Rey yawned. She sat bored in the small capitol meeting room, more interested in the foliage that decorated the space than the conversation happening around her.
Rey loved Hanna City. It was beautiful - modern, yet soft and integrated with the local greenery. There were vines and flowers Rey had never seen before and they were everywhere, as if nature was taking over the civilized structures - and winning.
She sat with her old friends, Finn, Poe, and Chewy, and a few new ones she had made during her time there. There were a few choice members of the Hanna City government, along with some resistance supporters left over from the war. A few representatives from some of the major systems in the galaxy were gathered there too.
They met nearly every day here since arriving on Chandrila, to discuss the post-war revival effort. Things were slowly coming together, but they had inherited a completely broken galaxy and now had the seemingly impossible task of re-inventing it and maintaining peace and freedom.
Their main focus had always been, and would continue to be, keeping the power diversified throughout the galactic systems by allowing equal representation from all. There would be no emperor, no governor, no president, no senate. Only a central governing body made up of representatives from every corner of the galaxy. A true republic.
Rey found herself daydreaming and wishing she was back on Ahch-To, alone, with Ben.
She sighed, stifling back another yawn.
"Tired, Rey?" Rikk Mothma suddenly teased her from across the room, interrupting the conversation.
Rey inhaled sharply and blinked rapidly, sitting up straight.
"Sorry. I'm fine." She mumbled, looking down at her hands, ruefully. Politics really were not her thing.
Rey waved a hand forward, indicating for them to continue.
Rikk Mothma was the son of the late Jobin Mothma, who perished in the Battle of Hoth over 30 years ago. The Mothma's were prominent here on Chandrila, a good and prosperous family that Rey had only heard about through what she thought were just legends and stories. Rikk had been born shortly after Jobin's death and had never known his father, but was raised by his mother, Cortia, and grandmother, Mon Mothma.
Everyone here knew their family. They were practically Chandrila royalty. Rey had noticed Rikk's family portraits that littered the walls of the capitol.
Rikk had been their main supporter since arriving on Chandrila, welcoming them with open arms. After all, the Mothma's had always been loyal to Leia and the resistance, and saw them as an extension of the Princess herself.
Rikk was a witty and charming man. He certainly dressed as though he was a prince - Rey had never seen such fine silks and cloths in her life. His presence was electric - he commanded every room he walked into with his tall and stocky form and perfectly trimmed short blonde locks.
Today, he wore a dusty blue tunic that matched the color of his eyes, with a black cape slung casually over his shoulder.
The conversation continued on as Rey sunk back into her daydreams. Finn sat next to her and leaned over to squeeze her thigh with his hand. She grinned reassuringly at him. Rey had sensed Finn's growing concern for her over these past few days. She could feel his eyes on her as he watched her deteriorate.
At last, the meeting ended. Rey was exhausted, especially after today's episode on the balcony. She stood quickly and picked up her staff, slinging it over her shoulder as she listened to the droning buzz of the individual conversations happening around her.
Rey's stomach suddenly jumped with excitement at the prospect of heading straight back to her quarters, taking a long hot shower, and climbing into bed. It was then, like she always did, that she would reach out to Ben. She selfishly needed him, needed his support and had to know he was ok.
Rey turned for the exit, and nearly ran into Rikk as her vision was filled by the dusty blue of his flawless tunic.
"Oh!" Startled, she took a step back. How did she not sense...
"S-sorry, Rey." Rikk took a step back, eyeing her cautiously. He gathered himself quickly as Rey looked up at him.
"Hey, sorry for calling you out. Recognized immediately it made you...uncomfortable...and I know things haven't been easy for you lately. I mean, it's none of my business but-"
"Ah, no worries, Rikk." Rey shifted her body weight impatiently and smiled reassuringly up at him. He was now the only thing standing between her and sleep - and Ben - and she wanted nothing more to disappear for the night.
There was a beat of awkward silence between them when, thankfully, Finn approached. Rey was relieved her friend had come to the rescue.
Rikk seemed relieved too as he immediately changed the subject. "Finn. So where's Rose tonight?"
"Ah, you know, elbow deep in grease somewhere." He grinned. "Nah, she's still working with your mechanics to get that central oscillator up to the rest of the city."
"Yeah...quite the job they have there. But it will drastically improve our outreach to the rest of the galaxy." Rikk said.
Finn nodded in agreement.
"Anyways, we're happy to have her here. And the rest of you." Rikk's eyes flicked over the people left in the room, lingering on Rey for a beat longer.
Rey took a deep breath in, ready to make her exit. "Well, you guys have a good night."
Rey brushed quickly passed them, not waiting for a goodbye. She heard them both mumble "goodnight, Rey" as she neared the door, sensing their eyes on her back.
Just as Rey reached the door, she stopped dead in her tracks and the hair on her arms stood on end. A terrible feeling came over her, the same way it did when the darkside of the force clouded her mind.
Then, an enormous boom ricocheted through the halls of the capitol, shaking the entire building. A million thoughts went through her mind in one second. Was it a bomb? An earthquake? Were they under attack?
Rey stood frozen in the threshold of the doorway, looking out into the towering halls of the capitol. The walls seemed to sway like ribbons in the wind and tiny pebbles shook down and blanketed the floor.
"What the-" she mumbled.
Then, the second wave hit her, but worse. This was again from the force, a feeling as if she had been kicked in the stomach by one of Unkar Plutt's thugs. She sensed the loss of life, as clear as when she felt Leia pass.
Rey resisted the urge to crumble to the floor in tears and turned to Finn and Rikk, panicked. The small room full of terrified people stood motionless, eyes staring at the ceiling, wondering if it would cave in.
Her eyes landed on Finn's and she realized that he felt the death and agony too. She could see it on his face.
"Rose." They breathed, in unison. Finn's mouth gaped slightly and his eyes were ignited with fear.
Rey didn't wait as she turned quickly and dashed down the long halls towards the source of the destruction. She heard Finn, Rikk, and a few others running hot on her heels.
It was the central oscillator, it had to be. Damn it, Rey knew it was a dangerous job. She had sensed it as soon as Rose told her about it. Chandrila had been operating on an obsolete infrastructure, and it was obsolete for a reason. It was dangerous, massive, and highly reactive. It was the reason half of Hanna City was still without any modern power.
As they ran towards the chaos, people ran in the opposite direction like ants, fear blanketing their faces. The building shook again with another explosion.
Rey breathed hard, pushing herself forwards. She willed her legs to go faster as she ran. She had to get there, now, because she could no longer sense Rose and that gave her the strength to push herself faster down the halls.
The central oscillator was located in a massive covered building attached to the central spire of the capitol complex. As they finally approached, Rey could see the destruction before she got there. She could feel the heat radiating off the epicenter. The massive, dark room reminded her of the same place where she had watched Kylo Ren kill Han Solo on Starkiller base.
And at the center stood a single, towering cylindrical structure with a spinning red and orange vortex of nuclear power.
The group skidded to a halt as they approached the perimeter. The sun pierced down into the massive complex from a hole the size of the Millenium Falcon that had been blown out of the metal ceiling. Luckily, most of the blast had been aimed upwards, not outwards, but the oscillator still spun with vicious and uncontrollable ferocity. It spat out bands of white hot energy, tearing down all metal in its path, and it was only a matter of time before it took out the whole city.
The heat and noise of the destruction was nearly unbearable. Rey searched the floor and spotted bodies scattered throughout. Despite what she had felt, she begged her eyes to not let her see Rose among the dead. It looked like a horrific war zone. The ripple effect of the loss of life through the force nearly buckled Rey's knees out from under her, but she had to focus.
Breathe.
Rey, turned to Rikk, just as out of breath as her. His blue eyes reflected specks of fire as he looked up horrified at the scene, his eyes scanning the dead before them.
"Rikk. Rikk!" He tore his eyes away and looked down to Rey. "I need you to focus. How do we shut this thing off? There must be a main control, somewhere."
Rikk nodded and searched the room. His eyes landed at the base on the cylindrical structure that contained the spinning ball of fire.
"There!" He pointed. "The oscillator is controlled on that central control unit. There's an emergency mechanism-"
They all ducked in unison as the oscillator spat out another band of fire and energy, crushing a metal beam behind them.
Rey stood, horrified, then narrowed her eyes at the control unit. It was about 100 yards away. Not far, but not a safe path and directly in the line of fire.
They had no choice. She turned to Finn and Poe.
"We have to get down there, to shut this thing off! If we don't, this whole thing could blow!"
Finn and Poe nodded with terror in their eyes. Rey turned, starting forward, but was stopped by a hand that shot out and gripped her arm, holding her in place.
She turned, furious. Rikk held onto her. "You can't get close to that thing! It's spitting out-"
Another explosion of radiating fire struck like red lightning from the oscillator.
"The damn thing is spitting out fire! You'll be incinerated before you can reach it!"
"What choice do we have?!" Rey shouted, shaking herself free from his grip. "Thousands of people, your people, will die if we don't stop this-"
"You don't think I know that?!" Rikk shouted, eyes piercing blue fire into hers.
"Guys!" Poe stepped forward. "Cut it out, we have to try..."
Rey let Poe's voice fade away from her hearing as she silently turned in on herself and focused. The hectic voices around her disappeared and echoed undisguisable around her as she reached out to the force, for something, anything...
She found a new strength there, like she had in the snowy forest, her saber locked with Kylo Ren's as she cleared her head and focused her mind on the force and only the force.
The voices continued to echo in the background as she blinked slowly. Now, all she heard was her breath...inhale, exhale... She turned slowly, eyes landing on the vicious spinning red ball of energy. It looked like a miniature sun, barely held together within a crumbling glass cylinder.
Realization came over Rey then and she knew what she had to do. She wasn't sure if it would work, but she had to try. She looked down slowly at the dry and rough palms of her hands, and remembered the electric power that had exploded from them on Pasaana.
A power she didn't know she had.
"I have an idea." Rey said suddenly, interrupting the chocophy of voices behind her. Finn and Poe silenced and eyed her curiously while Rikk stood silent, waiting.
Rey turned to Finn, her most trusted friend, with a look in her eyes that said "trust me". She pushed that message to him, willing it to sink in. Finn nodded once, understanding.
"Go!" Rey yelled to Finn and Poe. Poe, ever brave and loyal, didn't question as he took off with Finn. Rey felt Rikk's eyes on her, questioning, but she didn't have time to explain.
She stepped forward, closer to the fire ball and took a deep breath, focusing her senses.
I can do this. She thought.
Rey reached her hands outwards, as if warming them on the heat from the exploding fireball. She pushed every ounce of power she had to the end of her finger tips. She willed the mini sun to obey, to succumb to her command. Rey dug deep inside herself, searching and finding power and strength she didn't know she had.
The effort was excruciating. She felt the force bend and pull around her as she molded it with her mind. It took every ounce of concentration she had as beads of sweat began to build on her forehead, dripping into her eyes. Her breath was staggered, coming in short, painful huffs.
She saw Finn and Poe, running down below her towards the base of the structure. The fireball pushed harder, but she pushed back harder, gritting her teeth and staring the thing down like her worst enemy.
You...will not...win... she thought at the thing, as if it could hear her.
Rey pinned back the arms of electric fire that threatened to break free and kill her friends with one cruel stroke. That was motivation enough to keep the ball of fire molded into a compact and controlled sphere, but the effort was draining her. Fast.
Then, she felt it. An unmistakable tingle at the base of her skull. It was a warm, reassuring presence through the force that felt like coming home.
Ben.
He was close. But where? And what the hell was he doing?!
Ben was reaching out to her, through their bond. He was pushing all his reassurance through to her as she heard him whisper, "Hold on, Rey. I'm on my way."
Rey could hardly focus on their bond. The feral oscillator required all of her attention, but the knowledge that he was close gave her the fuel she needed to keep fighting.
She knew time was passing at normal speed, but it felt like the seconds were dragging on impossibly slow. Finn and Poe were still running towards the main control unit, almost there, almost there...
She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she suddenly heard heavily booted footsteps slamming on the metal floor behind her. She heard the horrified gasps from the people around her and she felt Rikk tense beside her and step further away as the footsteps approached.
Then, Ben's arm filled her vision as he extended it along with her outstretched arms. He dwarfed her outstretched hand as he placed his palm against the back of her flexed hand, weaving his fingers through hers. She felt him stand just behind her, and she sighed, closing her eyes as she felt his other hand rest on the small of her back. He immediately pushed all his strength into her, giving her refined resilience against the oscillator.
Now, the terrible thing didn't stand a chance against their dyad. A power like life itself...
Rey didn't know how much longer she had to relish in the feeling of Ben's physical touch, even in this terrible moment, but she allowed herself to be selfish and take it in, absorb and commit his touch to memory.
Her eyes flitted to Poe and Finn, who were fumbling with the central controls.
For a brief, panicked moment, Rey worried they would not be able to shut the thing off. But at last, an exashperated Poe yelled, "Oh, fuck it!", whipped out his blaster, and shot a few bolts into the entire control unit.
With that, the oscillator extinguished into thin air, zipping upwards like a ship disappearing into hyperspace. Rays of sunlight now beamed down from the massive hole in the ceiling, the only light in the dark room.
All the air in Rey's lungs escaped with a sigh and her knees buckled beneath her. She crumbled towards the steel floor, Ben catching her as she made her way down. He pulled her close to him, supporting her exhausted body as she lay her back against his chest, his arm wrapped around her waist and his cheek pressed against hers.
She smiled lazily to herself as she felt his black hair tickle against her face. She let her eyes flutter closed.
Finally. I missed you.
"Rey." He shook her frantically. "Rey! Come on, stay with me."
She cracked her eyes open, looking up into his sharp, beautiful features. Her lips pulled into a smile, attempting to calm his worried face.
"I'm...not dying...just...let me sleep." She closed her eyes again.
"Yep, Rey, that's what I'm afraid of." Ben's voice was low and hectic. He shifted his weight, moving her so she sat up further against him. "You just nearly drained yourself to death, I can barely feel you. Please. I need you to stay awake, stay with me." He shook her harder.
Her eyebrows furrowed into a frown above her closed eyes. "Hmmmm" was all she could manage.
Defeated, she felt Ben start to pour himself into her again, the same way he had on Exegol. Her strength grew slowly as her eyes opened wider.
Suddenly, gasps echoed around them and Ben froze as Rikk walked brisking passed them. All Rey could see, or cared to see, was Ben's face and she watched as he looked off towards the extinguished oscillator, a horrified look growing across his face.
What was going on? What was everyone looking at?
She shifted, trying to move against Ben to get a better look. Ben's head snapped down to her as he held her tighter, smiling reassuringly at her. The smile did not touch his eyes.
But she turned her head, towards where Rikk stepped off to. And then she saw it. She felt the blood drain from her face and her breath caught in her throat.
Poe walked forward, with Finn trailing close behind, holding a limp, lifeless Rose in his arms.
