A/N: Thanks to everyone who's continued to follow/favorite and review. You're making me want to dump all of the chapters I've written all at once... seriously, it's becoming a real problem for my self-control! Thanks also to my amazing beta Leona2016 for helping me iron out this chapter and many...many future chapters! *eyelid twitches*

I hope you all enjoy this one! I'd love to hear what you think!

Take care of yourselves and be safe until next time:)


Ben leaned back in the pilot's seat and studied the message Hux had sent him. A long list of codes scrolled past: the operating numbers for the troopers and their ranks. The general had, if nothing else, kept his word to update him on Phasma's company inspection. Two numbers stood out from the rest of the black text. The red of the lines of script seemed to stare back at him, a horrible, freezing suspicion taking possession of his thoughts. He seemed to hear Mela's words again and again.

He's going to have to make another jump.

Two men missing from inspection with record of only one in the medical ward. It had been months since he'd seen such a thing- the day the Supremacy was reduced to a crippled hulk. But then there had been casualty reports to explain the red numbers. There were none now.

He tried to find a sense of calm. He tried to tell himself that he was being foolish and paranoid. But the silent dread would not leave him. He looked over his shoulder to find Rey, head drooping toward one shoulder, sound asleep. It was a small relief that she hadn't pressed him for information. He wasn't sure he could have kept it from her if she'd decided to fight. The way her chest rose and fell in a gentle rhythm and the expression on her face that had relaxed into something almost like peace eased his anxiety. But he also saw the dark circles under her eyes and the way she kept her body tightly huddled against the wall as if it could provide her with a semblance of protection. She feared Snoke. She had every right to fear Snoke. It had only been a few months since the tyrant had vanished, but he had been shadowing their steps ever since. Sooner or later, he would spring. He stared down at the little red number. The memory of his dream and Snoke's promise that they would meet again haunted him. Could it really be so soon?

Rey did not wake until the Silencer slid through the magnetic shield and into the Finalizer, engines pitching down to a low purr as the craft settled into its docking site.

"We're back?" she mumbled, sitting up and stretching to look out the viewport in a half-dazed fashion. "That was fast."

"You slept the whole way."

Rey sighed and rubbed her hands across her face.

"Making up for last night," she said around a yawn. "Don't think it was enough though."

Together, they left the confines of the starship for the open air of the hangar and slid onto the floor, starting for the lifts on the far side of the room. Ben's mind was so completely occupied by thoughts of Phasma's report that he didn't realize they were being followed until Rey let out a startled cry and leapt sideways, knocking against him. A figure several inches shorter than Rey and clad in a gray uniform, dark hair chopped close to her scalp, released Rey's arm and straightened, holding out a data pad. Ben stared at the mechanic, recognizing her but not able to remember where he'd seen her.

"Lita," Rey gasped, "don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, Rey," said the girl with a slight bow. "And excuse me for interrupting, Supreme Leader, but I wanted to speak with you both about the Silencer. I ran some diagnostics…"

Realization dawned on Ben. It was the mechanic who'd helped Rey disassemble his TIE.

"Go ahead," he said.

Lita backed up a pace and clutched the data pad closer against her chest, swallowing hard. Ben waited for her to gather herself, trying to suppress his impatience at the delay. The little mechanic took a deep breath and glanced around. Ben followed her shifting eyes, finding nothing but empty air and a few troopers far enough away that he couldn't hear their conversation. Lita's eyes flicked back to Rey and the tight lines of her shoulders seemed to ease by a fraction.

"I was hoping we could discuss my findings?"

"By all means," Ben said. "Rey, can you deal with this?"

Rey was in the middle of a nod when five short fingernails seized the sleeve of his tunic and dug into his skin. Lita clutched at him, face pale.

"You need to hear this too," she hissed. "Because it was you Hux wanted dead when I heard Captain Phasma give one of the mechanics orders to sabotage your ship."

Ben hesitated, not sure he should let on how much he already knew.

"Which mechanic?" he asked.

Lita released him, glancing over her shoulders again to assure herself no one was listening, before pulling the data pad from her chest and studying it as though she were reading him a report.

"I couldn't see," she said. "I was working under one of the TIEs when I heard them talking. I tried, sir. I really did. But the man was facing away from me and then I didn't see him again until he was crawling out of your ship. He was too far away for me to see his face. I was going to try to figure out what he'd tampered with, but you both were boarding by the time I got close. I climbed up on one of the scaffoldings and tried to stop you."

"I saw you!" Rey exclaimed. "You were waving and saying something."

"I was trying to tell you to stop, but it didn't work," she said. "I should have tried harder. I'm sorry. I was so glad when you came back alive."

Ben glanced at Rey, then back to the little mechanic standing stiff and terrified before them.

"Why are you telling us this?" he asked.

The trooper met his eyes with a steadiness that surprised him.

"Because if you are in danger, then so is Rey," she said, scanning the hangar again as her voice quieted into something scarcely more than a murmur. "And, if I may be so free, better you than Hux, sir."

"What do you mean?" asked Rey.

Lita shifted uncomfortably and kept quiet for several long seconds.

"I'd rather swear loyalty to the Supreme Leader than to General Hux," she said at last, dipping into a slight bow in Rey's direction. "Especially with you at his side, Rey. I do not trust Kylo Ren, but I trust Hux less."

Ben kept his astonishment hidden, but he couldn't extinguish the spark of hope the trooper's words lit in his heart. The little mechanic Rey had befriended was a reassurance that the trap in which he and Rey were standing might not close around them. He had longed for something like this and had doubted he would ever see it come to pass. But it stood before them now, swearing aloud a desire to follow where they led the very day that he feared would bring him face to face with a greater enemy than Hux. The irony was not lost to him.

"Are there any others who share that opinion?" he asked.

Lita carefully pushed her data pad toward him, pointing as if to show him something on the display. It remained blank, though Lita watched it as she spoke beneath her breath.

"I'm not sure, sir," she said. "If they do, they don't speak of them. Treasonous words get people killed. The only reason I say them now is because I know that you are not a friend of the general."

"That's no secret," Ben said.

"He apparently considers you just as much of an enemy, if Phasma was sent to arrange your deaths," Lita said.

"You seem to trust us enough to tell us these things," Rey said, "but how do we know we can trust you?"

Lita lifted her chin a fraction of an inch, frowning.

"Because you are my friend. But if I was mistaken when I thought that meant something to you, then I offer my word as a stormtrooper. I will not betray you."

"You're betraying your vow to the First Order right now," Rey said, brow arched. "So, what is the word of a stormtrooper worth?"

Lita looked first stricken, then angry. Ben stretched out a hand and squeezed Rey's shoulder. The suspicion in her voice was as startling as a blow across his face; an alarming reminder of what she was becoming.

"She's telling the truth, Rey. You know it. Stop trying to trap her in her words."

"I'm only trying to make sure she knows how important this is."

"I do know," Lita snapped. "That's why I'm here to warn you that Hux is out for your blood."

"We know he is," Rey said. "He dropped several bombs on us after he tried to send the Silencer into the dirt."

Ben sighed.

"Can we count on you to come to us again if you hear of any other plot, trooper?"

"Yes, sir," Lita said. "And I'll keep my eyes and ears open for any others who question Hux's leadership. After the defeat of the Supremacy, there may be more willing to set aside their loyalty to the General."

"Just be smart about it," Rey said, a little shortly.

"What do you take me for?" Lita asked, hand on her hip. "I didn't last this long in the First Order by being an idiot."

She saluted and turned on her heel, stalking away from them to disappear under a TIE. Rey glanced at him, consternation written across her features.

"What do you make of that?" she asked.

"Our chance to be free of Hux."

"It's only one, Ben," Rey said.

"If you keep harassing her like that, there won't be any."

"I just wanted to warn her off. The safest place for any friends of ours is far away from us."

"But our only chance against Hux and Snoke is if we have allies."

"One makes no difference," Rey said.

"If there's one, there's more," he said.

"How do you know?"

"I don't," he said. "But for the first time in a long time, I have hope that Hux won't be breathing down our necks for much longer."

Rey bit her lower lip and hugged herself.

"I wish I could believe that, Ben," she said. "I really do."

Ben watched her shoulders slump. After looking about to make sure no one was watching, he let his hand rest against the small of her back.

"Go back to your quarters," he said. "Rest. I know you're tired."

"I'm fine," she said.

"You're not," he said. "You hardly slept last night and whatever you managed to get on the Silencer wasn't enough."

"You didn't get a good night's sleep either, and you're fine."

"I haven't slept well in years. I'm used to it."

"Ben…" she started.

"I have to take care of a few things anyway. You can sleep while I'm gone."

Rey finally conceded the argument as her jaw stretched wide in a yawn. She nodded to him and split off for a lift that would take her to the level of their quarters. Ben made straight for the bridge. His heart crept into his throat as he strode through the corridors, thoughts of Snoke's pale eyes haunting his steps.

When he reached the bridge, a young officer in a black uniform intercepted him.

"The general is unavailable right now," he said. "Is there a way I can assist you, Supreme Leader?"

Ben was instantly suspicious.

"I need to speak with Hux," Ben said, brushing aside the man's offer of aid. "Where is he?"

"He's in a meeting with a few of the communications officers right now, sir. I believe it had something to do with their lack of information on Resistance movements. Is there a message I could relay to him?"

Ben held up his holopad.

"I got Captain Phasma's report on this morning's troop inspection and there are a few concerns I need addressed."

"I should be able to answer any questions you have, sir," the young man said, voice wavering only slightly as Ben glowered at him.

"Well then," Ben said, crossing his arms, "why do I have a missing man with no record as to his whereabouts. I'm sure you're well aware how low of a tolerance Captain Phasma has for absences."

"Yes, sir," said the man. "We're actually still investigating that. The man didn't turn up for inspection this morning and is nowhere to be found. It's as though he's disappeared."

"Have you asked his bunkmate about the situation?"

"Captain Phasma did, yes, but from all I hear he was no help."

"Perhaps I can get the information out of him?" Ben asked.

"You can try," he said, "but I doubt you'll get any more out of him than Phasma did. He's the one that was sent to the med bay."

"Why the med bay?"

"Psych eval. Phasma deemed him unfit for duty after questioning him. We're awaiting the results, but if you ask me the man's gone mad."

Ben's gut told him he needed to keep digging.

"I'll go speak with him," he said. "Maybe I can decipher something Phasma missed."

"Should I tell the General you wish to speak with him?" the officer called after him as Ben slipped back into the corridor.

Ben ignored the comment and made his way to the med bay, slowed by the traffic of stormtroopers that strode past on their own business. The crowed thinned a little the closer he got to his destination, but he still brushed shoulders with several troopers before he stepped into the relative quiet of the Finalizer's medical center. He breathed a small sigh of relief in the suddenly open air and glanced around, looking for someone he could ask for directions.

He had scarcely had time to absorb any of what he was seeing when a med droid walked past with a tray of silver surgical instruments, humming and clicking to itself. Ben stepped forward, hand outstretched.

"I'm looking for a patient," he said. "Can you show me where he is?"

The droid looked at him and, though its face was metal and completely expressionless, Ben could have sworn he saw it scowl.

"What patient?" it asked, peevishly.

"He's a trooper here for a psych eval," Ben explained. "HP-904."

The droid motioned to the far corner of the cavernous space.

"Psychological cases are examined over there," it said.

Ben nodded his thanks and strode in the direction the droid had shown him. There were several partitions separating the space into individual rooms that he peered into as he passed. Most were empty, but he saw that the last cubicle on his left was occupied. He peered inside to see a man slumped on the exam table, head in his hands, an expression of shock frozen on his features. He glanced up as Ben entered the room and leapt to his feet, saluting. Ben shook his head.

"At ease, HP- 904. I'm only here to talk."

"Talk, sir?"

Ben stood in the corner of the room, arms crossed.

"About why you're here."

The trooper's face went stony.

"I'm not crazy, sir. I don't care what they said."

"I never said you were."

"You believe me?" the man asked, incredulity staining his words. "You don't think I've gone off the deep end?"

"Why should I?"

"I saw a man vanish," he said. "That doesn't scream crazy to you, sir?"

Ben felt his heart plummet into his stomach, but he tried not to let his dismay show.

"It depends," he said. "Maybe you'd better start from the beginning."

He edged the suggestion with a slight push from the Force, easing the man's anxiety in his presence and prompting him to begin speaking. The trooper held out his hands in a gesture of helpless surrender.

"I was friends with Nines- I mean HP-909," he said. "Have been ever since we were recruits. We were bunkmates too."

"So you knew him well."

The trooper nodded.

"We had each other's backs. I always knew that I could trust him," 904 trailed into silence for several moments before he continued. "Up until a few months ago, anyway."

Ben held his tongue, waiting for the man to continue.

"He was different after the destruction of the Supremacy. Real different. Almost like another person, sir. Didn't eat like he used to- slept little. He was losing weight and looked sick, if you ask me. I thought it was the battle getting to him. Sometimes it happens- FN-2187 was an example. I figured he would come around. I didn't ever imagine anything like what happened this morning."

A horrible fear wrapped its long fingers around Ben's heart and began to squeeze. He heard the man's next words, but they came to him muffled by his own screaming thoughts.

"We were getting ready for the Captain's inspection," said the man, his face pale and his words coming out in a rush. "He just dropped. I thought he'd passed out or something and commed the medics. By then I realized he wasn't breathing. I tried to bring him back. I was trying to bring him back when the body disappeared right under my fingers. It shook me up pretty bad, sir. I don't remember much after that, just that when the medics got there and I told them what happened they brought me here."

Ben narrowed his eyes, studying the man. He would have been an easy host for Snoke to take- a weak presence in the Force with a will that Ben did not consider to be made of iron, but there was no trace of Snoke on the man and Ben couldn't sense a shield. Trooper 904 apparently remained in possession of his mind and body.

"I believe you." Ben said, breaking the tense silence.

"You do?" asked 904.

Ben nodded and, without warning, he stretched out a hand toward the man, reaching for his mind with the Force. HP-904 writhed for a moment, eyes wide and full of the pain so characteristic of the mind probe Ben used to sort through the man's memories. He found the ones he needed and wrenched them free. 904 shuddered and blinked, then gazed at his surroundings as though lost.

"What happened?" he asked, giving his head a small shake. "Where am I?"

"You had a bit of a spell," Ben said, adopting the low sing-song of a mind trick. "You're in the med bay. Your friend HP-909 has deserted and it seems, with recent events being what they are, you took the news rather badly."

904's expression froze.

"I remember now," he mumbled. "909…deserted."

"When you're asked what happened to him, you will say he was gone when you woke for troop inspection this morning."

"I'll tell them he was gone…" murmured the trooper.

Ben nodded and dropped his hand. HP-904 slumped, mouth slack and eyes unfocused. There was a fleeting sense of tightness in Ben's chest at the pain and damage he'd inflicted, but he pushed it away as he always did, to somewhere deep inside where he could pass it by without thought. He was just about to get up and leave when, to his great surprise, he spotted a familiar stiff coif of red hair over the top of the partition. He had to fight the urge to let out a groan. Half a second later, Hux swept into the close space. He caught sight of Ben and jerked backward, a scowl twisting his face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"The same as you, I imagine," Ben replied, trying to keep his voice mild. "Asking questions."

"Since when does the Supreme Leader lower himself to interrogate troops?"

"I do when it's my business," Ben said. "And I thought this was a matter that concerned me, though apparently I was wrong."

Hux glanced toward the trooper that sat, still looking slightly dazed, on the exam table.

"What did he say?" he asked.

"I'm not your messenger boy, Hux," Ben said with feigned unconcern. "Ask him yourself."

Hux glared daggers at him, but Ben didn't flinch. Hux's murderous looks had long ago ceased to raise anything more than mild irritation.

"Well?" Hux asked, rounding on HP-904.

"Well what, sir?" asked the man, stupidly.

Hux seemed to be fighting to control himself, face contorting with the effort. Ben might have laughed if it had been about anything but Snoke. At last, Hux seemed to bring himself in check. He took a deep breath in through his nose and straightened his pristine uniform.

"What happened this morning?" he asked. "Where is HP-909?"

Ben held his breath. Even after all the years he'd spent using mind tricks, he still got nervous when it came to the point. Suppose it hadn't taken. 904 looked helplessly back and forth between Ben and Hux for a moment before he swallowed hard and said:

"I don't know, sir. He was gone when I got up for inspection."

"What do you mean, gone?"

"I-I guess he deserted, sir," muttered the man. "He'd been acting strangely ever since the Supremacy-"

"Yes, all right," the general said, interrupting 904 before he reminded Hux of the greatest failure of his career.

"He didn't say anything about it, though," said the trooper. "He was just gone this morning."

Hux crossed his arms and looked skeptically down at the man.

"None of that was in the report I was given this morning by Captain Phasma. Your stories are ludicrously inconsistent. In fact, trooper, I think the only thing they both agree on, is that HP-909 is no longer on this ship."

As he spoke, Hux's voice rose to a shout. HP-904 seemed used to it, however, and simply stared straight ahead at the wall, letting the words wash over him without so much as a change in expression. When Hux had finished ranting, the man spoke.

"I think I was a bit confused this morning, sir. I might have been having a fit: seeing things, or something. I was so angry at the traitor, that I don't remember much of what I said or did. I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused."

"May have?" berated Hux. "You're little memory problem has cost us time, energy, and resources. Get back to your station, trooper, before I decide to put you on droid work for the next month."

The man winced and hurried from the room and Ben breathed a silent sigh of relief. The mind trick had worked. He was the only one who knew about Snoke. Better that way. If Hux suspected-

"Well?" asked the general, his nasally voice breaking into Ben's thoughts. "When are you going to harass me about the second desertion in less than six months?"

Ben gazed at him, not comprehending. Hux slammed his holopad down on the exam table and swore violently at him.

"You didn't hesitate to expound on my failings and misjudgments the last time this happened. Why are you keeping quiet? Some grand scheme to make me look the fool?"

"You don't need me for that, Hux," Ben said. "You're doing fine on your own."

Hux's face went purple with rage and he let out a string of curses so foul that Ben was glad Rey had stayed behind.

"Hardly proper behavior for a general of the First Order," he said, wryly.

Hux's eyes narrowed and he thrust a finger at Ben's chest.

"You're hardly the man who should be casting judgment, Ren," he spat. "You're no paradigm of civility. Until that girl came, you were out of control."

Ben raised an eyebrow.

"Correlation and causation are not the same thing, general."

"Say what you will," Hux said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'm not as ignorant as you believe me to be. I've lived longer than even you, oh Supreme Leader, and I see things. I hear things as well, so don't lie to me and say the girl means nothing to you."

"A master and an apprentice always bond," said Ben, keeping his expression blank. "It's nothing out of the ordinary."

"Then why were you seen coming out of her room this morning, instead of your own?" Hux asked, a despicable smirk on his face.

Ben was suddenly nauseous. He'd underestimated the general- something Snoke had warned him never to do- and now Hux knew, or at least he suspected. Ben forced a laugh and shrugged, trying desperately to brush off his panic.

"Training."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't expect you to understand anything about the Force," Ben shot back. "And if you cannot understand, you should not speak."

The two men stood glowering at each other for a long minute. Ben refused to back down, even as alarm bells began to sound in the back of his mind. This was a moment in which he could not afford to show weakness.

At last, Hux bent his head in a stiff half bow.

"I apologize, Supreme Leader," he said, jaw tight. "I was out of line."

Ben's clenched his fists until his nails dug into the skin of his palms to keep from striking the man. He forced himself to remember that he only had the loyalty of one trooper. One. There were no more to back him if he attacked Hux, and there were enough loyal to their general to prove a danger to Rey. He'd been careless and naive, and now Hux and his cronies were getting a little too close to discovering the truth about who Rey really was to him.

"Keep your nose out of my business, Hux," he snarled before stalking out of the room, not trusting himself to keep his hands off of the man's throat.

He stormed through the hallways, mind turning over and over with his worst fears. Snoke was on their tails and Hux was growing more and more suspicious. Rey was in danger. He was in danger. He had a hard time imagining how things could get any worse.

And then he walked into Rey's apartments.