As Rey predicted, Illum's moon was just as cold as the former planet itself. They had brought with them some of Leia's and Han's winter clothing they had found stashed on the Falcon. It felt weird putting on Leia's old jacket, as if Rey had stolen a prized possession of hers. She couldn't even begin to understand how uncomfortable Ben was feeling as he put on his father's jacket.
"Are you sure Beebee-Ate can watch the ship?" Ben glanced at the droid skeptically as they made their way off the ship
"Never underestimate a droid," Rey winked. "Besides, it's not like we have a lot of options…" No sooner had their feet met with the moon's surface, a Weequay approached them. Rey had never met a Weequay before, but she heard enough stories to know they weren't the most trustworthy of species.
"Friends!" he said, his arms up in the air in some sort of welcoming gesture.
"We've never met you before," said Ben.
"I'm sure you haven't," replied the Weequay. "But everyone is a friend to Grodo! That's a very nice ship you got there. Very nice." He ran a leathery finger against the ships smooth surface.
"We have an astromech guarding the ship, so don't even think about it," Rey warned.
"An astromech?" Grodo laughed. "You two really are new here, aren't you? An astromech is just another source of parts. Once your back is turned, it'll be sold for scraps. But not to worry, because I've got a deal for you! Hire me, and I'll watch your ship."
"Watch our ship get stolen, you mean?" Rey was starting to second guess their plan and slowly backed up towards the ship. She noticed Ben had his hand over his mother's lightsaber in the side pocket of his jacket.
"No, no, no! You pay me, and I'll make sure your ship stays safe, untouched by anyone. To prove to you that I'm trustworthy, I'll give you one of my high-value trinkets. Bring the trinket back, along with the credits, and the ship is yours. If you don't return, then the ship is mine. Sounds fair, no?"
"Depends on the trinket and your asking price," Ben replied. Grodo reached into one of the many pockets of his maroon jacket and pulled out a necklace with a locket on it.
"How about this? Do we have a deal?" He handed the trinket to Ben, which was immediately snatched by Rey. She looked at the locket for only a few seconds before tossing it back to Grodo.
"That locket is made of bondite; it isn't worth anything," Rey said, turning to Ben. "We should just check the other moon, maybe we'll have better luck."
"Wait, wait! That was just a test, to see if you knew the value of precious metals. And guess what? You passed! Grodo sees now you know your stuff." Rey rolled her eyes. "How about this instead?" He shuffled threw his pockets again and pulled out another trinket, this one a strange looking ore about the size of Rey's thumb. Rey's eyes lit up when she saw it.
"Is this real pyronium?" she exclaimed.
"That is correct!" Grodo looked proud, though Rey wondered if he would have confirmed the metal no matter what she said.
"You haven't told us how many credits yet," said Ben.
"Right, right. The price. Let's say… 10,000 credits?" Rey instinctively held out her hand to return the pyronium.
"We don't have that kind of credits." Grodo gently pushed her hand away.
"You're a scavenger, right? You can easily find enough items worth 10,000 credits. People are always throwing away valuables. We have a deal now, yes?"
Rey looked at Ben, hoping he had some helpful input.
"We know what we're looking for is here," he said. "And we can't lose the ship."
Rey nodded as she turned back to Grodo. "And what if we can't find 10,000 worth of credits?"
"Then I take your ship." Rey hesitated, but Ben walked past her, holding out a hand to Grodo.
"You have a deal." They shook.
"Good, good! See, Grodo is very reasonable. Now off you go!" He started shooing them away with his hands.
"One more thing," said Rey, not appreciating the rush to leave. "When we get back, we're going to do a thorough check of the ship. If ANYTHING is missing or out of place, then I'm keeping the pyronium."
"We will fight if we have to," Ben added.
"Nothing to worry about!" Grodo chuckled. "Your ship will be just as it is when you return."
Though Rey was cynical, she could still hear the soft hum from the kyber crystal, reminding her that she had a mission to complete, and it had to be here. There was only one option available to them. Grodo. If they hurried, they could get their crystals, pick up enough items to pay Grodo, and be out of there before anything happened to them or the ship.
As they followed the soothing cries of their crystals, Rey noticed that there were a variety of species on the moon; most of them being other Weequays. She would have preferred Jakku over this place, except at least here she wasn't alone.
"It looks like we're going in the same direction, for now," said Ben. "We may have to separate if our crystals are in different areas."
"We'll find out soon enough. My crystal is getting louder for me."
"Same with mine."
They knew they had left the market section of the moon when they were greeted by a giant wall of compressed garbage. There was an opening through the wall where two more Weequays stood. They were obviously waiting for new explorers to enter what appeared to be a labyrinth behind them as they perked up at the sight of Ben and Rey.
"Comrades!" said one of the Weequays. "Do you dare to enter the Labyrinth of Mystery?"
"The labyrinth of what?" Rey asked.
"Mystery!" said the other Weequay. "Because it's a mystery what you will find in there. Will you find treasure, or junk? Will you find your way out, or will you be stuck forever? You'll never know unless you try!"
"Ah yes, but your journey in the Labyrinth of Mystery will be perilous if you go without a guide. Lucky for you, I am here to help you, for the right amount of credits of course."
"I, too, am available for hire. I know this labyrinth inside and out. My fee is higher than my friend over here, but at least you are guaranteed to get out in one piece."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Remember the last time you guided those two Bothans?"
"Oh, yeeeeeah…"
"Actually, we're good," said Rey. "We really don't need a guide."
"That's a very unwise decision."
"Unless you're a Bothan."
"Don't bring that up again. How was I supposed to know there was a nexu in there?"
"You're supposed to know these things!"
"Let's just go," Ben whispered, as they snuck past the arguing Weequays.
Inside the labyrinth, the paths were constantly twisting, turning, and dividing. It only took a few minutes before Rey had no clue which turns she took and how to find her way back. Without the Force as a guide, she could easily see how one could get lost and not find their way out. The walls surrounding them were about four meters high, with a variety of ambiguous objects sticking out from its exterior. Periodically they would come across a ladder leading towards the top.
The crystal's humming became more like a melody the closer she got to it. Rey wondered if it was supposed to resemble something important to her, like a song her mother sung to her when she was a baby. It was so peaceful. And soothing. As the volume increased, so did the speed of her pace as she became more entranced at finding the melody's source. Ben continued to travel in the same direction as her. Perhaps their crystals were near one another? That would give her some peace of mind.
Eventually, the crystal's calling was so loud, Rey knew she was close. She stopped at one of the rickety ladders leaning against the wall and glanced upwards.
"My crystal's up there. I can feel it."
"Mine's up there as well. I'll hold the ladder so you can go up first."
Rey looked at the ladder doubtfully. "Do you think this ladder can hold us?"
"Only one way to find out."
Ben leaned against the edge of the ladder as Rey put her foot on the first rung and pushed down on it. it seemed to support her weight… She moved to the second rung. The ladder was sturdier than it appeared. Feeling more confident in the ladder's capabilities, she began to climb. She was about halfway up when she heard a strange growling noise.
"Did you hear that?" she yelled down at Ben. As if in answer to her question, another strange growl filled the air, but this one was louder. Closer. She noticed Ben was staring in the direction of the sound.
"Rey, climb faster." Rey returned her attention back to the ladder. She could feel it wobble below and could only assume Ben was now climbing.
Her hands met with a grungy plank of wood when she reached the top of the ladder. As she started to push herself upwards, the growling was now a bellow as a massive creature came barreling around the corner, its long pink tongue dangling out of its carnivorous mouth. Rey took one of her free hands and using the Force pushed the creature away just as it was leaping towards Ben. Ben did the same, with only one hand clinging to the rail of the ladder. The creature fell backwards, gave a little shake, and was back on its feet, pouncing again
"Keep climbing! I'll hold it back," yelled Rey, as she pushed the creature away again. She was surprised at how unphased it was, and its persistence. In seconds, it was back on its feet. Rey repeated the move, frantically trying to keep the beast at bay.
When Ben's hands were by her feet, Rey gave one final push to the beast as she pulled herself onto the plank. The creature growled as it hit the ground, while Rey clutched onto Ben's hand to help him up. No sooner was he with her on the plank did the beast made one last attempt to take him as a meal. Ben knocked the ladder down, sending the beast backwards with the ladder shattering on top of it.
"What was that?" asked Rey, as she tried to catch her breath.
"A nexu." Ben got to his feet. "Getting back down should be easy. Now we just need to find the crystals." He lent a gloved hand to Rey, who took it, slowly standing up. She looked around to see that they were on top of the garbage walls of the labyrinth. Wooden planks laid in scattered directions, creating passages along the garbage's surface. She could see some of the planks were occupied by scavengers who were foraging through the garbage to see what treasures they could find.
"My crystal is this way," said Ben. Rey followed behind him. The planks were not the least bit sturdy on the uneven surface forcing them to walk slowly. Fortunately, Ben didn't walk far until he reached a spot that had a strange, blueish glow emerging from deep underneath, the melody the loudest it had ever been.
"This is my spot." He looked at Rey. "Yours is here, too, isn't it?"
"Yes. But what are the chances we'd find ours together?"
Ben scratched his chin as he kneeled by the light. "If my theory is right, very high."
"What theory…"
"It looks like the crystals are at the bottom. We'll have to work together to make a hole in order to get to them." Rey decided to question him later as she got to her knees next to him. Together, they began lifting pieces of junk, putting them aside away from the hole. Some of the items looked like they could be of value; Rey set those items behind them. The more they moved, the brighter the light underneath became. The light and the melody were what kept Rey motivated. Even with the two of them working, it took quite a bit of energy to create and deepen the hole to a point where she thought they'd never reach the crystals.
At long last, she could see a dull blueish glow at the very bottom of the hole. She and Ben raised their hands over the hole and two crystals shot out into their palms. Rey was surprised at its smallness; the crystal was about the size of her pinky finger. It didn't look very impressive in her palm, either, but she knew this was the real thing as she slipped it in her pocket.
"Ben, you said that we may have to separate, but then you weren't surprised that our crystals were near one another. What did you mean?"
"I wasn't sure what test the Kyber Crystals would give us, which is why I warned you that we may have to separate. However, I've always felt that the Force was pulling us together, so it didn't surprise me that the test would be us collaborating to free them."
"The Force was pulling us… together?"
"Yes. I've always felt that since we first met on Takodana. I just didn't understand it until recently. You've felt it too.?"
Rey wasn't sure if that was meant as a question, or a statement. Blushing, she nodded her head.
"Yeah, I have."
"Then the crystals have confirmed what we already know."
"Which is…?"
Ben smiled. The way he was looking at her, Rey could feel the butterflies dancing in her stomach before he even answered. "That the Force has big plans for us. It wants us together."