Paralyzed

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A/N-thank you to everyone who kindly reviewed the last chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Aboard the Steadfast

"I did not order a damn parade, General Hux." Ben did not fail to notice the slight smirk that Hux immediately hid when his narrowed eyes landed on him. The pasty-faced little wretch had organised the whole spectacle deliberately in order to wind him up. His fingers twitched inside his thick black gloves as he fought the urge to teach Hux a lesson.

"Ben, you're giving him exactly the reaction he wants. Don't give into it." Rey's calm voice entered his mind, soothing his irritation.

Ben relaxed, discreetly glancing at the slender black clad figure standing slightly behind him. He noticed Hux and Pryde looking curiously at the newest recruit to the Knights of Ren. Her feminine frame seemed to confuse them. Their eyes were full of questions, but both men knew when it was wise to keep their mouths shut. Allegiant General Pryde immediately snapped to attention when he noticed the Supreme Leader's gaze focused on him. An obsequious smile lit up his thin face as he immediately began to apologise for the showy display that his comrade had organised.

"I was totally against it, Supreme Leader." Enric sneered as Hux's complexion turned almost puce with suppressed outrage. "I did tell General Hux that we had more important things to focus on, like trying to track down the spy within our ranks for instance. If you'll excuse me, I'll dismiss them and send them back to their duties."

"Well done, Pryde." Ben praised him.

The Allegiant General gave the customary salute before he began barking orders at the rows and rows of stormtroopers who had been hastily gathered together to greet the returning Supreme Leader. Like one entity, the troopers marched out in organised lines, their booted feet echoing around the hangar like a beating drum.

Ben returned his attention to Hux, who hastily rearranged his sharp features into a deferential smile. "Ren, I can assure you…" He quickly tried to defend himself, he hesitated when he realised his mistake. "I mean Supreme Leader." He corrected himself. "I can assure you, I…"

"I am tiring of your excuses, General Hux." Ben warned him as he raised his gloved hand and jabbed his forefinger in Hux's face. Hux took a few steps back. Ben heard muffled laughter coming from behind him and tried to keep his own face straight. "What's so amusing?" He asked Rey in his mind.

"You are. Every time you do that, I see Han. Maybe you should tone it down a bit." Rey cautioned him as she tried to keep her own mirth under control.

"Maybe you should take your own advice." Ben reminded her. He could almost imagine her scowling at him from under her forbidding helmet. Immediately he felt a grin forming at the corners of his mouth, but quickly turned it into a glare as he tried to refocus his attention on Hux when he caught his former rival looking at him oddly. "I am heading to my quarters to freshen up. Unless it is of extreme importance, I do not want to be disturbed. Can you manage that at least, General Hux?" He finished contemptuously.

"But I've already taken the liberty of assembling the Supreme Council. They are in the conference room waiting for you." Hux was completely blindsided by the changes in Ren's usual habits. Whenever Ren was away for any length of time, the first thing he did was summon the council. The Supreme Council was a deliberative body of high-ranking officials in the First Order. It was created by Ren himself, who usurped the title from his master, Supreme Leader Snoke, to create a plan for the future of a galaxy ruled by the First Order. The officers who composed the Supreme Council were Allegiant General Enric Pryde, Admiral Frantis Griss, and the Generals Amret Engell, Bellava Parnadee, and Domaric Quinn. Hux also had a seat at the table, but he knew it was only so his hated rival could keep a close eye on him. As members of the Supreme Council, their closest aides had direct access to the highest levels of authority in the First Order, including the Supreme Leader.

Ben was incensed. Hux had overstepped the mark. He swallowed the anger that was like a fire-seed growing inside his stomach. "I am losing patience with you, Hux." His knuckles turned white under his gloves from where he was clenching them too hard. His jaw flexed as he gave Hux a withering stare. "I suggest you tell the council that they are in for a long wait then, General. And don't you dare overstep your bounds again, otherwise there will be severe consequences. Do I make myself clear, Hux?"

"Yes, Supreme Leader." Hux's relief at escaping Ren's wrath was barely concealed as he watched his hated rival and his silent black clad companion sweep imperiously past him.

The air was so brittle, it could snap, and if it didn't, Ben might, Rey thought to herself as she observed the simmering tension between him and Hux. Even though Ben had told her about their rivalry, to witness it first hand, to see the repressed hatred in Hux's eyes as he endured the verbal dressing down from Ben was quite chilling. She didn't need to see inside the First Order General's mind to know that he was plotting to stab Ben in the back at the first opportunity. Would he even go so far as to betray everything he believed in just to get his own back on Ben-like spying for the Resistance perhaps?

"I think Hux is the spy." Rey used their telepathic connection to voice her concerns as she matched Ben's fast pace as they strode through the Steadfast's shiny black corridors. She made sure to keep one step behind him, keeping up the ruse as his bodyguard, not his equal.

"He wouldn't have the balls." Ben was immediately dismissive of that idea.

"He hates you." Rey answered him. She increased her pace to keep up with him. "Can you please slow down, Ben?" She complained. "It's stifling inside this helmet. I can't breathe."

"Wait until you try fighting while you're wearing it." Ben's voice held a hint of amusement, even as his face remained stern as he glared at some passing stormtroopers.

Rey groaned. "How did you stand it?"

"It was an experience." Ben mused.

"Well its an experience I can do without." Rey felt perspiration roll down her forehead. "How much further?"

"We're here." Ben came to an abrupt halt, nearly causing Rey to collide with him. She muttered an oath under her breath as the doors slid smoothly open to reveal Ben quarters. Her mouth fell open as she was suddenly confronted with a sea of white. It blinded her momentarily, and she blinked a few times while her eyes adjusted to the brightness. This was so not what she was expecting. After so much darkness, to see so much light was bewildering. "The colour scheme was not my choice." Ben muttered as he picked up on her confusion.

"I guessed that." Rey spoke aloud this time as she turned around and around in a circle, her eyes taking everything in around her. Once she got past the blinding whiteness of the room, her next impression was how stark and bare it was. There were no ornaments. Nothing to show the occupiers personality. It was as clean and polished as the rest of the ship. Soulless was the word that sprung to mind. It made her feel kind of sad. Even the AT-AT walker she had lived in on Jakku felt more homely than this. She revolved around one more time, until her curious gaze landed on the hideous sight of Darth Vader's melted helmet on top of an obsidian pillar. "Is that….?" She couldn't finish the question as the air suddenly left her lungs.

"Yes." Ben confirmed bitterly as he followed the direction of her gaze. He felt his soul crumble as he stared at the twisted, charred remains of his grandfather's death mask. How often had he tried to commune with the wretched thing in a vain attempt to conjure his grandfather's ghost? To gain an insight into Vader's descent into darkness. Nothing had ever happened. It just remained an empty symbol to a failed past.

"Ben, your past doesn't define you. Its who you are now that matters." Rey reminded him earnestly.

Ben's emotions turned jagged and his insides tight. He stood in front of Rey, not bothering to conceal his pain. He watched as she removed her helmet, revealing her lovely face to him again. She dropped the helmet carelessly onto the floor as he reached for her at the same time she reached for him. Her arms tangled around his neck as she drew his head down to hers. As their lips locked together the world itself ceased to exist, blurred and indistinct as a wet painting. Ben pushed his lips more firmly on hers and the passionate wave that ran through her was intoxicating, making her head swim as she pulled back to take in his beautiful face. They gazed deep into each other's eyes, quite soundless, simply feeling each other's presence and revelling in it.

"I love y- "The words got caught in Ben's throat as he suddenly detected a presence on the other side of the doors. He could tell by the tense look on Rey's face she had sensed it, too. He put a finger to his lips, motioning for her to put her helmet back on. "Someone followed us back here." He projected into her mind.

"Who?" She asked as she bent down to retrieve her helmet and placed it back over her head. "Hux? Would he be that stupid?"

"We'll soon find out." Ben replied angrily as he commanded the doors to open, revealing the shocked face on the other side.

A/N-thanks for reading. Please review if you have the time.