Author's note: Oh boy am I late! *hands together, bowing profusely * Sorry, Sorry! As you know the world has gone crazy and because I am now deemed an 'essential employee' my world imploded at work. So, knowing I was going to be insanely busy...I decided to write the last of this arc all at once. So I am uploading the last 3 chapters all at once. *Manical grin * Hopefully this makes up for the long wait!
Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever owned Star Wars. I simply play in their world.
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Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away...
Kylo Ren
The sound of a blaster fire has me shoving civilians out of my way in my need to get to Rey.
Only a single shot fired, the cry of pain that was not female and I make it to the alley.
Two are already lurking outside and it is easy enough to use the Force on the pair, choking them into silence before they can utter a cry.
A guttural voice speaking, his words coating my vision in red as I come up behind them, my eyes on the woman who has more courage than sense at this moment.
"... put down that weapon and live, in slavery that is, or die in this alley."
Slave traffickers. Here to put my Rey in chains, as if they could.
As if I would let them.
"How about a third option."
My voice carries and I see Rey turn in my direction, the fire in her gaze a burning inferno, a feral smile on her face.
But that is all the time I have to spare her as I grab the nearest one to me, my rage needing an outlet, and I slam his head into the reinforced wall.
The sound of bones breaking is satisfying, but not enough.
Another comes at me and I side-step his swing, bringing my full weight down on the blow that snaps his arm before his face finds my knee.
Another down. Only the leader and the one who guards his back, twin blades in his hands.
"Not so tough, not so tough," he mutters springing at me, and I pivot, reversing our positions just as Rey gives a cry of pain.
"Rey! Switch!"
I'm already bending as she rolls over me, coming to her feet swiftly.
We are now back to back as I face the one who hurt her.
I don't have to worry about being stabbed, Rey can handle that one easily and I shift my attention on my own opponent.
The one who wanted to make a slave of her.
"So the Bount brought a Corellian who knows how to fight?" A cruel smile without mirth on his ugly face, "Should amuse me for a minute before I collect the woman and the girl."
My lack of response to his taunt has the desired effect and he takes a hard swing at me. He has some training that allows him to strike swiftly, but I am faster and turn his blow, catching the side of his body with my own strike.
A grunt of pain as it connects and I hear ribs crack.
Apparently he didn't learn his lesson the last time and takes another swing at me. I let him in close, closing my fist to turn at the right moment...
Now.
The kiss of a breeze across my face as his fist misses me by inches, but leaves him vulnerable.
His skin is abrasive where my fist catches the underside of his jaw, but he is already falling, striking his head against the building where I have maneuvered him close enough to be effective.
"Nice hit."
I turn at the sound of admiration in her voice, oddly pleased by her words. Her opponent is also unconscious at her feet, I can see the blood trickling from his face.
I'm about to compliment her own effectiveness but then she rushes past me at the sound of a tiny, pained-filled voice.
The child who she had chased after.
She is down on her knee's, I doubt she notices the dirt and refuse scattered about, her focus on the child.
She is making, soft soothing noises and I feel the delicate touch of the Force from her.
I wonder if she has any idea that she is using the Force to calm the frightened youngling into trusting her.
I'm curious to see what the girl will do and simply stand back to watch the events unfold.
Her eyes flicker past Rey...and to me.
Wide, frightened eyes full of recognition. I don't know how...but this girl knows who I am.
Rey looks back at me, I can see a glimmer of amusement in her dark eyes, before she focuses on the girl.
"I'm Rey," I hear her tell the Twi'lek, "what's yours?"
"T-Teilu."
"Teilu, that's a pretty name. Do you live close by Teilu?"
Again, subtle Force tendrils wrapping around the girl, enforcing the peace and trust Rey is trying to establish with her.
The girl nods her head furtively, her eyes still going back and forth between Rey and myself.
She is asking the girl where she lives and if she wants to go home.
Telling her that both of us would be taking her home, she would be safe.
Fear is starting to replace the peace Rey has woven around the girl as she looks back up at me.
It is a sour taste in my mouth that this youngling looks at me with the same eyes as those who cornered her in this dark alley.
I have never disdained violence, learning early that weakness is exploited by those in power, but seeing her looking at me like that...
Perhaps my time with Rey has softened something in me because I feel...regret...that she had to witness this kind of brutality.
She is, after all, only a child. Innocence her shield to the horrors of life.
Some of that innocence will be lost today.
Rey speaking, but she doesn't look at me and yet I can hear the notes of mischief in her voice.
"I know tall, dark and scary over there is a bit intimidating but let me tell you a secret," Her voice is a staged whisper, I can hear every word clearly and wonder what she is up to, "I know his weakness. He's afraid of spiders."
Of all the ridiculous things to say.
Except it's working because the little Twi'lek is laughing and when she looks past Rey, the fear that had been taking over, is gone.
Replaced by two stronger emotions.
Curiosity and amusement.
Both directed at me.
I can only sigh, conceding to Rey's impromptu plan of getting the girl to trust us enough to get out of here.
Rey is already on her feet, the girl struggling to get to hers.
There is something wrong with her movement and the Twi'lek is whimpering in pain.
"Ben she's hurt." Rey, calling for me as she tries to help the child, "Looks like her ankle." She shifts her body and I can see a small, green leg covered in blood at the ankle.
"Here try and put some weight on it."
Not a good idea and I see the blood begin to pool.
Tears down the youngling's face at the pain but she doesn't make another sound.
A bit of strength in this one. Determination too as she tries to follow Rey's order's.
"Okay, no walking." Rey concludes with a grimace, "Let me-"
But I already have an idea of what she is about to do and I move past her, scooping up the child in my arms.
She is light, weighing barely nothing at all, her bones fragile.
I look down at my small burden, huge eyes that remind me of the sea, stare back up at me.
Rey is at my side, binding her injury with the scarf in her hand.
The girl sniffles and buries her face against my chest, wrapping slender arms around my neck.
She is so light, so young and I could snap her neck without even a thought.
Yet here she is, letting me hold her, putting her trust in me because of the woman at my side.
I haven't held a child like this...since the Jedi training grounds.
Perhaps this wasn't such a great idea after all.
"Hey," a lilting voice, full of laughter as Rey pokes the girl's arm, getting her attention, "that's my man you're cuddling. No keeping."
I know she is teasing, but I cannot help the leap in my pulse that she would claim me before another.
Even if it is only a child.
I lift a brow, wondering if she truly knows what she is saying.
But Rey refuses to meet my eyes and is still fussing over the Twi'lek.
Teilu has stopped sniffing and is laughing at Rey, her hold on me stronger, no longer so fragile.
Now that the girl is calm, Rey is asking where she lives. She rattle off her address, but I do not recognize the part of the city she is describing.
Rey, her eyes meeting mine and I shake my head.
"Hmm okay," blowing out a breath she gives the girl a confidant smile, "Well I guess you can give us directions to your home."
The girl relaxes in my arms as we leave the alley and I slow my stride so that Rey can speak with the girl as she points out different landmarks to us, prodding us on our way.
Such passed this strange time in my life. I had never seen Rey with children before and I was not surprised in the least how well she bonded with the Twi'lek.
All too soon we arrived in a part of town that had seen better days.
It was not the slums, I had my troopers clear those out weeks ago, but not far from it.
The building's were old and there were more abandoned homes than people.
"That one!"
Teilu, sitting up in my arms, pointing to a dwelling where a charm had been hung.
No doubt her mother's idea, so that the girl would know where to find her home if she ever got lost.
Rey and I glance at each and I give a slight nod of my head as she presses the keypad.
"Teilu why are you-oh!"
"Mama!"
The tall, slim Twi'lek who was speaking was an older version on the little girl I now carried in my arms.
Rey was making introductions, the woman called herself Sonia and when her gaze came to rest on me...I saw the awareness in them.
This woman knows who I am and that is why her daughter recognized me.
I wait for what her reaction might be, my fingers tightening around the little girl unconsciously, but the woman is already looking past me to her daughter.
Her eyes land on the bright, crimson scarf wrapped around the ankle.
"Teilu!"
Worry and fear in that single name...and it triggers a memory from long ago...
"Ben!"
My mother, running over to me as blood wells up from the cut on my hand.
She looks frantic seeing the blood. "What were you thinking trying to climb so high?"
I pulled the single, blooming flower from behind my back.
"For you, mama."
Tears in my mother's eyes as she took the flower from me, as though it were a priceless treasure.
"My brave hero...let's get you cleaned up...and then we'll show your father your newest adventure."
"It's not a serious wound."
Sonia, the mother, is already unwrapping the scarf to reveal a small, thin line across the ankle. New skin is already healing and there is no trace of blood.
"No," a sigh of relief in her voice and then she looks at her daughter, who is smiling happily in my arms, "but perhaps I think my daughter enjoyed being carried hmmm?"
Sonia pins her daughter with the same sea-gray eyes and to my shock, Teilu giggle and buries her face in my chest, hiding.
I wait for her to take her offspring from me, but she merely gives the child an indulgent smile and turns to Rey.
Leaving me once more with the care of her daughter.
"How did you come to find my daughter in such a condition?"
I wonder how Rey will answer this question without scaring the woman, I can see her hesitating on how to explain when I narrowly miss being slammed in the jaw.
Teilu abruptly pulling her head up, obviously listening in.
"Bad men found me! Ben and Rey saved me!"
Excitement in her voice now, the signs of fear she had shown only a short time ago, forgotten.
Sonia sighs at the antics of her youngling.
"Thank you," She is speaking to Rey but then she surprises me by looking directly at me,"Both of you. For helping my daughter and bringing her back home. Time to get down sohsi."
A Twi'lek endearment and finally I give the child back to her mother.
I put her back on her feet, her arms still clinging to me as she lets out a disappointed sigh.
I...didn't expect that.
Sonia folds her arms and looks at the girl who hasn't moved from where I set her down.
"Did you thank these nice people for coming to your aide?"
Nice? I don't believe that word has ever been associated with me...at least not in the past twenty years.
Teilu is avoiding her gaze and I want to tell the woman that is isn't necessary to make the child thank us.
But the little girl surprises me again by turning around and looking at the both of us with solemn eyes.
She turns to Rey first.
Naturally.
Small arms beckon her forward and I watch with faint amusement as Rey gets down on her knee's so the little girl can give her a hug.
"Thank you."
The small Twi'lek releases Rey and I note the faint sheen of moisture in her gaze as she steps back from the youngling.
Now that's done we can take our leave and be...
Teilu is looking at me, making the same motions with her arm at me as she did with Rey.
No fear, only the shyest of smiles on her young face.
I can feel Rey looking at me and with a silent sigh, I get down on one knee before the youngling.
She moves towards me, her eyes dancing.
"Thank you."
The words are barely audible and I have to lean in to catch them...only to find I've been tricked.
The sharp scent of spices and wind, the feel of soft, dry lips on my cheek.
I can only kneel here, stunned by her daring...and her affection.
Teilu is already back behind her mother, a bright smile on her face as she laughs and hides her face from me when I finally look in her direction.
I get to my feet and glance over at Rey.
Her eyes are practically dancing, the grin irrepressible as she looks at me and then to Teilu.
Tricked by a child who barely comes up to her waist.
I don't know whether to be amused at her audacity...or annoyed that I fell for her act of innocence.
I look at the mother, who wears a look I once knew well from my own mother.
Fond exasperation at her child's antics.
Apparently there are somethings that never change through the years.
"Thank you both, again. Is there...anything I can do to repay your kindness to my daughter?"
I will take no reward. I did not go to save the child...I was only there because Rey felt the need to intervene on her behalf.
However I find I do not regret my actions.
"... be passing by. Isn't that right Ben?"
Rey responding for the both us, a sharp look in her gaze as she glances up at me.
Daring me to contradict her words.
Once more I find myself outmaneuvered by a female. She is casting me into the roll of a hero.
I give a nod of my head, not to Sonia, but to Rey for that particular ploy. "That's right." I agree and give the mother a warning as well, "But I wouldn't let your daughter roam the streets alone anymore. She might not be so lucky next time."
I would not tell her, however, that I plan on increasing patrol to extend to this reach of the city and to make sure the open market is no longer rift with slave traders.
Her eyes widen in acknowledgment and she gives a brief bow, grasping he daughter's hand tightly.
"I will remember. Thank you."
Now we are done and can take our leave.
Rey and I have only taken a couple of steps when we hear a familiar voice call out to us.
"Bye Ben! Bye Rey!"
We both turn at the same time, Teilu waving at us with great enthusiasm, having stolen away from her mother's firm grip.
She is a precocious child...and I find myself hoping that she makes it through the trials of childhood with her charming nature intact.
Rey and I lift our hands in unison, much to Teilu's delight. She takes off at a run back to her dwelling, the mother catching my eye and only I see the almost imperceptible nod of her head before she returns to her home.
Evening is beginning to set and I have to wonder where the day has gone. I've never felt time slipping so quickly through my fingers like this.
"I think you have an admirer."
I should have known Rey would not be able to resist teasing me over that kiss.
I am only surprised that it took her this long to do so.
"Then it's probably a good thing ," I tell her, reclaiming her hand for my own, somehow feeling bereft without it, "I'm already spoken for."
A reminder that she spoke of claiming me, although I am not such an optimist to think that it was nothing more than a ruse on her part.
I wait for the protest that is sure to come, perhaps some sort of excuse as to why she said those words at all.
I look down, just as the light is captured in her eyes, and there is no teasing, no protest.
Only an almost indiscernible softening as she gazes back at me. At that moment I wonder if I am only imagining what I want to see...and the she tightens her grip on my hand.
"Come on, all that excitement has worked up my appetite. Lets find some food."
She turns her head away from mine, shattering that fragile something I felt between us, heading for the open market.
I find that I don't want to share her with the crowded streets.
Not now when I feel time rushing past me, unable to stem the flow.
She stops when she realizes I have refused to follow.
"What? Don't tell me you're not hungry."
That particular light that I witnessed only moments ago is gone from her gaze.
I want it back.
"I am but not for vendor food."
Her lips part silently, sparks swirling in amber and I know she is aware I am not referring to actual food.
I wait for her to ask what I want instead.
"Okay...so you pick where we eat."
I can only shake my head silently as she neatly side-steps the issue. I should know better than to try and cage her by now.
I will let it slide for now and the slight, rueful smile on her lips as I take the lead is not lost on me.
I look for a place to eat...and note one of the better looking bars in the area.
Not an upper-class restaurant, but certainly a step up from the one this morning.
I tug Rey through the door, a delighted grin on her face...for all of a couple of seconds.
The establishment has gone quite silent at our entrance.
I suspect this particular place does not often cater to the persona's we are portraying.
A bounty hunter and a smuggler.
"We don't want any trouble here."
The barkeeper, perhaps the owner from the state of his clothing, eyeing the pair of us with a wary gaze.
Considering the woman I have at my side, that is a distinct possibility.
I can feel her amusement and see the gleam of mischief in her eyes, she is enjoying herself.
I give her a nod and stand aside to let her take the lead.
"Then offer us none," cool words with a touch of sharpness, "and you'll have none. We just want a drink and a quiet meal, nothing else."
His eyes are weighing the risks of having a bounty hunter and a Corellian in his establishment, or accepting us and the money we bring.
The faint smile on his face is all I need to know but he inclines his head to Rey.
"Pick any seat you want."
I choose a table that is next to the rear exit. I don't anticipate trouble but I want an opening if something does arise.
It is also farther apart from the rest of the patrons and I will not have to worry so much about being seen or overheard.
That settled, I turn my attention back where it's suppose to be.
On Rey, who is looking at this place without trying to be too noticeable.
"What do you want to eat?"
She is still people watching and hasn't touched the menu yet.
Just then a serving droid comes through with a dish that looks to be urisuyan, the live arms of the cormorian waving around distinctive.
Rey looks at it with both revulsion and morbid fascination before turning away.
"Something that doesn't wiggle!" She looks slightly green, "I want my food dead when I eat it."
She quickly picks up her menu and I cannot help the amusement that creeps up on me.
She doesn't blink an eye when covered in blood and stinking of refuse yet shudders at the sight of live food being served in a bar.
I must have made a sound because Rey abruptly dropped her menu to look at me, suspicion alight in her gaze.
Her eyes slide back to her menu a moment later but I can see the apprehension on her face.
The menu has more than few items I doubt she has encountered in her travels.
"Do you trust me?"
Her eyes flicker back up to me and the menu I've set aside, I know what I want and I want Rey to try it as well.
Again I see suspicion but it is tempered by the humor present as well.
"Yes," and that is all I need to hear and quickly remove the menu from her hand, "hey!"
"You said you trusted me, remember?"
She did ask me to pick the food this time around and I intend to hold her to her word.
"I...oh," clarity in her eyes, "oh!"
She lets go of the menu just as the droid comes over to our table.
"Two inosuriki dishes."
The droid leaves and I discreetly tap the panel on the table to add another dish to the menu.
A surprise for my Rey.
She is gazing after the droid, a puzzled look on her face.
"What is it?"
"You'll see."
"Ben!"
Laughter and consternation as she calls out my name and I cannot help but give her a smug look.
After all what is the point of surprises if one already knows the answer.
Her eyes gleaming, I watch as she maneuvers around to my side, now I am the one looking at her with mild suspicion.
She is up to something, I am starting to know that particular brand of mischief on her face.
"Rey wh-"
She scatters my thoughts, steals the words from my tongue as she presses her mouth to mine.
My arm around her waist, needing to feel the heat of her body as her tongue licks the seam of my mouth.
She releases me, taking my breath with her, but does not leave the curve of my arm.
She looks rather pleased with herself.
"What," I have to take a drink and gather my wits, "was that for?"
"Because I wanted to," tart amusement accompanied by a lift of her shoulder that brushes her hair across my arm, "you didn't like it?"
"I didn't say that."
Of course I liked it, so much so that I wish she would do it again. But I knew she wouldn't.
When it came to open affection, she had a reserved nature and that is why I cherished her small acts of open affection.
My fingers find the ends of her hair, silken threads that bring me pleasure to be able to touch and we sit here, she and I, in a peaceful silence that is all too rare for us.
Our food arrives, an interruption of the quiet moment we were sharing and she shifts in my arms, staring at the bowels with ill-concealed apprehension.
Clearly she is still dwelling on the urisuyan dish from earlier until she can see the bowl clearly.
A delighted look in her eyes as she looks over the food I ordered.
Thick noodles in a light broth, meat and vegetables heavily laden.
A rather impressive recreation of inosuriki. The scent wafting from it was also promising.
Rey, moving from beneath my arm, so that we can eat.
I grab her hand, not letting her slide more than a few inches. Already I feel the cold invading me where her warmth had been.
"You can sit by me and still eat your food."
Flickering amusement as she glances at my hand holding her in place, but she doesn't fight me.
She does, however, take back her hand to eat properly. I wait to see if she will try to move again but she seems content to stay at my side.
It is enough and I turn back to the food, my hunger making itself known.
"Do I use a spoon or a fork with this?"
She is looking at her bowl, her brow furrowed with bewilderment.
Clearly she has never had inosuriki before and I am pleased to be the first to share it with her.
"Neither," I tell her, pulling apart the lacquered sticks used for this particular dish, "like this."
I quickly capture and twirl the noodles between the two sticks, making a ball and scoop up the floating meat and vegetables onto it.
"Uh huh."
She does not sound convinced as I put the food into my mouth.
Delicious, just the right mixture of spices. A touch of sweetness with a balance of saltiness so that it doesn't overwhelm the flavor.
I watch Rey capture to the noodles, but she doesn't have the dexterity yet to form the ball so that the rest doesn't slip through.
The blissful smile on her face when she tastes the noodles is a pleasure all on its own for me.
She tries again, but the meat and vegetables keep sliding off her noodles.
I take pity on her, remembering my first attempts with the sticks.
"Try picking them up separately," I show her by capturing a piece of meat between the two tips, "It's easier."
Before I can say more, she is leaning over, stealing the bit of meat from me.
"Mmm," closed eyes and a hum of pleasure at her stolen piece, "that is really good."
She makes eating a sensual art, her love of food more than apparent to my eyes.
It made me want to feed her from my hand, just to give her that pleasure.
"Glad you like it."
Her eyes open as laughter escapes her and I wonder what she finds so amusing.
"Here," she uses the pointed end like a tiny dagger and spears a piece of meat, "since I stole yours."
She is holding the end up to me and I suddenly find that I don't mind being fed by Rey.
I take her offering, the grin on her face my reward as she goes back to her own meal.
She can put away food quicker than anyone I know, but my hunger is just as ravenous and the meal is consumed in short order.
A soft, happy smile on her face as leans back, her hand resting on her stomach.
"I hope you left room."
Sleepy curiosity in her gaze.
"For what?"
"Dessert."
The droid is coming over with the surprise I ordered for Rey.
"What-oooh!"
A dessert that is popular on Coruscant, or at least it was a few years ago and something that I doubt Rey has seen.
Soft blue flame lick around the edges. A mound of white cream and red syrup, chunks of dark chocolate to balance out the overwhelming sweetness.
I am not overly fond of sweet food, but this is one that I do enjoy on a rare occasion.
The look in her eyes, such innocent delight, is well worth the extravagant price to have this made.
"How do we eat it?"
I pick up the spoon, blue flames and sweet cream in the dip, but the chocolate remains untouched as I blow out the flame.
"Go ahead, try it."
She is already reaching for the spoon, the deep pleasure in her gaze one I will remember for years to come.
I did not realize, until this moment, the intimacy two people could share just over food.
I thought of food as simple fuel that the body needed to keep going, but watching Rey and the absolute delight she took in eating, has given me cause to reconsider my previous notion.
"Oh this is so good..." the moan of pleasure from her lips spikes the pulse in my veins but she has stopped eating.
She's looking at me with careful eyes.
I watch as she scoops up another mouthful on the spoon.
"Come on, open."
Coaxing demand from her as she refuses to take another bite.
"I ordered this for you." I wasn't expecting to eat it, I wanted her to enjoy the small treat.
"I'm sharing."
I eye the spoon...and the woman holding it.
"Are you offering to feed me?"
"Yes," a husky response that once more sends my pulse racing as she lifts the spoon to my mouth, "so open up."
I refuse to drop my gaze, wrapping us both in this moment, as I let her slip the sweet confection into my mouth.
She is all wide-eyes and blushing innocence. I barely swallow the food before she turns from me.
She will forever fascinate me. Such contradiction she shows me. Confident to the point of recklessness one moment and then timid and hesitant the next.
She is playing with the food, taking small bites...before glancing up at me, another offering from her.
I take it, if only to please her and give her a reason to keep looking at me with those eyes full of shy affection.
She goes back and forth, eating and feeding me and I am not so stupid as to point out that there are two spoons, not one.
I enjoy having Rey feed me and from the glances she casts my way, I believe she is too.
The bowl quickly empties and I shake my head, letting her have the last bite.
Our meal is done...and I find myself disappointed that this ended so soon. I am not one to linger over any given task but this time with Rey makes everything seem more...alive.
I pay the bill, taking Rey by the hand, as we once more head back into the city.
The air is noticeably cooler, the sky awash in color of the fading sun. It won't be much longer before our rendezvous at the warehouse.
Rey will have her part...and no longer have a reason to stay.
She will leave me, again.
"So...how far to the warehouse district?"
If I did not know absolutely that Jedi mind tricks could not work on me, I would swear the woman has the ability to pull the thoughts from my head.
I look around the cityscape, remembering the map I had memorized earlier.
"It's a bit of a walk by foot," I reply, thinking quickly, "If we take a transport, not long."
I would rather walk. I detest public transports, too many unknown factors, but the truth is I don't want to share Rey with whatever time we have left together.
"I don't mind walking if you don't."
I look down at Rey and see a strange, fierce light on her face.
Perhaps she is not reading my mind but we are simply sharing the same thought.
"No," I entwine our fingers, palm to palm, "I don't mind. Let's go."
The streets are no longer so crowded, a few people out for a walk in the setting sun.
Mostly in groups of two and they tip their head in our direction. A curious reaction.
I want to ask Rey what she thinks about their strange behavior, only to see her face glowing, a delighted smile on her face.
"What has that look on your face?"
I don't recall anything that could have put that look on her face.
"What look?" She is still grinning at me, swirling amber catching the dying light.
"If your smile gets any wider," and it does, impossibly, "I fear you might pull a muscle."
Now I really want to know what has her this happy.
She shifts closer, leaning her head against my arm and I slow my pace automatically, so she can lean on me without stumbling.
"I just...I'm having a good day," lilting softness that is her voice, "Isn't that reason enough to smile?"
Just then another male passes close to us and he gives me a rueful smile, his gaze lingering on the woman at my side...and a tip of his head.
I now know what those strange looks were from the others.
They assumed Rey and I were just another couple out enjoying the evening air.
Is that why she was smiling? Because others believed us to be...together.
She looks up at me and the question is on my lips...but I cannot ask and break this lingering peace between us.
Not when I know she will be leaving me.
So I turn my eyes away and focus on the task at hand. Getting us to the Warehouse District.
I will not rush our parting.
"So...how much trouble do you think we're going to run into."
Her thoughts are running parallel to mine. She does not have to mention a name, considering who we are meeting up with.
"Expect an ambush."
A resigned sigh and she pulls her head from my arm and I already miss the weight of her leaning on me.
"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too," a pause and I hear annoyance in her next words,"How come you didn't tell me the crystal cradle is illegal to obtain?"
I had been wondering when we were going to get around to that.
"That particular order came down after...I joined."
When Snoke realized just how many other Padawan I had brought with me when I defected from Skywalker.
"Why? I mean about the part? What was the point?"
Rapid-fire questions that skated around the words like First Order and Snoke.
"To track potential Jedi," to allow me to track them, "The crystal cradle, among a few select pieces, can only be used for one purpose. To forge a lightsaber."
I glance down at her, her brow furrowed in concentration at my answer.
"I see...so if a person wanted those parts in particular..."
"Then he would have known that there was another potential Jedi out there."
Then I would be sent to persuade them to join the First Order...or kill them before they had a chance to become a threat.
There is a reason I am called the Jedi Killer.
Our conversation has brought us to the marker that divides the civilians from the industry.
"We're almost there. Stay alert."
Reluctantly I allow her to pull our hands apart. We were going to need both if this turned into a fight.
Which it is was going to. The Force allowed me to sense the malevolence coating the air, at least eight individuals whose minds were set on violence.
I disliked leaving my saber behind but I needed to blend in and I am the only individual in the entire galaxy that carries a red saber.
However I did not need the weapon of a Sith to deal with these swamp rats.
"Well...damn."
Rueful recognition in her voice as we reach the beginning of the warehouse district.
"A good spot to lay a trap," the containers were laid out in an intricate maze, covering several miles of spacing that would take more than a dozen platoons to fully cover, "Wouldn't you agree?"
There is only the two of us and if Anu'ul betrays Rey I will wash this warehouse with his blood and those he brought with him.
"Mmhmm. Follow my lead."
Her attention is focused on a lone figure standing sentry at one of the four openings to the inside.
I let her get ahead of me, guarding her back from unseen threats.
I don't like the feel of this place and I want Rey as far away from here as possible but I know that will not happen.
She isn't about to leave without that lightsaber piece and trying to talk into leaving will only be an exercise in futility.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
Hostile words, accompanied by the threat of violence from what should only be a civilian worker.
"My name is Rey," calm words with her own brand of arrogance, "This is my partner Ben. We're here about some merchandise."
It is an effort to keep the disbelief from showing when she declares me her partner.
I knew we were growing closer...but to say that...we were definitely going to have a discussion when all of this was done and over with.
"Warehouse is closed," sneering disdain and I note his finger on the blaster at his side, "Come back in the morning, during normal hours."
Civilian are not allowed to carry open weapons in the city.
One of men on the payroll for Anu'ul then.
It would seem that he no longer wished to keep his life after all.
If he wants to court death so arrogantly then I will oblige him.
Rey call's his bluff, knowing full well that she was expected.
The guard falter's beneath the cold fury in her words and quickly checks in with his boss.
He comes back with a malicious smile on his face.
"My mistake," oily words that have me pressing my finger on my blaster, "You're expected."
"Great," she sounds bored as she glances through the metal weaving, "where?"
The guard rattles off instructions and I note the placement and possible alternatives for ambushes as Rey motions for me to come with her.
The guard looks at me, displeasure evident that she is not alone.
"I wasn't told you would have...company," sneering dismissal at my presence, "Only you."
I tire of his paltry display of power.
"Tell Praksis my name," I wrap the Force around my words and none to gently project them at the guard wasting our time, "go on, we'll wait."
I silently promise him a prolonged death if he tries any more evasions.
The guard is not as stupid as he appears and we have our answer within seconds of my asking.
"You...you both can go in."
The man is no longer so dismissive, in fact he is looking at me with something close to terror in his eyes.
Good. It might keep him alive just a little longer.
I follow Rey past the gates, her movements slow and precise.
I am close enough that I can practically feel the tension radiating off of her.
"Trap?" her voice is just barely a whisper but I hear it clearly. Along with the apprehension she cannot quite hide.
"Most assuredly."
"Any chance we'll actually make it out alive...and in one piece?"
I wonder if she is trying to amuse me on purpose with her little jokes.
"You have me. What does that tell you?"
As if I would let her come to harm.
I hear that nearly inaudible huff of laughter at my reply and there is no more time for banter.
We've arrived.
Anu'ul along with a handful of men at his side.
It appears his 'other' business that he spoke of was to hire a few more mercenaries.
The violence in the air spikes another degree as I get a good look at one the men about to die this night.
The slave trafficker from earlier today.
Teilu's tormentor.
The bells in the city go off in a cacophony of noise that lasts for several seconds before dying down.
Anu'ul steps forward, his golden eyes focused on Rey alone.
He exchanges pleasantries. Her reply is short and insouciant.
While she keeps him busy, I take in the enemy.
Of the seven, only two of them give me a slight pause.
One was a Kessurain male, his elongated ears and crimson skin unique to his species. The sniper rifle held loose at his side spoke of ease and experience with the long-range weapon.
The second was human, male, but the tribal markings that obscured half his face are familiar.
A bounty hunter that went by the name of Simir, the chain whip coiled in his hand a crude replica of a praetorian's plasma whip.
The gang leader and the other four with him are nothing more than hired muscle, meant to intimidate us.
My name is mentioned and I turn my attention back to Anu'ul and Rey.
Who are still verbally sparring with each other.
Anu'ul is looking at me with ill-concealed hatred.
"I wonder," hard words with a cruel edge, "if you know him as well as you think you do."
Ah, the old ploy of trying to drive a wedge between companions. It might have been effective on anyone else but the two of us.
We have shared too much of each other to be so easily manipulated.
Rey proves me right with her response.
"Enough," impatience and the stirring of anger that have Anu'ul frowning, "do you have my item or not? Patrols could be along any minute and I don't want to answer awkward questions that might come up if we're spotted."
My patrol patterns are erratic, so as to confuse anyone trying to find a weakness to exploit, but it is a well-timed bluff from her.
Though I am sure Anu'ul has compensated for the irregular checks.
"No need for such worries," he assures her pulling a small, traveler's pouch into his hand, "I have men stationed around the entire perimeter."
I no longer have to 'guess' if Anu'ul is planning to betray us. His words have already confirmed that he will not let us leave.
I feel the tension in Rey but I cannot do anything until he shows me he has what she came for.
I will not have her leave here empty-handed after going through such effort.
Once more they throw words at each other and I see the glint of metal tumbling from the black pouch.
One crystal cradle. There is no mistaking that design.
Only one reason he is showing this to Rey.
Bait.
He was telling her to move closer and I felt, more than saw, the slight shudder of revulsion his words produced.
But she did as he asked and I moved in her shadow, the lock on my blaster released.
"Closer."
We are but a foot away from him, the predatory gleam in his eyes unmistakable.
"This is close enough," steel and defiance is her answer, "do you want my money or not?"
"I think," his eyes turn on me, malevolent with hate, "not."
The cradle vanishes back into the bag as his men close ranks.
"Kill her partner," he sounded almost bored, as though the outcome was already decided, "keep the woman alive."
Rey and I lock eyes, the heat of battle alight in amber and that is all the time we have to spare.
Back to back as the enemy circles us, my blaster in hand.
I can see Anu'ul further back, the gleam of gold unmistakable even in this semi-darkness.
"Can you get to Praksis?"
As much as I desire to relieve his head from his body, I am the only one with enough battle experience to take on all these men and survive.
Better to let Rey take on a single foe.
"Yes," a harsh whisper, "but if you think for one minute I'm leaving you alone..."
Her obvious concern for me is fuel to my flame.
"I can handle them," I open fire on the men surrounding us, the sudden barrage turning the air a hazy red, "go!"
They scatter like leaves in the wind, dark fury on Anu'ul's face.
A cold void at my back where Rey dived through the path I just created for her.
"Don't you dare die on me!"
If there was ever an order I dare not disobey, this would be it.
Rey returns fire, catching one of the men across the face as he goes down, flesh and hair burn the air with an acrid tang.
Anu'ul has retreated, no doubt being pursued by Rey. I no longer have to fear that she will be caught in the crossfire and I let the battle rage take over.
A blur of figures, the burn of plasma as I turn the bolts away and send them back to ones who fired.
Cries of agony before silence and two are dead. Five to go, including the Kessurain and Simir.
The slave trafficker sends his other two after me, hoping to corner me but I am already moving, coming up behind one and using him as my shield as the other fires.
I turn his blaster on his partner and now there is only the three left.
The hum of power, my Force sense screaming at me as I dodge a burst of fire from above me.
The Kessurain has managed to climb one of the containers and is taking aim at me.
I reach out, feeling his life energy in mygrip and pull, hard. His body is airborn just as I spot Simir out of my peripheral vision and I swing the Kessurain body at the bounty hunter.
Dead weight slams into the human male, tangling in the whip he has just uncoiled.
Two more shots, both to the head and now it is only the gang leader.
"Impressive," the flash of vermilion as he comes at me with bare fists, dodging my blaster with a skill I had not anticipated.
I holster the weapon and take the impact, turning and sweeping my leg out, but it is only a glancing blow.
He is already back on his feet, his fist aimed for my head. I'm already spinning out of reach, coming up on his side as I backhand him across the jaw.
The jagged edge of the spikes dig into my flesh as they snap off and blood sprays across me.
A howl of pain splits the air and I am behind him before he can recover.
My hands around his head as I give a vicious twist, breaking the vertebra between head and neck.
I let go, his body dropping to the ground, a lifeless corpse that will never makes slaves of little girls ever again.
"Ben!" Rey, the lilt of her voice like music in the darkness, "I'm...oh!"
I turn just as she comes into view, her eyes impossibly wide as she takes in the seven dead bodies scattered around me.
I wait for the hesitation, the revulsion that will settle in when she realizes just how well trained a killer I am.
But she doesn't falter, running at me with a blaze of panic in her dark eyes.
I see the metal rod in her hand, smell the blood and ice runs in my veins.
I catch her by the waist, searching for any sign of injury.
I have taken too long with those seven. I should have been quicker to get to her side.
"Are you hurt?"
If there is even so much as a scratch on her, I will replicate every injury, every hurt on Anu'ul until death will seem like a mercy.
But she is shaking her head at me, her eyes no longer so frantic as she takes my hand, pulling me away from the death I have just delivered.
"Come on, we need to get out of here! There is no way nobody heard that." The urgency in her voice shakes the bloodlust from my mind and I nod my head, letting her lead the way.
She steps around the bodies with barely a flicker of her eyes.
"Here I thought you only knew how to use a saber."
Shock with a tinge of admiration in her tone.
Considering who my parents are, it shouldn't have come as that big of a surprise.
"My preferred choice of weapon in a fight," more versatile and greater power, "but I do know how to use others when needed."
"Obviously."
Droll reply and I feel the brush of dark amusement at her response.
We're near the entrance and I see the guard.
So does Rey as she lifts the metal rod and slams it across the head of Anu'ul's lookout.
He drops but not before I reach out with the Force so his dead weight does not make noise and give away our position.
We clear the gate and I can see the lights of the city in the distance.
"This way," I grab her hand, intent on taking her back with me to base, my only thought for her safety.
She's resisting me, stubbornly pulling me in the opposite direction I want to go in.
"No, this way, my ship is closer."
My patrol will be here within minutes.
"But my guards," she cuts me off before I can finish.
"Ben your guards are not going going to recognize you," frustration and fear in her voice, "You're dressed like a Corellian smuggler and most people are mistaking me for a bounty hunter." Pleading in her eyes as she looks up at me, once more tugging on my hand, "They are not going to stand around and wait for you to explain who you are. Let's go."
I can stand here and argue and possibly end up getting us killed in the process, or I can trust her instincts and follow her lead.
"Your ship will be recognized."
The Falcon might be a flying relic but it was a recognizable relic.
She flashes me a smile that has far too many secrets considering our present situation.
"No it won't," again that soft pleading, "Come with me."
As if I could simply walk away after everything we've done together.
When she tugs on my hand for a third time I let her lead me away and she sets a fast pace, trying to keep ahead of the patrols.
But we've lingered too long and I can hear the familiar sound of armored feet on the ground.
Rey moves with a speed that astounds me as she slams me up against a wall and I feel the flash of burning pain in my left hand as it connects.
Her mouth is across mine, the press of her body a pleasant distraction from the pain crawling up my arm.
She doesn't move, I can barely detect her breathing as a platoon passes us by, unseen and unheard.
She pulls her hand from my mouth when we can no longer hear the clamor of their suits.
"Not much farther," she whispers as we take off running again like fugitives, and I know the direction she is headed.
It leads to the docking port.
It is one of the locations that remains open throughout the night. We slow our run into a walk and Rey stops, her hands braced on her knee's.
She sounds slightly out of breath. She was going to have to work on her endurance if she wanted to master the Jedi arts.
I scan the ships docked, looking for a familiar hull.
"I don't see the Falcon."
That should have been impossible, the dockyard was not so full that a large ship like the Falcon could be hidden so easily.
"Do...I look stupid...to you?"
A soft growl in her voice, eyes flashing amber fire as she answers me.
I have never thought her stupid, reckless yes, but not idiotic.
Unlike some of her companions.
She straightens, the color vivid against her pale skin and she has the temerity to roll her eyes at me.
"I didn't bring the Falcon," exasperation warring with smug satisfaction as we move through the docks, "Too recognizable and I didn't want to paint a big, fat target on myself when I needed to blend in."
Clever and sneaky.
"So then..."
I let my question trail off, awaiting her response.
She jerks her head, her voice no longer holding a growl of annoyance from earlier.
"This way."
She moves with purpose but I see her eyes constantly searching for the dock master.
For once we meet with no opposition and Rey leads me to something I haven't seen out side of a museum.
"This is..."
"Interstellar transport from the old Galactic Republic days, decommissioned of course."
I can hear the grin in her voice without even looking at her. She pats the side of the ship as if it were a pet she was overly fond of.
Her fingers find the keypad that releases the gangplank.
"Inside, now. Before patrols spot us."
I need no second prompting to follow Rey into her ship. She quickly has it locked down behind us as she moves through the main hull, throwing random switches to light our way.
I watch as she collapses into a battered chair, the tight pinch of fear from earlier leaving in slow degree's.
"I can't believe we made it out of there alive," I cannot tell if she is happy or just in shock that we survived, "What the hell did you do to piss Praksis off?"
Her eyes open on heels of that aggressive question.
I know exactly what I did. I asked about Exegol and proved to him that there is at least one Sith still very much alive in the galaxy.
But she does not need to know that.
At least not yet.
"What makes you think it was about me?"
The adrenaline from earlier is leaving me and I feel the crash of weariness on its way.
I lean my body up against the bulkhead, wondering how much she already suspects.
"Ben, no games," exhaustion and I am certain she is close to burnout as I am, "I heard him give the order to have you killed and when I fought him," pain etches dark grooves around her mouth, "I know what I heard. He hated you...but I get the feeling that you two have never met before today."
She is feeling around for answers, trying to draw them out of me.
"Correct," there is a steady pulse of pain around my hand that is making it hard for me censure my words, "Until today I have never laid eyes on the man you call Praksis."
"Ben!" I snap my eyes open, not even realizing I had closed them, to see Rey leap out of the chair, "You're hurt!"
"What...oh, this." I lift my hand to see blood running freely, as far as wounds go I've had much worse, "It's nothing."
"It's not nothing," the sharp bite of anger directed at me, "I can't believe you didn't tell me you were hurt."
She is grabbing my other hand and I can clearly see she is upset.
"Rey," why do I feel like the floor is being pulled out from beneath me, "...are you mad at me?"
She turns her head, the flash of fire that burns right through me at her gaze, "What do you think?"
She doesn't give me a chance to reply, or explain, as she marches me further into her ship.
A sharp left as we pass through a constricting doorway...that leads to a small sleeping quarter.
A narrow looking bed and a silver door off to the side that I can only assume is her bathroom.
"Sit." she points to the cot, calling it a bed is overly optimistic, the only piece of furniture in the small space, "Don't move. I'll be right back."
Considering that she is practically vibrating with anger I do as instructed.
I am still trying to figure out why she is angry as she stalks into the bathroom, the sound of a small typhoon going off behind the doors.
I have little time to gather my thoughts when she comes back out, a small medkit and clean towel in her hands.
"Here, give me your hand."
An imperious gesture fit for an empress.
But I am covered in blood and violence and that is not how I want Rey to see me.
"Rey I-"
"I said," soft, crooning words that make the darker emotions that live in me pulse with attention, "Give. Me. Your. Hand."
My fatigue from earlier is no longer a concern, I am more awake now than the battle I just faced.
Molten amber, sparked with gold gazing at me with absolute expectation in being obeyed.
My hand is up, whatever excuse I was going to make no longer relevant.
She slides the towel onto my leg, taking the ruins of my hand in her own.
Her eyes are still livid, but her touch...she caresses my hand as if I was about to break.
Until, that is, she applies the antiseptic. Dipping my hand into open flame might hurt less.
"Ow."
"Oh, now you let me know you're in pain," Cutting words as she continues to wipe away the blood and ruined skin, "Good, I hope it stings like hell."
She might have meant for her words to hurt me...except that her touch is the gentlest I have ever felt.
I am starting to wonder if her anger isn't at me but for me.
Because I was injured...and didn't tell her.
"How did you hurt yourself?" A quiet question, cool but not with the asperity from a minute ago, "I didn't think anyone got close to you?"
She's pulling a green tube from the medkit and I know that particular sealant is going to hurt.
Even expecting it, I cannot quite hold back the shudder as it hits the open wounds on my hand.
I divert myself from the pain by answering Rey.
"That gang leader from before?" A brief nod of her head that she remembered him, "Decided that he wanted a rematch. With his fists," the last mistake he would ever make, "I obliged him and broke the spikes on the left side of his jaw for his effort."
At the time battlelust had flowed through me, negating the pain I accumulated.
"Why weren't you wearing your gloves?"
I blink at her odd comment. Why would she think...and then I know.
She was thinking of me as Kylo Ren, not...Ben Solo.
I am trying to decide how I feel about this.
Soft bandages wrap around my tender skin, the sealant numbing the ragged edges so that for now, the pain is negligible.
I decide to peruse the safer answer and perhaps lessen her anger towards me.
"Corellian smuggler, remember?" Luminous eyes look up at me, no longer sparking with anger, "they don't wear gloves. Ever."
At least my f-Han Solo never did. Not in any of my memories.
"Oh."
A simple answer, full of chagrin and a slight, sheepish look on her face.
My hand is wrapped, expertly so, and she quickly packs up her belongings without another word and retreats back to the bathroom.
I look at my hand, wondering at her skill and then I remember the life she led before the Resistance.
A scavenger on a backward planet, trying to survive. Medical knowledge would have been essential in order to live.
I hear the soft slide of metal on metal and look up at Rey.
The anger, that living presence I felt earlier from her, gone.
The fires are banked and I see sorrow, her ever persistent companion, back in her eyes.
"Did you get it?"
In all the disarray, the fight and the flight, I never asked.
Confusion reflected back at me and I give her a gentle prompt.
"The crystal cradle? Did you get what you needed Rey?"
Tears fracture the color of her eyes but she is nodding her head and pulling the small, black pouch from around her waist.
"Here."
She opens the bag and drops the piece into the palm of my uninjured hand.
The cradle is heavier than it appears and I turn it to the dim light to get a better look.
"Well," there is a weight in my chest that is making it hard for me to speak, "at least it wasn't a complete waste of time." A small, selfish part of me had hoped this wasn't a true cradle, "it's real and as far as I can tell, a viable piece. You won't know until you install it."
I hand her back the part and hope she doesn't notice the way my hand trembles.
She tucks it away without comment and looks at me, heartbreak and sorrow that cut stronger than any blade through me.
"I guess...it's time for me to leave."
Her words shatter the peace we have built between us.
To be continued...
