Rey wakes to the sound of muffled banging. Someone calling her name.
"Rey!" Bang. Bang. Bang. "You in there?" Bang. Bang. "Come on, get up. We're late for Leia's council meeting."
Rey sits bolt upright. Oh, kriff.
She scrambles for the bed's edge, only to trip over a pair of long legs beside her.
"Ow! What the - Ben!" She fumbles for his alarm clock, kicking sheets off her ankles. "Why didn't you wake me!"
Ben sits on top of the bedding, fully dressed and ignoring the commotion entirely. Ignoring Rey. He licks his thumb and turns a page of the book in his lap. He is scowling faintly. It's the same scowl from last night, etched on his brow after hours of circular arguments around which of them was being an idiot and who wasn't going to accept what.
Rey puts her hands on her hips. "Oh, so that's how it's going to be? The silent treatment, yeah? Mature, Solo. Very mature. Just because I won't let you sacrifice yourself for -"
Bang. Bang. Bang. "Rey!"
"Yes, alright!" She shouts, whirling to hiss at quick "Stay here," at Ben before striding to the door.
She smooths the rumpled clothes she'd slept in and throws the door open, stepping into the hall. Belatedly, she wonders how she will explain bursting out of Ben's room instead of her own.
Poe stands the next apartment down, hammering on Rey's door.
"Hey, man." Poe spares half a glance over his shoulder. "Listen, can you help me get into Rey's-"
Poe freezes, fist still raised. Slowly, he turns back.
"Um," Rey starts. Brilliant.
Poe looks back and forth between the door she's standing in and the one he's hammering on. His pointer finger flicks out from his raised fist. "This is still your room, right?"
"This isn't what it looks like. I was just-"
"Morning, Dameron."
Rey goes rigid. She turns to see Ben behind her, arms crossed, leaning casually against the door frame. He nods at Poe.
Rey and Poe both stare for a stunned moment.
Poe recovers first. "You gotta be fucking kidding me."
"Poe, wait-"
"You," Poe swings his pointing finger to Rey, "are so lucky Leia sent me to get you instead of Finn. You realize that? Because if Finn found out like this -"
"I said it's not what it looks like!"
"Oh, yeah. Uh huh. Sure," Poe's accusing finger sweeps from Rey to Ben. "Where did she sleep last night?"
"With me."
"Ben!"
"So lucky!" Poe shouts, pointing back to Rey. "Now, one of you take a shower and then both of you get your asses down to the Council room. Like, immediately."
"What? Why does one of us have to shower before-"
"Because if you both show up late, both freshly showered, it's not going to take a genius to put two and two together!" Poe snaps.
Before Rey can explain anything, the pilot spins on his heel and storms off muttering down the hall. "Unbelievable. Un-fucking-believable…"
Rey turns accusingly to Ben. "What the hell was that? I told you to stay in the room."
Ben throws a towel in her face.
#
"I know what you're doing," Rey says, raking her damp hair into buns as she and Ben stride to the Council room. "And it won't work. You can't just annoy me into changing my mind."
Ben says nothing beside her.
"So you can drop the sulking bit already." Rey keys in the access code and presses her thumb to the pad. "It's childish."
Ben finally looks at her, slanting a dry look her way. "This coming from the one who refused to go to sleep last night."
"Convince me you won't try to reforge the dyad and leave in the middle of the night. Then we can talk about you getting your privacy back."
And just like that, they're circling the same black hole of an argument they'd spent most of last night on. The door unlocks but neither of them notice.
"And just how am I supposed to do that when you refuse to cooperate?" Ben grates.
"I don't know," Rey crosses her arms. "But until I catch up on all the research you've already done, I don't know for sure that you can't. And if you think I'm taking my eyes off you in the meantime, you're dreaming."
"It takes two equal desires to forge a dyad, Rey. Equal. I have to convince you to want to save your own damn life before I can-"
"I told you, we're not forging anything if it means you might have to turn. So why don't you stop being petulant and help me find another way."
"I'm the one being petulant," Ben repeats heavily. "Me."
"Yes, you. Giving Poe the wrong idea when he came over? That was nice."
"You're the one who went flying out the door. You gave him the ideas. I just answered an honest question."
"But we didn't-"
"You slept right next to me," Ben leans in, locking her in his eyes, which are suddenly intense and full with a different kind of frustration. "The whole night."
The pitch of his voice and the look in his eyes thrum up Rey's spine. A memory of their kiss winds in her like a loaded spring. Ben's lips and smell and the press of his chest against hers. Rey blinks, refusing to shudder because Ben is fixated on her, drinking in every inch of her. For a crazy second, she thinks he even -
"Because you're neurotic," Ben says instead, straightening.
And just like that, the moment ends. They share a instant of intense, mutual connection and then snap right back into arguing. Just like they had last night after Rey had kissed him. She can't tell if it's a relief or a disappointment. But she can finally exhale again.
"Whatever," she snaps. "You also let me oversleep when you knew we had to be at Leia's-"
"Let you? Rey, if you've made one thing clear it's that I have no say whatsoever in what you do. Maybe if you hadn't forced yourself to stay up all night, watching me like a prison guard, you wouldn't have collapsed at five in the morning."
"Can you blame me? After all your bullshit talk of submitting to our fate and-"
"There you are!" Someone seizes Rey by the arm and literally yanks her from the conversation, pulling her through the threshold. Rey blinks, face to face with Finn. Ben steps inside and shuts the door behind them. Finn doesn't greet Ben directly, but he doesn't make any barbed commentary either. Rey takes that as progress.
"Where have you been?" Finn demands. "Leia has been holding off the Council for — wait, is your hair wet? Did you shower?"
"She needed it."
Finn blinks, waiting on Ben for further explanation.
Rey shoots a death glare over her shoulder. Don't. You. Dare.
"Okay…" Finn's eyes narrow slightly. "Well, next time you're running late to an intergalactic government meeting, maybe skip the beauty routine?"
"Right," Rey says, pulling from Finn's grip. "Sorry."
"Now remember, once we're inside Leia does the talking. She's the Senator. We're Associates. We don't participate unless she asks us to directly."
"Okay."
"Also, no one knows you two are the ones spying for Leia. So if she does ask you to weigh in, try not to say anything that will give yourselves away to the whole Senate. Got it?"
Rey glances at Ben, who nods.
"Yeah. We got it."
#
The Council room is a giant round table in the middle of an otherwise sparse room. Nearly every seat is filled with live-streamed projections of two dozen Senators, virtually gathered from every corner of the galaxy. The only solid people are Leia, sitting in her hover chair and dressed in a crisp suit, and Poe who sits to her left.
Rey makes brief eye contact with Poe as they enter. He holds her gaze a second longer than natural until Finn takes the empty seat to Poe's left. Leia gestures Rey and Ben to take the two chairs on her right. Rey sits, forcing herself to look straight ahead when what she really wants to do is search Leia's face. Had Poe told the General how he'd found her son and protege this morning?
"Can we assume that these the last of your associates?" A holograph asks from across the table. Even through the ghoulish haze of the projection, the man's eyes are vividly green. Rey bristles at the tone taken toward Leia, but her mentor takes it in stride.
"Yes," Leia answers. "Again, I apologize for their tardiness."
"Apologize by telling us why we're here, Organa," a female Twi'lek says. "It isn't easy to convene the entire Senate on such late notice. Lets be respectful of everyone's time."
"Of course, Senator Kiran. I convened this meeting because last night we received news that Rosshel is dead."
The room shifts perceptibly. Someone mutters a swear. Companions exchange significant looks under ridged brows.
"That leaves us with three families in the Inner Circle," says the Twi'lek female, Senator Kiran. "And likely very little time before we have a new Supreme Leader."
"We must take action," another Senator says. "I presume we wouldn't have been called here if Senator Leia didn't already have a plan?"
"Obviously, this is all happening faster than we'd hoped," Leia acknowledges. "But after giving it considerable thought, I'd propose we continue with our current course of infiltration and legal arrest. I know there are some who will disagree with me."
Across the table, Green Eyes scowls. "That plan is clearly insufficient."
"Our agents have only had one interaction, Marcus. We simply haven't given them enough time to find solid proof of a crime."
"Your agents literally had a theater box collapse on top of them. They were with Rosshel when he was attacked yet they still don't know who was behind it. You'll forgive me my doubts, Leia."
Rey's jaw tightens at the criticism. Scathing as it is, Green Eyes has a point. Unconsciously, Rey glances at Ben. He stares ahead with a soldier's neutrality, but beneath the table, his knee bumps against hers and presses. Rey presses back, using the contact as an outlet for her irritation. Ben meets her steady pressure.
"And while you're waiting for them to bring back something useful," Green Eyes continues, "the First Order is literally rebuilding beneath our noses. We can't stand by any longer. We must act."
"And what would you have us act on, Senator Marcus?" Leia asks. "When we drafted the New Republic, we agreed to only use force when we have proof of a crime."
"The bodies of Vorian and Rosshel aren't proof enough for you? Murders are being committed, Leia."
"Yes, but we still don't know by whom. We cannot just storm into homes and start making arrests without any proof."
"Perhaps we arrest all three of the remaining families," another Senator suggests. "See if the killing stops once they're all behind bars."
Senator Marcus nods. "Agreed. Arrest now and find a reason once they're in jail."
"Senator Marcus," Leia says, "right now every eye in the universe is watching our New Republic. If we start arresting whoever we want simply because they might be an enemy, we tell everyone that we're no better than the First Order. I have faith in my informants. I believe they are close to uncovering whoever is behind the murders. So unless someone comes up with a legitimate alternative, I see no other choice than than to proceed with our original-"
"As it so happens, I do have an alternative," Marcus interrupts.
Leia stares at him for a tense moment, then tilts her head. "Yes?"
"I have recently entered into an arrangement with an informant of my own. He has told me the location of a fleet of warships Rosshel had been building for the Inner Circle. I motion that we take a bomb squad to destroy them before they can ever be put to use."
"Rosshel Inc. is in the shipbuilding and tech industry," Senator Kiran points out. "How do you know he wasn't just filling orders as usual?"
"I don't," Marcus replies. "And I don't need to. If Organa won't permit an arrest, the very least we should do is cripple the enemy's firepower. When the Inner Circle comes for war, which they will, at least we'll have that to our advantage."
"But if you're wrong," Kiran persists. "You'll be destroying billions of corporate property without legal standing."
Marcus shrugs. "Then we play it off as an accident. No one ever needs to know that we were behind it."
"You suggest lying to the people," Leia said.
"I suggest taking at least some precautions to keep our people safe. Morever, Senator Leia, you're sending spies into Inner Circle social events. I don't think you have any grounds to criticize me for subterfuge."
"I motion we pursue both plans," Kiran says. "Senator Leia's informants continue their work. If they can prove grounds for an arrest, we act immediately. Until they do, Senator Marcus has permission to pursue the destruction of Rosshel's fleet. However, if Marcus is discovered and if he cannot prove the fleet was intended for the purposes of war, it will be up to him to reach a personal settlement with Rosshel Inc. Is that an acceptable compromise?"
Rey can tell from the tension in Leia's face that she doesn't want to agree. But with the rest of the Senate staring her down, this hill might not be the one to die upon. "If that's what the Senate wants," Leia relents, "I won't stand against it. However, Senator Marcus, I would like some more details on your lead. Where exactly is this supposed fleet?"
"According to my source, it's being build in the X-16 solar system."
Rey frowns. X-16. She'd heard of that system recently. But where…
"That's a cold system," another Senator says. "Its sun died a millennium ago. There's nothing there now but cold dust."
"A perfect place to build a secret army, no?" Marcus points out.
"And this informant," Leia presses. "Would you mind sharing his name?"
"Gladly," Marcus sits back. "I have nothing to hide. So long as we all agree it will never leave this room."
"Of course."
The rest of the Senate nods in agreement.
"He's an information trader well connected to the Inner Circle. Recently, he realized that he was playing for the losing side and approached me to strike up a new deal."
"A name, Marcus, if you please."
"His name is Bindu."
Rey jolts. Bindu. The man who had pulled her aside at Rosshel's auction, believing she was Virya Vorian. The man who had tried to sell her information that Doran Vorian had agreed to purchase just before he'd died. The man she'd arranged to meet at the Frost Ball to discuss the transaction. The memory of their conversation snaps together at once.
I have information regarding certain activities in the X-16 solar system… The kind that would be of great interest to any of the families in the Inner Circle… a meaningful advantage to have in your back pocket.
"Wait," Rey blurts, interrupting the Senator mid-stream.
The whole room turns to her in surprise. Across Poe and Leia, Finn leans out to make wide, warning eyes at her.
"I know him," Rey turns, addressing Leia instead of the Senate. "He offered… Virya information about the X-16 Solar System. He said he was contracted with her father up until his death."
Leia frowns. "What was the information did he have?"
Rey shakes her head. "He wasn't offering it for free, but it was about the X-16 system. At the Frost Ball, he's supposed to-"
"Excuse me, Organa, who is this child you're allowing to steamroll our meeting?"
Rey turns to meet the sharp green eyes of Senator Marcus.
"Apologies," Marcus says, quite un-apologetically. "But did I miss your election to a member of this Senate?"
"Senator Marcus-"
"No, Kiran, this is unacceptable. First, this girl keeps us all waiting. Now she interrupts us with some far fetched story about-"
"This girl," Finn leans across the table, decorum forgotten, "is none other than Rey Skywalker. You might want to show her some respect for saving the whole galaxy."
At the name Skywalker, Rey flicks her gaze toward Ben.
To a stranger, Ben's expression would seem perfectly neutral. But Rey knows him well enough to see how hard his gaze is fixed on Senator Marcus, like a missile locking system. His knee, still pressed to hers under the table, is a slab of stone. He's so focused on the green eyed Senator, he doesn't seem to notice Finn's public flaunting of Rey's adopted surname.
First you were a Palpatine… Now you're a Skywalker. Don't you see? … In the end, nothing's even left of the people we were before.
Rey swallows the memory of Ben's words, returning her attention to the affronted Senator. "I apologize for speaking out of turn. I'm simply asking that the Senate tread carefully around Bindu. I know he's making similar offers to the Inner Circle as well."
"As I said, it's his job to deal in information," Marcus says impatiently. "Of course he won't be loyal to either side. All that matters is his information is good."
"But how can you trust that it is without knowing you have his loyalty?" Leia asks. "He could very well be lying to you."
Marcus blinks. "Leia. You can't be taking this child's side over-"
"I am," Leia says calmly. "I can, Marcus, because I have faith in both Rey's abilities and her loyalty."
A bit of unexpected warmth blossoms in Rey's chest.
Senator Marcus looks to Senator Kiran, disbelief all over his face.
But Kiran is focused on Rey and Ben, watching them with her bright, intelligent eyes. "How do you know this for certain, Rey Skywalker?"
Again, Rey feels the weight of an entire Senate landing squarely on her. The warmth in her chest promptly dies. She holds the Twi'lek's gaze, cutting down every emotion before they can reach her face. "I just know it. That's all I can say."
After a moment, Kiran smiles kindly. "Well, if you have Leia's trust, you also have mine. I propose a revised compromise. Senator Marcus proceeds with his mission in X-16. But not with a bomb squad. Assemble our best stealth team and observe before you strike. If you find yourself lured into a trap, you can escape without anyone ever knowing you were there. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes," Senator Marcus says a bit tightly. "Fine."
Kran nods. "And Leia, your agents have the Senate's support to proceed with their mission. But under the condition that they arrange a meeting with Bindu tomorrow. The Senate will provide the funds to purchase his information. Let's see if this informant will sing the same tune to both sides."