A/N: Hi !
I'm so late! So sorry, but I've had a lot of work over the past few days and not a minute for myself, but here's chapter 23!
Chapter 23
Coruscant.
"Kriff !"
Zorii swore as she narrowly avoided crashing into a long limo-speeder under which the spy had snuck. She had been foolish to give her the choice to run away. Completely stupid. She should have handcuffed her immediately, even knocked her out. But no. She had to brag, to provoke her. She hadn't imagined for a moment that this traitor would be a good pilot. Because she was, without a doubt.
After she had knocked over most of the tables as she passed through the hotel's restaurant, a wind of panic had begun to stir up the establishment's posh guests. Then she had rushed to the exit, and stole a speeder that a droid was about to park for a customer. Zorii had been following her closely, and was pleased to have left her own speeder nearby, so she had lost only a very small advance, just the time to start the engine and push it to full speed in the crowded traffic of Coruscant. But after more than an hour of chasing, and although she was still on her tail, trying to gain ground by zigzagging between ships, Zorii was beginning to lose her. Her airspeeder was not the fastest, she could only rely on her skills and they were no longer enough anymore. The spy had first tried to lose her by diving down to the lower levels, but as ships became scarcer, she had quickly pulled her aircraft up and returned to the crowded streets high above.
Zorii took out her blaster and aimed at her. The shot rebounded off her speeder's hull, but did no damage. She had missed hitting a family on her first attempt and soon realized that her prey was deliberately flying close to other ships to discourage her from firing. She was using innocent people to protect herself. What a kriffing bitc... She didn't finish her swearing as she once again escaped death with a hairpin bend. She had to do something. This chase wouldn't end until one of them made a mistake. And blinded by her desire for revenge, Zorii felt she was about to make one.
She was now flying a few feet below her, and she fired again at her speeder, but the blaster shots never hit their target. Zorii cursed when her last blow hit a long carbonite container transporter. The cooling gas escaped and produced a thick cloud through which she had to pass. The substance made her wince in pain as she emerged from it, turning her ship sideways. She was annoyed to find that she had just lost ground on the spy again. The latter turned around and seemed to gloat before continuing to sneak through the ships at full speed.
She had definitely lost the element of surprise, she lamented. But Zorii persisted in believing she was smarter than her, for the incident had just given her an gas transporters hadn't noticed the loss of some of their cargo, and Zorii jumped out before firing several tanks again. This time an explosion occurred while an opaque white slick was formed, masking everything around. It all happened very quickly after that. Countless alarms resounded, vessels suddenly braked, almost colliding on all sides, cries were uttered, insults in dozens of different languages rang out.
Zorii had just created a huge accident.
Taking advantage of the confusion, she suddenly pushed down the controls and her speeder leapt skyward, pressing her against her seat. She repressed a heave from this unpleasant movement and continued to push her machine to gain height as quickly as possible. She swerved to hide her ship near a merchant shuttle, and leaning over the side, she grabbed her binoculars to observe the chaos a few meters below. Already relief ships were beginning to arrive, this district being rich and well organized. Already rescue ships were arriving. She felt a little guilty about what she had just done, and hoped that she had not caused any deaths or injuries. But soon her attention was drawn to a familiar speeder.
Good. She remained a spy, nosy to the core.
She saw her slow down to contemplate the damage, then turn around several times, looking for her enemy. Zorii had just given her a sense of security, she will think she had lost her. Now it would be easy to follow her.
The chase had been a mistake. The hunt, on the other hand, had just restarted.
/
/
Ohma D'un.
"The First Order has a new Supreme Leader."
Poe's words kept echoing in the bond as Ben repeated them over and over again.
The happiness they'd felt after their morning workout seemed far away now. As Rey followed Poe and Connix across the plains to the city, she had grabbed Ben by the waist, noticing how disturbed he was by what they had just learned. Placing one arm on her shoulder, he had held her tightly against him, seeking some comfort before they reached the base and parted ways. The guards they had fooled with the Force were waiting for them at the entrance of the huge gate, a dark look on their faces. While Rey felt a little guilty, this feeling quickly faded as she saw the leader approach to handcuff Ben. With an instinctive gesture she placed her hand on her saber, daring her to come closer, and the woman backed away.
Connix told them that it wouldn't be necessary for now and Ben thanked her with a nod.
Several high-ranking members joined their march and together they made their way to the center of the city, towards the Great Hall where the meeting would take place. They climbed the marble stairs and the huge corridors with doors on either side. The one leading to the command center was wide open, and restless murmurs rose through it.
In single line they entered the long, dark room lit by communication and navigational instruments. On the walls holo screens were connected directly to their main allies, others were permanently logged into the holonet, data pads, consoles full of hardware and cables, and a few holopads displaying maps of the main systems. A huge table stood proudly in the middle of the room, and the chairs surrounding it were almost all taken up, as Rey couldn't help but notice.
The murmur of discussion vanished when she and Ben arrived in the room, following the tracks of Connix and Poe who sat in the center. She noticed Finn and Jannah chatting with Rose, and the only seat left next to her friend. Seeing this as a sign of reconciliation, she walked towards it, before remembering Ben.
It's okay, he told her. Go ahead.
A bit guilty, she watched him lean against the wall in the shadows of the room, and then walked to the empty seat, smiling warmly at Finn. He didn't seem to notice, but when she sat down he sighed in irritation and asked Jannah if they could switch places. Rey stopped Ben before he ran towards him, and fortunately no one noticed his sudden rise in anger. She felt terribly hurt by her friend's rejection, but she was still glad that Jannah refused the childish exchange that Finn had asked her for. The young woman turned her back on him and told him in a dry tone of voice that he should take care of his problems.
"Finn, please," tried Rey.
"Shhh. The meeting is about to begin," was his only answer.
She scowled in her seat and folded her arms. A few minutes later, Poe asked for silence before standing up and addressing the whole assembly.
"My friends, some of you know why I called this morning's meeting so urgently. We received some disturbing news earlier and we had to inform you immediately. I'm not going to beat about the bush, there's no good way to announce this. The First Order has found a new Supreme Leader."
Although most seemed to be aware of it already, there was a strong reaction in the room. As many eyes turned to Ben. He glanced at them in boredom, but did not look down.
"Who is it, Poe?" Asked the head of the guard.
He was a man of a certain age who didn't like Rey very much. She couldn't really blame him, after all, she had endangered the lives of his men several times and kept manipulating them with the Force.
"General Amret Engell," replied the Resistance leader.
The name didn't mean anything to Rey, but she immediately turned to Ben to see his reaction. He and Finn were wearing the same expression right now, and under other circumstances Rey would probably have laughed at them. Connix stood up too and pointed to a glass holo-screen that projected a woman's face on both sides. A bossy look, short blond hair, she looked very military.
"We don't know much about her for now, except that she had taken over from Captain Phasma after her death, regarding the training and command of the legions of stormtroopers."
"Bitch."
Several faces turned to the voices that had made this comment at the same time. Finn and Ben gazed at each other before turning away, both disgusted that they had shared the same thought. This time she couldn't help puffing, and despite the disapproving looks she received, Rey refused to feel guilty. Poe cleared his throat, bringing calm to the assembly, then hesitated before making a hand gesture towards Ben.
"Ben. Would..."
He ignored the outraged and disapproving grunts.
"What do you know about her?"
Ben seemed shocked for a moment before he pulled himself together and walked to the table. Rey conveyed all the pride and courage she had for him through the bond, but she soon noticed that Ben didn't seems to need it. He walked forward, calmly and confidently, indifferent to the looks of hatred being thrown at him. He ended up standing in front of the whole audience, and then, quite confident, he sat down on a corner of the table. His apparently casualness actually showed that he was in control of the meeting at that moment. He may not have been invited to sit, but he was rising above them now. With one leg in the air, his chest half turned toward the exit, Ben wasn't hiding what he thought of them, and who could blame him.
"I'm not surprised she elected herself," he began.
"Spare us your comments and get to the point!"
That was the captain of the pilots who had just spoken. Ben gave her an amused look and took a long breath. He seemed to enjoy that. Keeping them hanging on to his every word. They needed him, and he was delighted. He kept a little smirk on his face, strangely looking like his father at that moment, as he continued:
"She was on the Supreme Council. In her fifties. She fought in the old wars alongside Pryde. A notorious imperialist. And cruel. Very cruel."
He lost his mocking air when he addressed the assembly again.
"She wanted to lower even further the age of recruitment and kidnapping of Stormtroopers."
A collective whisper of indignation and anger rose among the seated people. To her right Finn clenched his fists in rage. Rey immediately rushed to support him, but she and Jannah had the same idea. She froze as she saw Finn grabbing and clutching the former stormtrooper's hands.
Suddenly she felt very lonely.
But Ben had continued his explanations, and she preferred to turn her attention back to him. Soon the melancholy caused by her best friend's attitude faded away, and her whole being refocused on the man who was speaking.
You could feel his aura of leadership settling over each people present. He was a born leader without a doubt, Rey thought to herself. It wasn't hard to find out who he took after. She could recognize Leia in the way his hands moved or his eyes pierced through you one by one, making you feel like he was reading you to the depths of your soul. Each of his words resonated within her, making her whole being vibrate. She didn't even know if he was using the Force right now. Or maybe she was the only one feeling its effects because of the dyad they shared.
But when she looked around, Rey was surprised to find that everyone was hanging on his lips. She couldn't help but get a strange feeling when she saw a young technician, the supply manager, with long red hair fluttering her eyes several times when Ben looked at her. She looked at her darkly but the woman didn't seem to notice.
Rey glanced back at Ben again, feeling worried for some strange reason. The woman was undoubtedly very pretty, much prettier than she was. Rey had never felt jealous before, at least not in this way. And it troubled her. She felt her breathing quicken when Ben smiled at her and unconsciously brushed a long strand of hair that had passed in front of his face as he expressed himself enthusiastically.
Kriff how beautiful he could be. And impressive, she thought to herself as she bit her lip.
He coughed to hide his shyness after her comment. She hadn't even noticed that she had projected her thoughts into the bond. She kept staring at him attentively, and Ben, meanwhile, began to avoid her gaze, for in his eyes seemed to burn the same fire that was blazing in her little by little. She stirred on herself, feeling very uncomfortable in her chair. She would have liked to be alone with him in that moment, in that room, on that long table... She would have pushed him on his back, climbed on top of him, while preventing his big hands from moving, holding him at her mercy and then she would have ...
Rey moaned in pain as Ben ejected her from his thoughts and the bond, and she realized that she had gone too far. The rejection immediately calmed her thoughts and she felt very ashamed all of a sudden.
Poe had stood up and paced, reacting to Ben's tale, commenting, questioning every point.
"I'm not surprised that she's taken over," Ben added again.
He stood up and found his place by the wall.
"Although I thought she hadn't survived Exegol. Cockroaches are obviously tenacious."
"Indeed," someone growled.
Rey, angry, looked for him but couldn't find the author of this unpleasant remark. Poe thanked Ben unconsciously before moving back to the front of the table.
"Now we're in possession of valuable information. This new General looks like an opponent we should not underestimate, but we have at least one advantage: it seems that she didn't succeed in recovering the destroyers of the Empire's fleet. So we won't have to worry about them blowing up planets."
"For now," exclaimed a pilot at the end of the room. "But it's not impossible that they'll eventually get them to leave Exegol! We haven't wiped out half of this fleet, if they find a way through the unstable atmosphere, we'll be finished!"
"Indeed," nodded Poe. That is why we must talk to our new allies and strike quickly. The First Order is already gathering its armies, legions have been seen reaching the Outer Rim. I'm not hiding it from you, we'll probably be their next target."
Overwhelmed sighs rose, as a wind of anxiety added to the tense atmosphere of the room. After months of tranquillity and peace, the idea that a new war might already be looming, terrified the resistance fighters.
"But we are not alone against them, already many systems have been freed from their grip and aren't ready to let themselves be dominated again. I remain confident about the future. We already knew that the First Order had not said its last word, this fight may be the last my friends."
Not many members seemed to share their General's hopeful message. The meeting did not last long after that, and Rey, seeing that Finn deliberately ignored her, and still feeling ashamed after Ben threw her out of the bond so abruptly, rose suddenly and left the command center.
She felt stupid. No wonder Ben was mad at her. Because that's what it was all about, she was sure of it. She and her misplaced thoughts had no place in a war council. But it was so hard for her to hold back, every day with him, every moment they shared awakened emotions and desires in her that she had never felt before. She had soon reached the end of the long corridor when footsteps echoed behind her. Rey turned around and saw Ben running at full speed. She stopped, surprised. He had a strange look on his face, and her fears seemed to be confirmed: Ben looked really angry.
She was about to apologize when he grabbed her by the arm and led her into a room to her right.
/
/
Palace of His Excellency Rotta the Hutt, Klatooine.
A man with long blond hair emerged from his ship and thanked a Rodian who was waiting for him at the edge of the hangar.
A hot sun was shining high in the sky that afternoon, and gusts of dry wind were burning his throat. He hated the heat. He hated the light that blinded him. He had been raised in darkness, and he regretted it terribly at that moment. The fabric of his tunic already sticking to his skin, he shook his long locks of hair to air his neck a little. He could feel the annoyance rising inside him bit by bit. He should never have suggested that this meeting take place at the Hutt's place.
The servant invited to follow him along a path covered by red rock arches. Walking in the shadow was an immediate relief and he was able to concentrate again on the important event that was about to happen. He did not doubt his ability to convince or to negotiate, after all he had an advantage over these individuals they had no idea about. But still, he would be relieved when the alliance will be concluded.
At the end of the alley, a luminous shape appeared. The immense architecture absorbed the sun's rays and reflected them intensely, and like the sun, it was impossible to stare at it for too long without blinking. They climbed a few steps, and the sand turned into marble slabs. There, was the palace. It rose, majestic, and terribly mismatched with the rest of the city. He had heard that this Hutt was far removed from the culture and ways of his species, but he would never have guessed that far. He blamed it on his youth, the Hutt was after all only about sixty years old, which was very young for these creatures.
His surprise didn't end there. They had just walked through some long, curiously decorated corridors, when they came to a vast rectangular courtyard. Surrounded by galleries overhung by arches, and slightly sunken into the ground, the place was magnificent. Large ponds crossed the whole length of the courtyard, delimiting alleys that invited people to stroll around. Many plants brought a lush and soothing touch to the sandy desert that was this planet. Although the temperature was kinder, he would not have hesitated for a second to jump into one of the pools if he had been alone. He was amazed at the presence of so much water and vegetation in such a barren and desert environment. The servant explained to him the presence of deep underground water sources that ran through this part of the world. Of course, only the Hutt could afford to extract and enjoy it when the rest of the population was suffering from the heat and poverty.
Much to his regret, they left the gardens and he was invited to wait on a stone bench in a dimly lit room. He was literally bubbling with heat and anger. He hated waiting. He had at least hoped the General would be on time. What happened to military rigor? No wonder the First Order had collapsed, they had only been led by incompetent people, Snoke, that idiot of Hux, or Ren, now her... If only his master had...
Immediately he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He shouldn't let anything show of his true feelings towards his host, that disgusting slug... Nor towards that old shrew of the First Order. He needed to gather their forces and his own to continue his expansion plans. While his ally Coderex was still surprised to see his plans working and the Eghalist's place in the Galaxy increasing over the last few months, he, on the other hand, was disappointed.
The young Jedi appeared in his mind. An obsession said Coderex? It was true. He was obsessed with her. His thoughts kept turning to her, but not for the reasons his stupid ally suspected. In truth he was...
Heels rang out in a steady clack, chasing his thoughts away with a clack clack clack. He turned to the source of the noise and was pleased to recognize the woman he had contacted a while earlier. Tall, her hair cut short and blond, she must have been beautiful once. Today half of her face was disfigured by numerous swellings, the results of an explosion no doubt. The woman didn't seem to care, she showed an obvious self-confidence. He got up from the bench, and took the few steps that separated them. She motioned to five soldiers who accompanied her, to stay behind.
"General Engell," he greeted her, forcing his lips to split with a respectful smile. "What a pleasure to finally meet you."
She clicked her heels in a ridiculous military salute, before giving him back his smile.
"I've been waiting a long time to meet you too. I've learned a lot about you over the past few months, yet none of my men could ever tell me your name. Although you've been given a lot lately."
"Really?" He said, acting surprised.
He was no stranger to the mystery that hung over his person. In fact, he cultivated it. His enemies and his allies were forced to be on their guard, leaving him free and safe to carry out his plans. But with her it would be different, she wasn't just a simple clan leader from an Outer Rim system. She was the new Supreme Leader. And he needed her out his way. So he resolved to expose his identity.
"I prefer to deal fairly with my interlocutors. You know my name, would you return the favor?"
"I haven't used it for a long time, but my parents named me Skæn."
"Just... Skæn?"
"Yes."
"Curious."
"They gave up everything when they joined the Church of the Force. Their names, their possessions."
"Oh, yes, I heard about the tragedy that happened to you in your youth."
"You were serious then. You seem to know a great deal about me."
"I never underestimate my opponents."
"I can only understand you, Supreme Leader."
He had insisted on the title, and he saw her nod with pleasure. So easy, he thought.
"But," she continued, "your message made me think that we won't be opponents for long, will we?"
"I am hopeful indeed, I think you will be interested in my proposition. After you," he told her.
The Rodian servant had returned and opened a wide door.
They climbed up a few floors using staircases that had no steps, but rose up in a gentle slope, and then they were led into a large room. The architecture there was even more grandiose than the rest of the palace. It looked like a balcony, overlooking the city on one side and the gardens on the other. Many people were there, dancing to the rhythm of upbeat music, small groups chatting with din in the four corners of the place, all drinking and eating with enthusiasm. In the midst of the crowd was a large pool where a huge creature was basking.
"His Excellency Rotta the Hutt," introduced the servant.
At last he met him. From a distance, the son of the infamous Jabba the Hutt was not very impressive. As soon as he noticed them, the Hutt waved and the three Twi'leks who were massaging the huge bulge that served as his head, stopped.
The Hutt advanced, or rather slid sinuously towards them. Following him, a small droid quickly cleaned up the stains left behind by his fat body. Skæn immediately understood the use of marble throughout the palace. This large slug must have no trouble moving quickly on smooth, polished floors. The shine of the stone perfectly reflected its slimy carcass, giving the impression of facing two Hutts at the same time. He repressed a shiver of disgust and bowed his head slightly towards His Excellency. The Hutt stretched out his short arms with small puffed up hands, with which he vigorously squeezed those of the Eghalist leader and then of the General.
As his Hutt skills were limited, he was assigned a protocol droid who served as his interpreter.
With a snap of the fingers, the room was emptied of all its occupants and soon they were the only ones left. The Hutt invited them to sit on thick cushions on the floor as he returned to immerse himself in his pool.
/
/
Night was beginning to fall on Klatooine, when he returned to his ship.
Altogether it had been a long but successful meeting, he thought. But after all, he hadn't chosen these people by coincidence. One hated the Jedi for the death and destruction of his father's empire, the other blamed beings like Snoke and Kylo Ren for the fall of the First Order.
In the end, it was easy, so easy. Both were driven by vengeance, and Skæn had encouraged them. He had watched them, letting them speak and make their demands. The General wanted the First Order to take the head of the Galaxy as the ultimate authority over all systems and bring order. At her words, the Hutt had laughed, his cavernous, guttural voice resonating against the walls. Chaos had made his fortune, but he wouldn't say no to more power, and he was willing to ally himself with the First Order to do so. Approving her plans for conquest, he had requested the authority of the entire Outer Rim, desiring to be crowned Emperor of its systems. She had agreed.
Both of them had then turned to him, waiting for his own requests, after all he was the one who brought them together, he must have had some demands. He had only one. To free the Galaxy from Force sentient beings. His speech, repeated a thousand times, had worked again. Only the new Supreme Leader had had some doubts, which he had quickly swept away with his logic and hypnotic charisma.
"At first I wondered if you were trying to trick me," she told him. "Didn't your followers hate the First Order?"
"We hate those who are receptive to the Force. We rejected the authority of the First Order because it was ruled by two of the most powerful and murderous of them all. I don't think I'm wrong in saying you're different."
"Indeed."
The wicked smile she wore had stretched her burn-ridden skin.
He had then gone on about his wishes for his movement and the place they would occupy in the future. When he outlined his long-term plan, he felt some confusion among his interlocutors, so he was quick to clarify.
"The Empire had been wise to hunt them down, the New Republic had tried to protect them, and this was the result. They had been left free to harm and spread, this must stop or the inequalities would continue."
He had sneered inwardly after that tirade. He didn't mean a word of it, but he had been so calm on the outside that his new allies had not suspected a thing. They had, on the other hand, understood what he was implying.
"What are you... You're talking about a purge, aren't you?"
"Perhaps."
She nodded her head, satisfied.
"My troops will be at your service. The First Order will support the creation of a fair and equal galaxy. Like the Empire once did, we will restore order and security."
"I expected to have to negotiate longer, I'm glad to hear that."
"We have failed to conquer by force alone. We'll have to be more subtle this time, give them what they want. In appearance, she says with a nasty grin. We will be the answer to their fears, but by the time they let down their guard, it will be too late."
"My mercenaries will join your ranks," the Hutt added. "We will support the Eghalist."
So easy indeed.
/
/
Coruscant.
Tyna was running through the huge astroport on Central District. Frequently looking over her shoulder, she bumped into people several times, drawing strings of insults and remarks.
She had managed to outrun the smuggler, but for how long? She couldn't stay another minute on this planet. If she had first believed that Coruscant would provide her with a safe haven, a refuge, two weeks was all it had taken. Just two weeks before she had been found. She was a spy on the run again.
Tyna didn't stop at bars and pilot stations despite the number of tempting offers to leave the Core Worlds. This time she wouldn't be fooled, she couldn't count on anyone. It was obvious that the pilot of Christophsis' freighter had betrayed her, how else would the smuggler find her otherwise? She never should have done her research on the datapad in that dingy cabin. But she couldn't help but dream and prepare for her new life. In the end, she had been stupid and would never make that mistake again.
She decided to go to a repair and second-hand ship sale shop. The place wasn't very fancy, but it suited her, she would have to buy a cheap machine — since all her fortune had remained in her hotel room. Unfortunately, she couldn't go back there, her tracker had probably already warned the whole Resistance and the place was no longer safe. The meager credits she had on her when she escaped, however, were enough to buy a small ship. Discreet and fast, it would allow her to find a place to hide.
She had tried to contact her employer several times, but General Modi Coderex had remained silent. She was scared. If luck had saved her from the huntress, Tyna knew she couldn't count on it forever. The smuggler was obviously very good. So she had to disappear. Again.
As she climbed aboard her new ship, she couldn't help but turn around suddenly. The feeling of being watched had returned, but apart from a few droids and the mechanics in the workshop, the hangar seemed empty.
She sat in the pilot's seat and started the engines. Her fingers twitched nervously as she hesitated about the destination to enter in the ship's control panel. An idea that she had rejected a little earlier came up abruptly. She could keep trying to hide... or she could go back to the man she worked for. When he had hired her months earlier, General Coderex had told her that he would protect his men no matter what. After she escaped from the Resistance, he ordered her to be discreet. That part didn't work out so well.
She knew she was exposing herself to his wrath, but she was in danger, and after all, if she was captured, Tyna knew she wouldn't hesitate to reveal his identity. So she was doing him a favor by coming to him for refuge. Hopefully she could warn him before the entire Resistance came knocking on his doors.
/
/
The room where Ben had pulled her, was a simple storeroom, where equipment and shelves full of cables were piled up. He slammed the door with the Force, and Rey was startled. The look he cast at her in that instant, destabilized her. His dark eyes shone with a glow that was hard to understand. Anger, desire? Kriff, what had she done?
"Ben, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."
He suddenly cut her off as he kissed her. When their lips touched, the bond suddenly opened and the Force began to rumble within them. Ben grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up as if she weighed nothing, then he pressed her against the wall. He cushioned with his hand the shock she might have felt on her skull, without letting go of her lips for a moment.
She was relieved to see that he wasn't angry with her, far from it actually, but she provoked reactions in him that he didn't want to feel. At least not in public, he said in her mind. Rey blushed violently at the thought, her cheeks burst into flames, and she responded passionately to his embrace.
Rose had once told her that a first kiss could turn a whole life upside down, as it had for her and Kaydel. While Ben was greedily kissing her, Rey was now sure of one thing, so was the twentieth or more. She felt her life would never stop turning upside down in this man's arms. Maybe Rose had meant that first kisses were special, marking the beginning of something, the next ones were lost in a vague feeling of happiness but without remembering the details clearly. It saddened Rey. She wished she'd never forgotten anything, that she'd engraved every moment in her memory, no matter how insignificant it was. Her sadness didn't last long as he began to kiss her neck.
Ben ...
As she whispered his name again and again, aloud or through the bond, she no longer knew, her mind began to drift, made incoherent by what he was doing to her. No indeed, she would never stop marvelling at the sensations he was causing in her. Each one so new, yet so familiar at the same time. Each kiss, each caress, everything was so right, so obvious when she was in his arms. How could they have spent so much time without realizing it? Only a few days had passed since they had agreed to be... no matter what they had become now, Rey had no words to describe their relationship, but at least she had a certainty. She couldn't live without it anymore. And she was going to enjoy it fully.
She pulled his hair, letting him know that she wanted to kiss him again. He complied immediately. She moaned, no longer worried about the sounds she could make, he seemed to like it anyway. And she couldn't help it, he was driving her crazy.
"You too," he grunted against her mouth.
He went down her neck again, and she let go of his hair to cling to his shoulders. She tightened her grip on his waist with her legs, preventing him from leaving if he ever dared to stop. Her heart stopped for a moment when he moved her tunic slightly apart so that he could dive up to her chest, but footsteps behind the door stopped him abruptly in his move.
Both frozen, they didn't dare breathe for fear of being discovered. Rey found it terribly exciting, and she could see that Ben felt the same way. As the footsteps wandered away, they tried to pick up where they left off, but soon new voices echoed behind the walls of the storeroom. People were looking for the prisoner.
Together they grunted as their frustration reached a new level of intensity. Ben finally released her, reluctantly, and placed his forehead against hers, trying to calm his breathing. Usually so confident, so impressive, he now seemed almost intimidated, and she sensed in him the same thoughts that kept flitting through her mind. He was frightened by the depth of his feelings for her, and the fear that it would stop. She caressed his lips gently, and he kissed each of her fingers. Before they came out, Rey suddenly grabbed him by his sweater and pulled him towards to kiss him one last time. Then she released him, and went out first.
/
/
Zorii turned on her little datapad and consulted the blinking led.
Good. The tracking chip was in place. All she'd have to do now was follow her at a safe distance, and as soon as she would land, this time she won't miss her. She had followed her discreetly into a shabby shop where she'd seen her buy a ship.
Waiting for the last-minute, she had rushed out and thrown a tracking device just as the spy was flying off. She wouldn't notice until it was too late.
"That's the last time you're running away from me."
She packed up, then returned to her speeder and headed back to the hangar where she had left her ship a few days earlier.