Ben puts the helmet back on as they near the hangar bay of the Finalizer, and Jeyna feels her mood sink in anticipation of being back on the ship. She's not used to being in the cockpit while landing, able to see the flurry of activity they are pulling into.

The bay is filled with damaged ships, tended to by rushed looking technicians. Sparks fly out where metal is being welded back together, the massive space hectic and loud. She wonders how many Republic ships were damaged or lost in the fray. Her mind turns to one ship in particular, as she'd last seen it swarmed by TIE fighters.

"Aleck?" she asks, timid at the thought of his fate. Had he been captured? Killed?

The mask turns slightly towards her face, and he is silent for a moment before replying.

"He escaped," the cold, mechanized voice admits. "He is lucky. I don't forgive betrayal."

She licks her lips, finding some relief in his words. But hearing his voice in the mask again makes him sound more like Kylo Ren than the man she now knows him to be, and it bothers her.

Ben leads her from the ship, then, and as they quickly cross the busy hangar he fills her in. "I had the droid brought back here," he says. "Branic got it to function, but it needed a lot more work. Technicians have been trying, but it is difficult."

"Difficult?" she inquires, curious.

"You'll see. We will head there now," he replies.

They barely clear the hangar into the control center beyond when Hux's obnoxious tone grates her ears. Jeyna turns to see him striding towards them from near a bay of computers, his uniform looking immaculate as always, though his face is irritated. She glares at him.

"Ah, I'm so relieved Princess Ren is home!" he calls, voice heavy with twisting sarcasm. "Lest we continue a wild goose chase through the galaxy, wasting our time-"

He doesn't have a chance to continue, before Ben flings an arm out, sending the redheaded man flying. He slams into a wall of screens on the far side of the room, shattering them with the force of his body's impact. Glass rains down as he falls, limp, to the floor.

Throughout the control room, officers snap to attention, none daring to look at Hux's motionless body. Their fearful gazes are locked on the mask of their new Supreme Leader.

"Status report," he demands.

Jeyna can't help but flinch at the cold tone that comes from his helmet. She hates the device, and the purpose it serves in hiding his vulnerability. Even though she understands the necessity of it for his success in the First Order, she finds herself wanting to yank the horrible thing off him. She sees the mask angle towards her slightly, as he likely hears her thoughts, even as a man steps forward to give him a report.

"Ships are moving into position for the blockade. We don't expect immediate resistance from the Hutts, but weapons systems are primed if needed." The man speaking looks incredibly nervous. Jeyna can see the sheen of sweat on his forehead.

"Good. Prepare the Finalizer to jump to hyperspace. Put us in orbit around Nar Shaddaa," Ben orders, utilizing the cruel voice of Kylo Ren. She grits her teeth, disliking it more by the minute.

The man snaps a salute. "Of course Sir, right away!" He strides from the room.

Jeyna's confused at the request. Why is he using the First Order to blockade the smuggler's moon? If he really that worried about the Resistance getting their hands on whatever is hidden there first?

She doesn't have time to ask him, nor would she dare to in front of the room of people. It's too easy to be intimidated by the metal mask and wall of black, even as she tries to remind herself of the man underneath.

"Inform me if the situation changes, immediately," he snaps, turning to start towards the door. He hesitates however, his head tilting towards Hux, still laying broken amongst a pile of glass. "And someone take General Hux to the medbay. He seems to be feeling under the weather."

The Maintenance Floor

Jeyna does her best to keep up with him when they depart the elevator, her pace fast as she scrambles alongside his black cloak. He takes her down one hallway after another, weaving through a maze of repair bays and droid stations. The only other people on this floor seem to be technicians, all of which give them a wide berth as they pass, looking terrified to see the likes of Kylo Ren storming through their work area.

Gradually they stop passing technicians, and even the amount of broken junk laying around seems to diminish. They end up at the last room of the hallway, and Jeyna instantly falls back when she sees it is flanked by two menacing men dressed all in black. Like Ben, they wear masks over their faces. Both are holding weapons, and both give off an aura of darkness.

The feeling from them reminds her of the darkness that lingered in Freedon Nadd's tomb on Dxun. It is cold, but also somehow hungry, reaching out to tug on her with the lure of something curiously wrong.

She realizes suddenly that if it is the dark side she feels coming from them, that Ben's power is not at all dark in nature. Even when he is violently worked up, his energy chaotic, it doesn't feel like the ominous tendrils that surge out from these faceless men.

The pair bow when they see the mask of Kylo Ren, before stepping to the side to clear the door for him. Jeyna skirts by them quickly, reluctant to have to pass so near them, following Ben into the room.

The door slides shut behind them, and she gives a wary look back at it, still able to sense their presence beyond.

"They won't harm you. They're under my command," he reassures.

"Who are they?" she asks.

"The Knights of Ren," he explains. His hands raise, and a moment later the telltale sound of his helmet releasing its hold of him fills her ears. She's relieved when he pulls it off, sitting it down on a workstation top.

"They were guarding the droid for me while I was gone," Ben explains, gesturing at the HK model that is powered down near the wall. "I didn't trust Hux to not sabotage it."

Jeyna nods, silently agreeing with his precautions. The droid has been cleaned up, and she walks closer to inspect it further. "You said it is difficult to work with? Difficult how?"

He approaches it, removing the diagnostic tool that was left plugged into its processor and powering it on. "See for yourself," he suggests.

She watches as its eyes flicker on, the droid straightening itself as it whirs to life. Its head turns as it takes in the room, before its red eyes settle on Ben.

"Greetings again, meatbag," it says to him, in a voice that is surprisingly cynical for a droid.

Jeyna's mouth falls open slightly in shock at hearing the droid's first statement, and she looks from it to Ben in confusion. His lips quirk, as if amused at her surprised response.

"What did you just call him?" she asks the droid. Its head turns to her.

"Condescending Explanation: Organics are a meat-based sack of organs and fluids. A meatbag."

Her mouth falls open further, but before she can think to formulate a response or follow up question, its optic system scans her. The grid of light covers her face, and she flinches.

The droid turns its body to face her more fully. "My system recognizes your facial scans from multiple databases, Master. I am pleased to finally meet you."

Ben gives a huff of irritation. "Figures. I argued with this thing for hours, and got nowhere."

Jeyna's taken aback, ignoring his comment to blurt out, "Master?! How can I be your Master?"

"Placating Clarification: My operating system demands that in the absence of my primary Master, I am to serve you. Is there anyone you wish me to kill for you, Master?" The droid sounds exceedingly eager at the thought of killing, and Jeyna shakes her head as her confusion over its behavior grows. She'd suspected it to be Revan's former assassin droid, but its responses were highly unusual.

"What!? No!" she refuses. "Wait, who is your original master? Revan?"

The droid's head turns, spastically, before it focuses on her once again. "System Error: Corruption in the memory core. I am in need of further maintenance before I can access my full memory storage."

She sighs, stepping back to sit on a stool at one of the workstations. "Why are you programmed to serve me if your primary master is absent?" she tries instead.

"Explanation: I have tracked your lineage for centuries," the droid replies. "I lost functionality 49 standard years ago due to a sudden lack of proper maintenance, but I have been able to integrate with the databases available on this ship since being activated. It was a simple matter to track your information down in them. You are the last remaining descendent of Bastila Shan."

She looks away from it, letting its words sink in. She's descended from the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan. Didn't that mean she was also descended from Revan? The two were married. But then why had the droid been programmed to follow the Shan line, and not the progeny of Revan? Shouldn't it be the same lineage? Who had programmed it in that specific way? The droid's explanation only raises more questions for Jeyna.

"How did you access our databases without clearance? The firewall should have stopped you," Ben asks it, looking curious.

"Conjecture: Perhaps your system's firewalls are not as secure as you had believed. Musing: Or perhaps I am a far more superior model droid than you are accustomed to on this ship."

"Superior?" he retorts, eyeing the droid disdainfully. "You look like a rusted tin can we pulled from a scrap heap."

"Veiled Threat: Master, are you certain this meatbag does not need to be terminated? I would be thrilled to burn holes in his skin suit." The droid's red, unblinking eyes fixate on Jeyna and she sighs in frustration.

"Do you know about your primary master leaving something on Nar Shaddaa? A holocron, or a piece of a map?" she presses onward.

The droid's head moves again, rocking with the glitches it seems to be encountering. "System Error: Corruption in the memory core. I am in need of further maintenance, Master. I will run a self-diagnostic and report."

Jeyna looks at Ben, but he's staring at the droid as if fascinated. "Someone programmed this droid to have these unusual speech patterns," he says. "Did Revan have a sense of humor?"

She shrugs. "Not one that was recorded in historical archives."

"Diagnostic complete. Report: Memory core is intact, but my memory modulator needs replaced. My navigation chip is entirely corrupted, a new one is required. System processors need updated, and my vocabulator unit is in need of routine maintenance," the droid announces, the sardonic tone heavy.

"I'll send the techs back in to get to work," Ben suggests. "We can try again once it's running efficiently."

She nods. "Power down for now, HK."

"As you wish, Master." She watches as the red dims from its eyes, leaving it once again a lifeless metal skeleton.

Later

Jeyna is left alone while Ben goes to the bridge to see to the blockade of Nar Shaddaa. He's left her in his quarters, two of his Knights hovering in the hallway outside his door for protection. She tries to keep herself busy with updating her records and ordering food to be delivered. However, the datapad and badly prepared meal only keeps her busy for so long before she's bored.

He's been gone for hours, and tiredness starts to set in. She's been awake for a while, and the day's events have drained her. She could do without ever stepping foot into a X-wing again, just the memory bringing back a wave of nausea.

She decides to take a shower and then sleep until he returns, figuring he will not mind her using the bed since she's slept in it once before.

However, as soon as she steps from the shower to dry off with the thick, dark towel, she realizes her mistake. She has no clothing of her own in his quarters.

Jeyna wraps the towel around herself, feeling awkward as she considers her options. Her dirty clothes are lying in a small heap on the floor of his refresher, but she finds the thought of putting them back on unappealing. She steps out of the bathroom, hesitantly making her way to the wardrobe.

She can't say she's shocked to find it filled entirely with black. She paws through the clothing, before pulling a thick, knit shirt from the back. She drops her towel, shyness making her fumble as she pulls his top over her head. The hem falls to her upper thighs, concealing enough of her, as the sleeves tumble down to her knuckles. She pushes them back, licking her lips as the thought of wearing his clothing suddenly stirs something within her that's been lurking in the back of her mind.

It feels strange, but also affectionate. She's never been close enough to a man to do this before, to dare to help herself to anything of his. She's almost nervous enough to pull it back off and retreat to her own rumpled items left abandoned by the shower.

She doesn't have time to contemplate further before she hears the sound of the door unlocking. Her heart thumps with her nerves, and she walks down the narrow hallway towards the living quarters to greet him.

Her eyes land on his right as he pulls the helmet from his head. He drops it unceremoniously to the floor, his gaze dropping from hers to sweep down her body, lingering on her bare legs.

"I…I don't have any clothes here," she stutters awkwardly. "I wasn't thinking and forgot until I was getting out of the shower."

Ben's eyes are still focused on her thighs, before he seems to force them to drag upwards. When they meet hers again, they are dark with intensity. "What a fortunate oversight," he says quietly.

Her breathing quickens as he stalks forward, towards her. She dances back a step. "Take your gloves off," she says, suddenly wanting them gone. He's still entirely covered, while she is a shift of his shirt from being entirely exposed.

His eyes narrow. "Ask nicely."

"Please take your gloves off," she tries again, voice trembling. He does, throwing them down as he reaches her.

His kiss is not sweet, nor is it hesitant this time. He holds her in place, moving her where he wants her, as he relentlessly possesses her lips and tongue. The moan that manages to escape her mouth only seems to encourage him, his hands falling to trace the shape of her breasts beneath his shirt.

He pulls back, leaving her dizzy at the sudden space. She opens her eyes to find his, the lust in them sending goosebumps across her skin. Their connection is weak at the moment, she can feel him vaguely at the periphery of her mind. When she tries to probe further, though, he seems to pull away.

"Go to my bed." His voice is tight with control when he orders her. She licks her lips, uncertain what to expect from him. Which version of him she will get during these moments seems to vary wildly, and she obeys hesitantly, crossing the short distance to his sleeping quarters.

Jeyna doesn't hear him follow until the sound of his heavy cloak hitting the floor. She pauses before the bed, turning to see him by the door. He reaches out, smacking the lights off. A narrow rectangle of light is left cast on the floor from the hallway, and she steps back from it, the backs of her legs colliding with the mattress.

"Lay down," he says. She sits down, scooting backwards.

He's impatient, kneeling in front of her on the bed to take her hands, and guiding her onto her back. His palms press onto hers, covering her hands as they sink into the blankets near her head. His lips press to hers once before he traps her bottom lip with his teeth, pulling gently until he gets a gasp from her. He nuzzles his nose beneath her chin, urging her to tilt her face up.

She does, and he rewards her with a kiss to the hollow of her throat, his hands sliding down to grip her wrists. His teeth graze at the part of her collarbone that is exposed by the neckline of his shirt, and she feels the tickle of his eyelashes on the skin of her neck. Her pulse is pounding in her veins, her skin singing at his touches.

"Ben…" she whispers, attempting to move her hands. His grip tightens. "Let me touch you…" she pleads. She's desperate to see more of him, to explore his body more.

"Hmm," he murmurs, his lips tangling with hers once again. A quick, teasing kiss before he pulls back. "No."

His hands move from her wrists, trailing to her upper arms, then tracing over her breasts, and down over the material of his shirt. He sits back when his hands reach her legs, spread around him where he kneels. He splays his fingers over the flesh below the hemline, his thumbs stroking her thighs gently.

Jeyna watches his face as he touches her, he's staring mesmerized at his hands on her skin. Each small brush of his thumbs across the tender skin winds her tighter, her body filled with excitement and apprehension in equal parts. After a moment, his eyes rise to hers. They're dark, almost black. She feels like she could fall into them.

"Can I?" Ben asks, his fingertips trailing higher, playing under the edge of the shirt.

She licks her lips, her heart pounding as she's suddenly afraid. Self-consciousness fills her as she's painfully aware of how intently he's looking at her, as if memorizing the sight of her legs trembling under his large hands.

He leans back over her, kissing her, sweeter this time. "It's okay…" he whispers, lips brushing hers. "We can stop."

"No," she says instantly, her hands flying to his face to hold him there as she kisses him, urgently. "Please."

He pulls back, and his eyes search hers. She feels his presence in her mind, pressing a little heavier, searching for reassurement. Please…she thinks. Don't stop… She doesn't want her fear to get in the way. She wants more.

Ben's hands inch higher, hiking the shirt up as they go. His eyes trail away from hers, focusing on the receding edge of the clothing as it rides higher and higher. She feels her brain slipping away as quickly as the material rises, giving into desire.

When she is bare to him, his lips part. His tongue darts out to lick his lips, his breathing noticeably heavier. She swallows hard, the anticipation and vulnerability of the moment filling her with tension.

He spreads her legs further, his hands urging her open to him. He strokes her inner thighs, before his fingers ghost over her lips, trailing into her slit to collect the moisture that gathered there.

"You're wet…" he murmurs. His fingers brush again, learning her body as he traces from her entrance to her clit. Her head rocks back at the sensation, at the sight of his pale hand touching her. She'd thought of this so many times, and fought away the thought just as many.

She watches as he drops down suddenly, his head between her thighs, eyes locking onto hers. Her mouth falls open as his broad tongue licks a stroke up her slit. She vaguely registers the faint noise from him as he repeats the motion, lingering at her clit. She fights the urge to close her eyes as his storming pupils challenge hers, his tongue flicking experimentally at the bundle of nerves.

Her hips buck as she feels a tremor of pleasure, a gasp escaping her. He moves, lifting her legs onto his shoulders, locking them in place there as he locks his mouth over her core. She's aware of him watching her, studying the way she responds to the movements of his tongue, as he lingers at the edges of her mind, spying on her thoughts.

She's never felt someone's mouth on her like this before. The sensations are so foreign and intimate, she's breathless, her hands digging into the sheets to try to anchor herself. The world has become his hot lips and tongue, pushing her higher and higher.

Her eyes clamp closed as he finds the perfect rhythm, a moan twisting from her as the pleasure builds. Ben feels her response, and sticks to the motion with focused dedication.

Her hips begin jerking as he continues, her pelvis lifted into his mouth. She forces her eyes open to peak at the obscene sight. The view of his face buried in her, his dark hair spilling onto her skin, nearly sends her over the edge. And still his eyes are taking her in, watching her carefully.

She's held captive by the tendrils of pleasure, twisting tighter, building higher. He drops her hips to free a hand, pulling his mouth from her to slide two fingers into her. She cries out, his fingers are longer and thicker than hers, and he curls them to stroke her inner wall. She's so sensitive that it is almost too much to fight the inevitable tipping point that looms, even as she feels him hit her inner spot more gently.

Jeyna's vaguely aware that his name is escaping her between quick gasps, her mind swimming in arousal, when his fingers still inside her. His lips surround her clit, sucking gently, before his tongue resumes swirling over the spot. It sends her careening over the edge almost instantly. She has enough sense to smother the scream that escapes her with her fist, pushing it tightly to her mouth. Her muscles clench down onto his fingers as her body spasms, lost in the waves of ecstasy.

When she comes back down, she opens her eyes to his gaze, still hungry. But she sees something else in his eyes, as he looks to be fighting to control himself. And behind that, a ghost of something resembling fear. Something has changed, shifted. His mood is suddenly darker.

"Ben?" she asks quietly, sitting up, confused. Why does he look to be struggling so hard for restraint? When just moments ago he'd been the one driving her away from it?

She reaches for him, but he pulls back completely from her, his hands clenching into fists as he distances himself. She tugs the shirt firmly back down over herself, her face falling as his expression becomes distraught. "I can't…I almost slipped up," he says.

"What do you mean?"

He looks away from her, shaking his head slightly. "The Knights… They obey me because I am stronger. If they sensed how weak I am with you… They might challenge me."

She frowns, her brain still addled as she tries to follow him. "How would they sense it?" she asks, before groaning. "Do they read minds, too?"

Ben nods, before explaining, "As long as I am not too distracted, I can keep them out of our heads."

Jeyna sighs, shifting back from him, and attempting to straighten herself. She can see his hands clenching and unclenching, rhythmically, as he works to settle his energy. It's turned chaotic as he struggles to suppress himself, and she tries to give him space. She can't deny the disappointment that surges in her, even as she understands the new threat the Knights pose. How strange that they were posted outside as a protection, but would turn on him so quickly.

"So even your allies here, aren't really allies," she says softly. He finally returns his gaze to hers.

"I have never had a real ally," he admits. "But I need their loyalty for as long as I can keep it… And if they saw into my head, when I'm with you…I'd lose them."

His eyes look so torn, she wants to reach for him but stops herself. He stands suddenly, pacing away from her before seeming to decide something. "I'll be back soon," he says.

"What?" she asks, standing as well. "I can go back to my quarters, Ben. You don't have to flee your own room."

He gives her an apologetic look. "No, I only need to focus on something else. If I stay here now, I won't be able to stop."

Jeyna shakes her head. "That's ridiculous. I'll just go."

She makes to turn towards the refresher, to retrieve her own clothes, but he stops her. "No, please. I want you to be here when I get back," he says, his voice almost pleading. She searches his expression, finding utter misery in his eyes. She doesn't have the heart to argue.

Much Later

Jeyna doesn't fully wake up when he comes back, slipping into the bed beside her. She vaguely registers his scent, that he smells clean as if he's just showered. She is content to feel his arm wrap around her, his breath stirring the hair that lays against her neck. She falls back into a heavier sleep.