels like a goodbye.
Hux and Lira have gone one way, and Rey the other, she dashes back to the Cantina to find Chewie, but he's gone. Without wasting any time, she grabs the comm from behind the cantina bar and comms Finn.
The comm buzzes as she runs in the direction of the landing strips for the ships and shuttles, heart pounding. The comm connects with a hum and Finn answers.
"Rey? Where are you!?"
"I'm on my way back, where's Chewie?"
"He's here, but there's been some sort of shootout at Oga's Cantina, First Order. We need to jet."
"Yes, I was there, I'm on my way. Prep the engine for takeoff and comm Hux. We need to do an emergency pick up."
"Hux is here?"
"Yes, Finn, did you hear me? Emergency pickup maneuver!"
"Loud and clear!"
Hux and Lira strip their First Order uniform shirts, tucking them into balls under their arms as they try to get lost in the crowd. Halfway back to their ship Lira nabs Hux, a long brown woolex poncho that only serves to make him look ridiculous. And his bright orange hair makes him more noticeable than anything. So much for blending into the crowd.
"Don't we need to comm your droid? Tell him to have the ship prepped?" Hux asks with a distasteful scowl as he tries to smooth out the coarse fabric of the poncho.
"He's had the engine prepped for the last fifteen minutes. I had a bad feeling about this, I commed him while you were still in your meeting with the Knight."
"Oh, that's — very good. Thank you," Hux replies as they duck around the marketplace unseen.
It takes several minutes to make their way back to their ship, but they arrive unscathed, for the most part. Though it's a small a wonder with the growing amount of stormtroopers in the area. The ship is already humming expectantly when they board the onramp, DEET seated in the pilot's seat.
"Where are we headed?" The droid asks quickly. The engines are prepped, they simply need to enter coordinates.
"We're doing an emergency pickup maneuver," Hux says hurriedly. He'd grabbed his things and closed the straps on his bag as quickly as he could. They needed to hurry. "Here's the frequency, comm the Falcon. I'll be boarding their ship immediately."
The droid nods and turns back to the controls, pressing in the comm frequency for the Millennium Falcon.
The hum fills the cockpit as the comm connects, and Hux can't believe the relief he feels at the sound of FN-2187's voice.
"Hux? I'm still waiting on Rey, she said she's almost here. So here are my rendezvous coordinates, if we get separated, Lira can meet us there. Otherwise, we'll be picking you up right over Black Spire. You copy?"
"I copy," Hux replies anxiously. He's never performed an emergency pickup before and that, mixed with the worry that Rey isn't yet to the Falcon, makes him forget to breathe for a moment.
He closes his eyes for a second, trying to steady his erratic thoughts, and that's when he hears them. The scream of TIE fighters in the distance.
Rey tears around the shipyard at full sprint, not stopping when she sees she's been followed by stormtroopers. She deflects one blaster bolt after another as she jumps over a parked speeder and rounds a small freighter.
"Rey!" Ben's booming voice comes from behind her, he sounds out of breath, like he's been running this whole time to catch up with her.
She doesn't look back, she dashes around another freighter, and the Falcon comes into view, engines humming and loading dock open. She runs at full speed and doesn't stop till her boots hit the metal of the plank.
"Close the door, Finn!" She cries, still not stopping.
And she doesn't stop, not until she's back in the pilot's seat of the Millennium Falcon.
"Rey's here!" Finn exclaims over the comm, whooping loudly with relief and excitement. Since TIE fighters are incoming, they need to hurry.
"Rey?" Hux's tentative voice comes over the comm. "Are you alright, darling?"
"I'm okay," Rey says, through heavy gasps. "Are you ready, Armitage? We'll be picking you up in a moment."
Hux lets out a shaky breath, "I'm ready. Lira?" He turns to the droid and Captain Sodd, who gives him a small smile. Their shuttle rattles as it begins to ascend.
"We're ready," Lira says with a nod, "we'll drop you off and then return to my ship."
Hux nods and his fingers tighten around the strap of his bag, "Lira, I—."
"It's alright," she replies quickly. "You're welcome. And don't worry about it. It was a long time ago."
He presses his lips together and gives her another cursory nod.
"We'll contact you when we're ready to act."
"Alright," Lira says, "be safe, Armitage. I'm lowering the ramp, you better go."
With apprehension, Hux turns and makes his way to the boarding ramp, he watches it lower slowly, mechanically, and he takes another deep breath.
He can do this. He must do this.
The Millennium Falcon crests over the top of the ships and trees and into the airspace above Black Spire outpost. Hux leans against the ramp poles as the ship bumps and rattles, moving closer to the Falcon, TIE fighters shrieking, closer now.
They don't have much time.
Finally, the two ramps are almost touching, it's not too far of a jump. He can make it. Trying not to look down, he edges to the bottom of the ramp.
He squeezes his eyes closed for a moment, stealing himself. Then he ran forward and leapt.