Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Ghost: Allies

Ben and Rey were quiet as they took the Hand's airspeeder back up to the Ghost. Words seemed unnecessary. Trite. Ben navigated the speeder one handed, keeping one locked with Rey's. He didn't want to let her go. Not yet. He knew he would have to once they got back to the ship.

Ben brought the speeder to a stop in the speeder bay. The Ghost wasn't far away. He turned to Rey, looking her over. She was smiling softly at him. He leaned in and kissed her softly, wanting to enjoy one last moment of togetherness. He reluctantly released Rey's hand, but still felt her presence as strong as ever through the Force. They walked slowly towards the ship, knowing their precious time together was at an end.

Rose and Finn were loading some things into the ship. Dameron, Chopper and Kaila were standing close to each other, discussing something over a datapad.

Kaila glanced up as Ben approached. She touched Dameron on the arm and handed him the pad. She stalked over to Ben. "Do you even need me to tell you what kind of trouble you are in right now?"

Ben discreetly gestured for Rey to get onto the ship. He scowled, recalling what he'd felt when Kaila and Dameron were intimate. "You felt it?"

"Oh, I'm sure every Force User on the planet felt it," Kaila snapped, keeping her voice quiet. She leaned in close. "You know, Ben... I can't actually stop you from doing anything. I advised you to stay away from Rey for now and you went through the motions of doing that. Maybe I should've known sending you two on a mission together would create sparks, but... Really ? I know you two were desperate virgins, but could you not wait at least until we were off the planet? This was a dangerous mission and you decided to delay us by getting your rocks off."

Ben looked down at the large bactapatch on Kaila's arm. "What happened?"

Kaila covered her wounded arm with her hand. "You also failed to tell me that my ex-boyfriend is not only one of your Knights of Ren, but was your second-in-command who took over now that you've changed sides."

"Exar Ren-" He paused. "-Durron... Did that to you? You dated Durron? How did I not know that?"

"Not the point!" Kaila snapped. "He's on the planet and he sensed we were here. He tried to kill me and thankfully I was able to get away. But he's not dead and I'm sure he's still looking for us. We need to get out of here." She pulled back from Ben, gesturing towards the ramp. "Everyone! On the ship! We're taking off!"

Ben followed after his furious master onto the ship. "The Younglings. Are they-"

"If you were worried, you should've come quicker." Kaila cringed. "Oh, for a different wording. Yes, they're fine. Terrified out of their minds. They're all huddled together in my quarters. General Calrissian and BB-8 are trying to calm them down."

"And Lando is okay..."

"Fine. The Hand...?"

"Dead," Ben replied, not getting into it any further. Kaila went into the cockpit and sat in the pilot's seat. Dameron had taken the co-pilot's seat. He was glancing back at Ben warily.

Ben noticed a puff-cot nestled in the corner. "What's that for?"

"We're a bit full up," Dameron was working at the nav computer. "Kai and I will sleep in here while the Younglings take our quarters."

"General Calrissian is sharing a room with you," Kaila added, flipped switches and taking the controls. The ship began to rise.

"Lando's in my room?" Ben shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Kaila glared back at him. "I don't have a lot of faith right now in what you think is a good idea."

"I haven't spoken to Lando in ten years," Ben pointed out. "I don't even know what he knows about me."

"He's actually very excited to see you." Kaila looked back over her shoulder briefly. She seemed to be searching his face for reaction.

Ben's breath caught in his throat. He didn't want to show his emotions, but they were so raw. He lowered his head. "Lando doesn't know?"

Kaila shook her head. "I guess not. Your mom told me and Ezra because you were hunting us. But I don't know if she told anyone else outside your family. I told Poe..."

"You were the one who told Dameron?" Ben snapped, glaring at Dameron.

Dameron glared daggers at Ben. He reached over and touched Kaila's thigh in a possessive move. "She was living with me and you were trying to kill her. She wasn't under any obligation to maintain your secret identity."

Kaila reached her left hand down and covered Dameron's hand. Ben noticed there was something glittering on her finger. A ring she hadn't worn before. "I guess your mom didn't want to ruin Lando's memory of you."

It wouldn't last. Lando would find out the truth eventually. Everyone would. He didn't have much longer he could be Ben Solo. He would have to face being a disgraced Kylo Ren.

Dameron turned away from the nav computer. "Okay, so I've finished calculating our trip. Had to finish it myself while you were yelling at the kid, but I think we should be alright. Managed to get us down to six days in the air."

"Good. I don't think we'll want any more than that with the number of people on this bird." Once the ship had gone into hyperspace, Kaila got to her feet. She walked to Ben, touching his cheek. "Nerra, are you alright?"

Ben slipped his kyber crystal beneath his shirt. He wasn't sure she'd seen it and he didn't want to talk about it yet. He shook his head. "No. Just... I'm sorry. I should have thought more. About the team."

"I meant your injuries." She looked him over. "Do you need to be looked at more?"

Ben shook his head. "I'm fine. Just... Go back to flying. I'm tired." He slunk out of the cockpit. Whatever good feelings he'd been having at joining with Rey had quickly disappeared. He wanted to hold on to just a sliver of it.

But he understood why Kaila was angry. They'd gone against the mission. They'd put everyone in danger. He would have done it all again in a heartbeat, but he still knew what they'd done was wrong.

"Ben..."

Ben raised his head and looked at Lando. It had been so long since he'd seen him. He'd gained a little weight, a few more wrinkles, but otherwise... He was Lando.

Ben's breath was taken away when he embraced him without hesitation. When Lando pulled back, he chucked Ben under the chin. "Look at you! When Kaila told me you were here..." There were tears in his eyes. "I thought you were gone, Kid."

"No, I'm alright." Ben sighed. "Well... Not alright... But alive. It's been a rough few years."

Lando clapped him on the shoulder, leading him into their quarters. "I'm glad to see you working with the Rebellion. Knew you'd end up here. But I am surprised your dad and Luke didn't come to get me."

Ben blinked, sitting down on his bed. He just continued to blink. "You don't know."

"Coruscant isn't big on news about the war and your mom's messages have been pretty sparse. What don't I know?" Lando looked Ben over. His smile immediately melted away and he stepped back. He then sank down into the desk chair. "Both of them?"

Ben nodded. He looked down. He couldn't look at Lando.

"How?"

Ben swallowed hard. "Luke gave himself over to the Force. He used the last of his power to keep the First Order from destroying what was left of the Rebellion." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "My father was killed by Kylo Ren."

He felt the tears stinging his eyes. He forced himself to look up. "He was killed by me."

Lando sat up, his eyes widening.

Ben hated telling him. But... He couldn't let Lando not know. It didn't feel right. If Lando was going to be okay with him, it wasn't going to be some false version of Ben Solo. He was going to have to know the ugliness that was Kylo Ren.

"Mom didn't want you to know. Didn't want to ruin your image of me. But..." Ben's voice broke. "It was me. I was the one who massacred Uncle Luke's school. I became Kylo Ren. I served under Snoke. And when my father came to save me... I put my lightsaber through him."

Ben lowered his head again. He couldn't look at Lando now that the story was out.

He felt the hand on his shoulder. "It looks like Han succeeded."

Ben's head jerked up in shock. If he'd expect Lando to say anything, that was the last thing on the list. "How can you say that?"

"Look at you." Lando knelt down in front of Ben. "I don't know a lot about the Force... But Luke talked about how powerful it was. How seductive the Dark Side was. I know how scared your parents were of Snoke. Hearing that you became that thing... Does that make me happy? But I see you here, now... And you're Ben." He looked down. "Ben, I knew. Han and Leia told me. But When Kaila told me you were here... Your parents always believed you could come back. And you have. I didn't want to push you to talk about anything you didn't want to. Kaila didn't bring up Kylo Ren, so I didn't either."

Ben felt the tears threatening again.

"You really killed Han?" Lando's voice sounded a bit lost, empty.

Ben nodded. "And I was leading the troops Uncle Luke faced off against. I didn't kill him... But I might as well have. I'm trying to make up for it all. But I don't know if I ever will. But I have to try."

Lando sighed. "Your uncle used to say something... Do or do not... There is no try."

Rey looked into Kaila and Poe's quarters at the younglings. Kaila's bed had been moved into Ben's room for Lando and six puff-cots had been set up around the room. The younglings were restlessly sleeping. The fear and confusion was thick through the room. They needed to be treated gently. BB-8 was silently rolling around the room, checking on the younglings. The droid seemed to be the only thing they really trusted.

"I'm going to need your help." Rey looked up at Finn at her side. "You know what this is like, don't you?"

Finn hesitated. He turned his head to look in at the younglings. Rey knew what he was thinking. It was the same thoughts that had been running through her mind. They were so frail, so tiny. They had been mistreated so badly. "I think we were fed better than they were."

He pulled Rey in, hugging her tightly. "You did a good thing, Rey."

"These younglings are the future of the Jedi," Rey said, leaning in to Finn's chest, enjoying the warmth of her friend's embrace. "But they've already been hurt so much."

"They can recover." Finn gave her an extra squeeze. "They have a chance now."

"As long as I have your help." Rey gave Finn one more squeeze before she pulled away. She felt a little guilty about touching him after everything that had happened with Ben. No, she shouldn't have felt guilty. Finn was her friend. He was devoted to Rose.

"You always have it," Finn replied. He closed the door to the youngling's quarters. "I'm going to need your help too."

Rey felt a bolt of anger through the Force. She looked back and saw Ben standing in the doorway of his quarters. No, it wasn't Ben in that moment. He was every inch Kylo Ren.

Finn looked back. He pulled away from Rey. It wasn't out of guilt. Instead, Rey could see absolute determination on his face. "Yours too."

Kylo blinked. No, it was Ben again. He looked confused. "My help?"

"Tell me about the Silencer," Finn demanded.

Ben seemed to think about it for a moment. "Imperial II-class Star Destroyer. One of the oldest ships still in operations. Retrofitted to First Order standards. Used primarily for training and support."

"I was never on it," Finn's voice was sharp. "But it seems a lot of the other FN Corps have."

"What are you talking about?" Ben's voice was just as sharp. But Rey could tell neither of them were showing any animosity with each other. They were just utterly serious in what they were discussing.

"When Rose and I were going to send the transmission, we got one from the Silencer." Finn held up a datachip. "Members of the FN Corps have commandeered it and broken away from the First Order. They say they want to be left alone... But I don't think it will take much convincing."

Ben took the datachip from Finn. "You want to convince members of the FN Corps to join the Rebellion?"

"Wouldn't be the first time."

Rey looked from Ben and then to Finn. They were staring at each other intently. She was confused, but somewhat pleased.

"We can't do it now. Too many people on this ship," Ben replied. "We should discuss it with my mother. We might need to go in with a Squadron. Even if we're trying to negotiate with them..."

Finn nodded. "...If they want to be left alone, they might fire on anyone who comes near them."

Ben nodded along with him. "We should go to my mother with as complete a plan as we can. Dameron said we have six days to work things out. We might want to get him in on this too. He's a good tactician. Hux really hated him."

"I think we have the start of a plan." Finn reached out a hand towards Ben.

Shockingly, Ben took it and shook it hard. Finn then released his hand. "We'll talk about this more in the morning."

He walked back to his quarters, shutting the door. Rey frowned in confusion. "What just-"

In an instant, she was trapped between the wall and his firm frame. Ben- or was it Kylo?- was kissing her breathless.

After a moment, he pulled away from her. But he remained close, his breath warm against her. "I know he's your friend. I only have one friend and she's hugged me. But still..." He kissed her again hungrily, possessively.

Rey wanted to wrap her legs around his waist and just give into the heady desires. But Ben withdrew, leaving her panting. Ben cupped her cheek with one large hand. "I know what you're thinking. Lando will notice if I'm not in our quarters."

With that, he walked back into his quarters and disappeared. Rey remained outside, trying to calm herself down. Now that the hunger had been awoken in her, she didn't know if she'd ever be sated.