"What do you mean they're both gone?" Finn asked as Poe ran into the suite. "Wasn't Rose supposed to be stopping her?"
"Obviously she didn't," Poe grumbled. "They're going to screw something up."
"I doubt they would be able to screw up anything more in this universe than it already is," Finn said, hands resting on his hips as Poe gave a dark look, but didn't say anymore. "We have a meeting with the Queen anyway. We don't have time to just race after them. Rey can take care of herself."
"Why are you making me feel like I'm somehow a bad father in all of this?" Poe gave a sigh and a nod. "We're needed here."
The two left the room and made their way up the hall to where Queen Cordella was already walking towards them at a strong stride, her advisers falling behind her. She motioned them to follow her and spoke without missing a beat.
"I have been informed of a small fraction of First Order that is going to be coming here to attack my people," Her voice held more emotion in it as she spoke to the two men. As long as her advisers couldn't hear her, then she could show as much emotion as she wanted. "I am asking that you two find a way to protect my people."
"How do you know this?" Finn questioned.
"Don't you have your own security?" Poe asked. Finn smacked him and sighed. It seemed like that had been all he had been doing lately. Trying to fix Poe's slip ups. Ever since Ben had returned it was like Poe couldn't focus, didn't have a filter.
"You're quite correct, General," Cordella nodded in agreement as they continued on. "But they did not bring the First Order here, you have. It´s seems to me that this will be the best exchange for letting you stay here, don't you agree?"
Both Finn and Poe stopped and looked at the teen who wore a sly side smile. They hadn't expected her to be so cunning and maybe the new added emotion was just more able to catch them off guard than her monotone voice was.
"If you can protect my kingdom, then all of your needs will continue to be met and your Resistance can stay here as long as I am in office. If you do not help me with this mission, I will ask that you and your crew leave immediately."
"Why you-"
"What would you like us to do?" Finn interrupted, stepping on Poe's foot to keep him quiet.
The Queen smiled wide as they continued out into the courtyard with a large fountain that glistened in the sunshine. "We received a transmission and the First Order is convinced that Rey is still hiding here with the rest of the Resistance. The First Order wants to be rid of the Rebel scum."
"Fine," Poe finally agreed, not seeing a better option. They didn't have the ships that could hold the capacity of the Resistance without the Falcon, which Rey had been kind enough to take when she left the two of them alone. "Do we know when this supposed attack is going to take place?"
"Tomorrow."
Poe coughed in surprise and Finn's eyes widened. "You didn't leave us much time to prepare, Your Grace," Finn said, surprise dripping from his voice.
"We received this transmission moments before I arranged this meeting." The Queen came to a stop at the fountain and looked down at the water before turning back to the two men.
"And who might have you received this transmission from?" Poe questioned, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh.
"Ben Solo relayed the message," Cordella answered, her fingers dipping into the cool water of the fountain, her long sleeve grazing the surface. She had expected some push back at the mention of Solo, she knew that there was a stressed bond between all of them, it was quite clear when they had arrived. But when no argument came she decided to press on. "I do not mind being of assistance. I can fly."
"Do you think that wise?"
"These are my people and you may have been who brought this threat to us, but I will do whatever I need to, to protect them. If that involves me flying into battle with you, then so be it."
"So there's going to be three of us against the First Order," Finn muttered, hand going to his head.
"We've done it before," Poe threw out. "We can do it again."
"And we do owe her."
"Remind me to never owe a Queen a favor ever again," Poe muttered making Finn snort. "I'll see if I can have some reinforcements join us by morning. We will do everything we can to protect your planet, Your Grace."
"Thank you General."
Poe nodded and turned away leaving Finn to scramble after him. "Who are you expecting to call in time for this to happen? It might happen tonight. We have no idea when they'll show up and we have no idea where Lando-"
"Zorii will help."
"You can't depend on your spice runner-"
"She'll come if I call," Poe insisted, waving away Finn's concerns.
"How do you know that?"
"She's never said no before."
"It's kind of creepy, isn't it?" Rose asked softly as they walked through the deserted base. The small amount of items that were left were smashed and strewn across the floor. The lights were flickering as if they couldn't decide if they wanted to be on or not.
"Just a bit," Rey agreed, glancing around.
The walls were a sad grey and the place felt cold and unwelcoming without all of the laughter that could normally be heard coming from down various halls.
"I don't think he's here," Rose announced, staying towards the entrance and not following Rey in. Rey glanced back with furrowed brows. "His ship isn't here."
"He would have told me where he was going if he left."
"Like you should have," she teased, making Rey smile.
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Rey gave a sigh and nodded. "You're right. We'll stay here tonight and head back to Naboo tomorrow."
"That sounds good," Rose agreed. "I'm sure he'll let you know where he went."
Rey nodded and went to follow Rose back outside when a familiar presence caught her attention. She turned back to the base and took a deep breath. "Rose," she muttered. "I need to check something out. I'll be back in a moment."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"No, no," she answered, waving Rose away absentmindedly as she stepped further into the base. "I'll only be a minute." Rey quickly raced down the hall and grabbed the wall to help her round the corner, feet sliding on some papers that were on the ground. She caught her balance easily and stopped at a tall form in front of her. "Ben."
He spun around quickly and Rey could only stare back at someone who looked more like Kylo than her Ben. He took a swift step towards her. "Where are you?" he asked as his hands took her shoulders. His voice was rushed and he was looking around her as if he could somehow see where she was though she knew he couldn't.
"The base. Where are you?" she shot back, pushing him away to look at him. "What are you wea-"
"I don't have long," he interrupted. "Did you get my transmission?"
"No. I turned off the communicator."
"Of course you did," he muttered, an almost laugh underneath the sentence. Rey raised an eyebrow. He glanced over her and it took a moment for her expression to click. "I didn't mean it like that."
"Then how-"
"You left Naboo. You promised." He took her arms again and rested his forehead against hers. "You were supposed to stay safe."
"I am safe," Rey pushed, again trying to move him back so she could look over him. She needed to see his eyes. His eyes met hers and relief flowed through her. They belonged to Ben and that meant more to her than the outfit did. Her hands went to his face and she brushed back his hair from his dark eyes. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"We left on such bad terms."
"Don't worry about that now," he whispered, placing a kiss to her head. "You need to get rid of that stormtrooper armor that's on the Falcon. The First Order can track you through it. They're leaving tomorrow to find you."
"How do you know that?" Rey asked before she really put much thought into it. Her eyes widened as she put two and two together. "You're back with them!"
Ben winced at the sharpness in her tone. "There was a change of plans. I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry about me. You need to leave that base."
Rey nodded. They would have time to discuss the fact that he was back with the First Order again later. She needed to pick her priorities and right now being tracked and found was far more important.
"Rey!" a shout came from down the hall. Rose's voice was disheveled and it made Rey turn around worriedly. "Rey!"
Rey turned back to face Ben whose eyes held deep concern laced with anger in them. "Wayzac," he hissed. She went behind his back and he didn't know why he was surprised that she did. It fit her. "You need to go now."
"Rey!" It was further away now, muffled by the distance.
"Go now Rey." Ben ordered, gently pushing her away from him.
"What about you?"
"Don't worry about me, go!"
Rey gave a single nod before turning back around and racing up the hall. She rounded that corner and was immediately face to face with two stormtroopers. Rey skidded to stop, heart racing in her chest.
"Rose!" she shouted as she took a few shaky steps back. "Rose!" But there was no answer and a stormtrooper lunged for her.
Finn's eyes flickered from the checklist in his hand and over his ship to make sure everything was in order. Ben had been able to send them the coordinates of the ships that were planning to show up. A handful of Tie Fighters. They were still several hours out, but that left very few precious seconds to get ready.
Finn also would have laughed his head off when Zorii had said no the night before from the smug look that had been zapped off of Poe's face in a flash, but with how badly they needed the help he couldn't find the muscles to smile.
As far as Finn knew when he had woken this morning, Poe had been up all night begging Zorii for assistance. He was bargaining away whatever he could think off as well as having helped himself to some drinks. Finn knew Poe would be fine and would be able to function as well as he normally did, Poe could hold his drink, but he wasn't sure if Poe would be as motivated to participate as he would have been with Zorii there.
For the longest time Finn had believed that Poe had a thing for Rey. And Finn couldn't blame him. Rey was stunning and for a good while he had entertained the idea of the two of them being together as well, but had decided to move on. That had been for the best. Rey was perfectly happy with Ben and Ben seemed like a better person with her around and that's all Finn truly wanted for Rey was for her to be happy.
With how frazzled Poe had been when Zorii had shot him down so quickly, Finn could believe that Poe really did like Zorii, which was also completely fine. They had a certain connection that was unmistakable on Kijimi.
Movement out of the corner of his eye pulled Finn's attention from the checklist and he turned to see a young girl striding with a strong presence across the hanger floor and to another X-Wing that sat among a few other ships that were a mix between belonging to the Resistance and the Royal Court of Naboo. Her long hair was pulled back lazily into a ponytail that still cascaded down her back. A pilot's uniform that was a touch too big covered her and she had a helmet tucked securely under her arm, goggles hanging loosely around her neck.
Finn quickly raced over to her and his eyes widened at her age. "Miss, where do you think you're going?" he asked, causing her to stop and turn to look at him fully. He couldn't help but note the beautiful sun kissed gold that her skin was in the morning light.
"To my ship," she responded coolly, tucking some hair behind her ear.
Finn's brows knitted together and he gave a forced laugh. "That's cute. A twelve year old is not flying a ship. Especially not right now."
"I'm fifteen," she corrected quickly, her voice sharp and forceful. "And this is my ship and I will fly it if I want to, General."
"We are about to fly into a war zone. I don't think you understand," Finn tried again. He was not in the mood for these games. He still needed to finish the checklist on his X-Wing and then start on Poe's since the pilot had decided that he still didn't want to show up this morning.
"I don't think that you are understanding General." He had never heard a tone so low and condescending before and it shocked him. What child had been taught how to speak with such command?
Finn jumped at a clap of a hand on his shoulder. "Leave the Queen alone," Poe said before taking a bite out of an apple with a crisp crunch. The sweet scent fluttered through the air. "How are you this morning, Your Grace?"
"Perfectly capable of flying my ship, thank you very much General," she replied with a nod of her head before continuing to make her away across the hanger floor.
Poe chuckled and patted Finn's back a few times, harder than he needed to, in an attempt to get the surprised look off of his friend's face.
"The Queen?" Finn mumbled out after a long pause. "But she-she-"
"What? Did you think all that make up was her real face? Or that voice she has to use? Come on Finn." Poe released his grip on Finn and began to walk backwards towards his own X-Wing. He tossed his apple to Finn who caught it on instinct and shot Poe a dark look. Poe only smiled. "Next time be a bit more polite, would you?"
Finn frowned and chucked the apple back at Poe who flinched just far enough out of the way that the apple barely missed him. He only laughed as he turned back to his ship, leaving Finn feeling like a fool for having not realized.
He should have figured it out sooner and now that he knew it made sense. The way that she held herself should have been enough to give it away. He stubbed the toe of his boot into the ground and went back to his ship, something heavy settling in his stomach. Something wasn't right. He couldn't exactly name it, but it was strong.
He climbed up on the wing of the ship that was chilled still from the night that clung to it and then leaned into the cockpit to grab his communicator. "Rey?" he asked into it. "Rose, confirm transmission." There was only static on the other side and he gave a frown. "Rey, confirm transmission." Static. "Rose?" Still nothing.
He quickly dropped back down to the hanger floor with a loud echo from his boots and made his way over to Poe who was tinkering with a set of wires. He gasped at a sizzle and shoved his thumb into his mouth before catching Finn's eyes and looking up with a questioning crease in his brows.
"They're not answering."
Poe pulled his pulsing finger from his mouth and sighed. "I'm sure they're fine. Rey always turns off any lines of communication when she doesn't want us to know where she went, you know that. I wouldn't be concerned."
"But-"
"I know it's hard to release our little birdies and let them fly free and be left with an empty nest, but Rey can take care of herself," Poe insisted. "Both of them are more than fully capable."
"Poe-"
"Are you ready to go?" the pilot yet again interrupted, turning back to the set of live wires he had been messing with. "We need to head them off before they reach the atmosphere. We'll have a better chance of keeping everyone safe that way."
Finn gave an exasperated sigh and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. He wasn't stupid. He knew they needed to meet the First Order before they got close enough to do damage. And he knew Poe was just as worried about their two friends and was pushing it away so he didn't have to deal with it like he seemed to do with a lot of his problems. They were hidden away for a later date that he worked very hard to never face.
"Is Zorii coming?"
Poe paused and Finn studied him carefully. Poe's face had stayed still but his head dipped a bit and his shoulders rose and fell with his breath. "I wouldn't count on it."
"What happened to her coming whenever you called?" Finn said, trying to put as much of a tease into his tone as he could.
"She's a few systems away. Wasn't sure if she could get here in time."
"We need to go!" the young voice of the Queen said as she clambered up on the wing of her own ship, having to jump due to her height. Both Finn and Poe chuckled at the somehow regal awkwardness of it all. How was she so put together when she was so young?
"We still have time," Finn said curiously. "Why are we leaving now? The sun's barely up."
"Her advisers don't know she's coming. They'll most likely be searching for her by now, as she didn't show up for their breakfast meeting to discuss the day's schedule."
"She didn't tell them?" Finn demanded, looking over the teen skeptically. This wasn't going to end well.
"Do you think they would let a Queen race off and fight a fleet of First Order Tie Fighters?"
"No," Finn answered slowly as he thought about it. Poe was right. She would never have been allowed into the hanger if her advisers had any say in the matter. The realization seemed to only add another layer of stress to the morning. First this battle they were somehow blackmailed into, though in all honesty they would have helped anyways, Rey and Rose not answering the communicator after leaving with no notice, and now having to sneak the Queen out to help them when Finn wasn't even sure if she really could fly. She could barely get into the X-wing, how was Finn expected to believe that she could do anything more than maybe start the ship? "Is she any good?"
Poe shrugged as he closed the panel of wires, seemingly satisfied with the work he had done. "No idea."
"And you think this is a good idea?"
"Never said it was." Poe wiped his hands on his pants and sighed. "But you can't tell women no, Finn. They get an idea in their heads and they just have to follow it through to the end no matter how stupid it is."
"That's not how women are at all," Finn shot back, arms folding over his chest. "Who in the world have you been spending all of your time with?"
"Woman wise as of late, mostly Rey."
Finn gave a nod of acceptance. Rey did fit that idea that Poe had thrown out and the more he thought about it, the more he had to agree with Poe. Every woman he had met and spent time with over the last year or so had been as stubborn as a wastoid, but that was also what made them so amazing. Each one had an opinion and a will to fight for what they believed in.
"Time to depart Generals!" Cordella called as her transparisteel canopy was lowering around her.
Poe smacked Finn's arm and nodded to the entrance of the hanger where a large group of the Queen's advisers and handmaidens were rushing in. Both Poe and Finn raced to their respective ships and climbed in.
As his own canopy closed around him, Finn could make out muffled shouts from the people below. The Queen's ship roared to life and Finn couldn't help but be impressed at how quickly and steadily she shot from the hanger and out over the deep colored ocean. Maybe she could fly.
"Why was I not informed that you authorized an early departure?" Ben asked as collectively as he could. "As the Supreme Leader, I am privy to all commands on this ship."
"I just thought that I would take matters into my own hands as you are still getting adjusted," Wayzac replied innocently as she worked in her bathroom to get ready for the day. Kylo had been kind enough to burst into her room without a warning and had left her annoyed at her ruined morning routine. "I'm really only thinking of your welfare, Kylo. In all honesty I thought you would be grateful that you could focus on the bigger issues rather than on the minor details that I, as your second in command, am more than capable of handling."
She kept herself busy with pulling her long hair that had been straightened from its natural curl within an inch of its life up into her normal bun.
I like it curly, Kylo's voice said somewhere in the back of her mind. She closed her eyes and pushed the memory away. She didn't care much for the compliments and definitely not his.
Her eyes snapped open at Kylo's footsteps and her hands were so practiced in the motion of pulling back her hair that she didn't have to look, she kept her eyes hard on Kylo in the mirror as he stared daggers into her back, anger seeping from every inch of his body. His jaw was hitched in its normal dislike, a scowl always present on his brow and his hands were clenched into fists. Everything was like it had been before he had wandered off to play hero. He still held the same anger in all of his movements and in all of his words. He hadn't changed in the slightest and she was curious if he had always been this distraught, swirling in his own guilt.
"Next time inform me," he ordered, struggling to keep his voice level. Wayzac's lips twitched into a smile as she watched him pace behind her distractedly. His discomfort was pleasant. "I do not take kindly to being ignored."
"I never meant to ignore you Kylo." He halted at the words, but didn't dare look up at her. One of his hands was resting on his saber at his side and Wayzac tipped her head. Was it a comfort to him to be ready at all times? Maybe he liked the weapon so much because it was all he had left of who he was before. Something to tie him to what he had been. "How did you get your saber back?"
"Stole it from the prison inventory when I escaped," he answered, smoothly. He glanced up curiously. She could ask him anything she wanted. He had repeated through the lie enough times in his head that he could recite his story forwards and backwards.
"And how did you escape?" she challenged, turning around and leaning against the counter, arms folded. This was going to be good. She could tell.
"Bribed a guard."
"With what?"
"Credits."
"And where did you get the credits?" She pushed herself up from the counter and walked over to him so that she could get a better look at his eyes. She was grateful that he hadn't started wearing that stupid mask again. The only way she could know if he was lying was to see his eyes. His face was always far too cold and collected.
"I didn't."
She stopped, confused. "You didn't pay off the guard?"
"I offered him a fortune because I'm the Prince of Alderaan. If he were as bright as a blaster bolt he would have known the planet no longer existed," Ben explained, keeping his tone low. It was a lie. She knew it was. But he told it well, as if he really did believe it. If she didn't know he was bluffing through his teeth she might have been tempted to believe him. "He opened the jail cell and I took him out and escaped. Wasn't that difficult."
"That's a high security prison."
"What point are you trying to make?" Ben snapped.
Wayzac quickly smiled and shook her head. "Nothing at all."
Deciding the conversation was over, Ben turned away. "Next time you are to report to me. Is that clear?"
"As kyber crystal."
Ben left the room and stretched out his fingers from how tightly he had been holding his fists. He took a deep breath and let his body relax. He didn't realize how much energy it took to stay angry all of the time and he didn't understand how he had done it for so long. Maybe it was because for the longest time he didn't understand that he could just let things go. Relationships were far more important than anything that put strain on them, and he was tired of being that strain.
He could feel a familiar ache beginning to set into his body. One that he had felt almost daily during his training sessions with Snoke. He was working himself too hard and not resting. He was running on nothing and pushing though the settling want of sleep to keep working. There was so much to do when Wayzac kept going behind his back. He would do his best to get some sleep later tonight, but it was difficult when he felt like he had to keep one eye open with Wayzac around. He exhaled deeply and straightened himself up as much as he could and went to go speak to an officer that Wayzac had seemed to have taken a liking to.
A/N: Finally feeling better. Sorry it's been a while since an update. I was camping this weekend and didn't have much service. Also would like to thank my sister for always reading everything, but I also have found a beta reader, finally. She's been a champ and has been going through each chapter for me. She finally got caught up. Thank you PitaGonzalezMe on twitter. Enjoy!
